Each Monday Cathy invites us to find something from our gardens to pop in a Vase.
Her vase this week has inspired this post as she used some old glass inkwells.
The bottles in my photograph were found in a bank by my house circa 1974. I had masses more but have gradually downsized the collection with each successive house move.
The ‘vase’ contains hellebores that grow in my roadside border under an espalier pear tree; a variegated arum leaf and some twigs from a pretty little hebe given to me by a neighbour
The bottles sit on a shelf in my bedroom that was in dire need of dusting and sorting out – a perfect candidate for the 17 for 2017 List in which my target is:
“13 – drawers, cupboards, shelves or boxes sorted out.”
The bedroom was created in the roof space
I wanted the sides to be left open to give a greater feeling of space
I had such a battle with the builders to keep this space open. I really like the way it gives the room size, and provides a place to keep the things I love having around me. Like a mini art gallery space. The photos below are looking one way then the other – you can see it had become a bit jumbled.
When the shelf was cleared there were pale marks where items had been
What to do?
Turn to Permaculture : “THE PROBLEM IS THE SOLUTION”
The problem is the effect of light, the solution: make use of this with some leaf shapes cut out of paper.
Each time I clear the shelf I will move the leaf shapes and gradually I will have a pattern of various shades of wood – eventually it will look like the dappled light through a maple tree – well that’s the plan anyway.
Also joining in with Cee’s Flower of the Day
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Ingenious solution via brilliant thinking Sandra.
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Permaculture shows the way!
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I must admit, I used the principal idea you mention here in a ‘mini sermon’ to one of my boys this morning. It’s all in how you view things sometimes! Thanks for the inspiration.
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I would love to have heard that. My children and now my grandchildren are often looking at me in rather a bemused fashion as I give them the benefit of a Permaculture Principle or a Sage Saying. Miss E always questions and challenges each word and meaning of what I say – fabulous and also tiring at times! Our car journeys, especially, turn into mighty explorations of universal proportions!
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Ah, Little Miss E likes to think for herself, doesn’t believe all she hears. What a great trait to have, but yes, can be very tiring!
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You’ve got it! ❤
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And a lot of plastic people too especially politicians
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It seems a lot of those drawn to politics have traits that make them supremely unsuitable!
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Lovely hellebore, and what a lovely idea with the leaves on the wood. I do hope it works!
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Me too!
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What a brilliant idea with the leaf shapes, do show it again when it has begun to take effect.
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A long term project, but yes, I will be sure to share how it’s going.
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What a creative solution to the fading of the floor! Wow–I hope we get to see the progress along the way. The hellebore is lovely–I keep meaning to plant some and never have yet . . .
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I will keep you posted. The marks that are there formed over a period of 4 years, so we might have to wait a while! 😉
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Great collection Sandra. We used to collect old bottles and have a few we hung on to, they are a great reminder of a more substantial past.
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Thanks Denis. The colour of the glass is so pleasing, it saddens me that our era will leave behind mainly plastic.
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The crocheted daffodils are such a cute idea! I’m still waiting on the real deal as well as the Hellebores. Your Hellebore is looking very lovely, can’t wait! What a good idea to leave the sides open, a useful space for displaying your collections, Sandra!
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Thank you Hannah.There are daffodils here which start flowering in January, but I’d rather they waited their turn!
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Lovely hellebore and impressive bottle collection. Sounds like you hit the mother lode back in ’74! I love your sunlight fading solution – you’re a genius!
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Ha! Ha! Thank you Eliza, it is Permaculture thinking that is the genius, it often provides ‘out of the box’ solutions.
Back in 1974 I lived in an ancient thatched farm cottage, a long way from other houses, the bank outside must have been used as a rubbish dump in Victorian times and the early 1900s. It was covered in brambles and I wanted to plant a windbreak hedge. After fighting through the brambles it felt like I was digging for treasure when I found the bottles.
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Makes you wonder where all the other middens lie hidden.
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Hidden middens – love it!
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Contractors, what do they know.? Really beautiful and better because of your tenacity. Creativity at it’s finest and I love the bottle collection.
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Exactly Shrub Queen – What do they know – No vision! Thank you for your support!
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Your maple leaf collage is brilliant. It reminds me of the basketball floor at the U of Oregon with silhouettes of trees around the edge. Contractors are pretty set in their ways: I’m glad you persisted in getting YOUR way.
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I like the sound of that basketball floor Rickii. Set in their ways is right – they are so used to building rows of houses all the same – still we got there in the end.
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I love your bottle collection and what a clever idea. 🙂 I usually snip a few flowers off the plant and float them in a big glass bowl I have. I was thinking how pretty a window display if you had a variety of tiny heathers and such.
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Floating the flowers is a good idea. Yes, those bottles would look good on a window sill with sprigs of things in them – great tip, thank you Jo.
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What a beautiful Hellebore, I love its freckles, and it goes so well with the Hebe. All in all this is a lovely arrangement.
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Thank you Eleanor – the hebe and hellebore seem made for each other colour wise. I like the freckles too.
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That’s a lovely hellebore bloom and an exceptionally clever solution for the spots on the shelf. I wish I could employ a similar solution for the water spots on my entryway table!
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Oh yes water marks – hmm – I know sanding them can sometimes remove them and then a coat of Danish oil will protect the wood against further splashes. Thank you for your comment Kris.
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I love the ink bottles vases and the flowers too! Only you are creative enough to think about creating maple leaf shapes on the shelves!!!!
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Ha! You can imagine how long it took me to cut out all those shapes – whilst I was supposed to be tidying and dusting!!!! Glad you like it.
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HaHA! A little distraction is a wonderful thing when it comes to housework! 🙂
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I think the leaf shaped shadows will be brilliant!!!
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In my mind they will be! Thank you for your confidence in my experiment.
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Beautiful florals and marvelous post. 😀
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Thank you Cee. Glad you enjoyed it.
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I LOVE the idea of the faded leaf shapes! I have a similar thing in my house, only it’s in dust……
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Ha!Ha! Yes – dust gets everywhere – “after 4 years it doesn’t get any worse” Quentin Crisp.
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I think the layout of your bedroom is great – how strange that the builders wanted to persuade you otherwise! And of course I like your collection of bottles too – and your hellebores, which are still ahead of mine. Thanks for sharing ps have you really got a bedroom window the full width of the room? I wasn’t sure if this was a temporary opening – but what an amazing feature if it is a window
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Yes that is my window – I absolutely LOVE it. When I first looked round the house it was an attic space and I immediately envisioned a floor to ceiling window there. It looks out over a field that my son-in-law farms – it is why I bought the house. I feel very lucky.
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It is a wonderful feature and I am sure you deserve the luck to have it
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Thank you Cathy – Yes, sometimes good luck comes from hard work and heightened awareness! It also took a little bit of magic. 😉
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I bow to sheer genius!
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You do make me laugh Cathy! Thanks for your lovely comment!
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Very, very clever! I must admit I wouldn’t have thought of it.
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Thanks Laurie – I have Permaculture to thank for the thought. 😉
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I’m glad you won the battle. It’s a fabulous bedroom and I agree the extra space works well for your purposes.
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The men kept wanting to cover the space and make into cupboards – they just could not believe I wanted it to stay open. I had to stake out the room til it was finished as I wanted it! Thank you for your comment, it feels very supportive.
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Love the idea of the faded layered leaf shapes accumulating across the floor – it will be beautiful! 🙂
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Glad you like the idea Ruth – I’m looking forward to seeing how it develops
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Me too! 🙂
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