It started with a basil flower…
And various mints are flowering so beautifully at the moment too, providing me with the inspiration I needed for this week’s vase…
“In a Vase on Monday” is hosted by Cathy at “Rambling in the Garden“, challenging us to find some materials in our gardens every week for a vase to bring indoors. Today I was planning on cutting the only dahlia flower that has been worth a mention this summer… but I chickened out! So I turned to some old friends for help instead – the herbs.
You can never go wrong with herbs.
Not only do they taste good, they also enrich the garden with attractive foliage and flowers, as well as attracting bees, butterflies and other good creatures.
The lemon verbena has done very well in several pots this summer and should flower soon. The pineapple sage is now flowering more scarcely, but has grown tremendously. Some thyme and oregano are still in flower, so I cut a few sprigs of those, and some of the last lavender also went in. The salad burnet is flowering again, and I also added some of the trailing rosemary.
I actually remembered to add a prop this week…. the gardening catalogues have been arriving for a couple of weeks now, and my lists are not getting any shorter! The largest catalogue is from one of the new online nurseries I discovered this spring; an excellent herb seed and plant supplier. The basil flower above is their Ocimum basilicum “Christmas”, which I grew from seed. It has a lovely warm aroma, tasting slightly of citrus and spices. 😀
The vase smells delicious.
Now, what shall I cook for dinner tonight…
😉
Words and Herbs 
I love mint! Great post.
Thanks!
Cathy what a perfect idea for a vase, using herbs. I will have to remember that when I put together my next vase….and I am sure it smells divine!
The basil and mint smell strongest, and every time I walk past I inhale deeply! 😉
I believe it does! What a quirky idea, Cathy, I can smell it from here!
I love all these herbs and don’t use them nearly enough in cooking, so a little jug of them in the kitchen might become a permanent fixture in future… 🙂
Great fun, and when you decide what to cook the herbs will be close at hand!
We had tomato and cheese tart with basil and thyme! 😉
I think i can smell them from here. Such a good idea to bring them inside to smell and enjoy, I never use mine enough! Lovely!
I think if I do this more often I might use my herbs more too! 😉
A beautiful vase of herbs… it must be tempting to rub the leaves each time you pass! Your ‘Christmas’ basil sounds interesting, I’m going to have to look that one up for next year.
It IS tempting Sarah! The basil seed is available at Thompson & Morgan by the way. 🙂
Absolutely beautiful Cathy! I have the same Thompson and Morgan magazine:)
So you have a list I suppose too! 😉
Love this idea Cathy, it’s both really pretty and very practical and must smell wonderful too.
I think the scent is what I like most about it, and that basil flower of course…
I like your lovely bunch of herbs with fresh green foliage, blooms in romantic colours (white, blue, pink) and an aromatic fragrance. This vase looks so beautiful with the transparent flowery curtain behind it. Looks like a poem, Cathy!
Aah, thank you Elisabeth. You always write such lovely comments! Have a good week! 🙂
What a good idea that was, and doesn’t it work well? There is a softness and gentleness to it somehow – you must be really pleased with the result 🙂
I’m glad it looked nice as well as smelling delicious, and as I’ve said before a lot of the pleasure is from actually walking around the garden and selecting the flowers too. Makes me realise how much is out there! 🙂
The dahlia could scarcely be missed when you have such herbal treasures. The smell must be intense and lovely.
It’s very aromatic Susie and I shall be using some of the herbs for cooking again tonight so they won’t be wasted! 😉
Oh yes, that must smell delicious. I would be tempted to run my fingers through it every time I passed by! I almost put oregano blossoms in my bouquet today, but they were too far past their prime to be worth bringing in.
I nearly didn’t cut any oregano when I saw a butterfly sitting on one bloom, but there’s enough for us all! 😉
I expect I would have chickened out about cutting the dahlia too, Cathy. The herbs look wonderful in a group. In my tiny former garden, I always added herbs to my floral vases for scent. I’m not sure why I haven’t done more of that here (although, at the moment, the only herbs that aren’t hunkered down under the heat are the thymes).
It’s something I should do more often too. It does smell good as I walk past!
Gorgeous as always.
Thanks Eunice! 🙂
This is stunning! I love it very much!
Thank you Julie! 🙂
A warm breeze of variety, mille fleurs and scent comes into my house. 🙂
Thank you, Cathy
You’re welcome Uta. 🙂
What a lovely idea, using herbs, I would never have thought of that. It is beautiful and as you say the smell must be great. I love the incredibly lemony smell of lemon verbena. I imagine you want to keep stroking your arrangement.
I do! And yes, lemon verbena smells fabulous doesn’t it. I have already dried a lot for tea, and may try and keep one plant through the winter.:)
Great idea. I will have to copy just to get that smell indoors!
Good luck with the lemon verbena this winter, it’s one of my favorites but I so often can’t find a pot in the spring or forget to go search it out until it’s too late. I need more herbs in my life!
Definitely. Herbs are mostly so easy to grow too. (Except for parsley which will not flourish in my garden…) I only discovered the joys of lemon verbena a few years ago and since then I always make it a priority to buy some small plants from a good nursery very early to get them established. I’ve never tried overwintering them so we will see!
Beautiful. So simple too
Thank you. And useful too!
Gorgeous – and I can imagine the glorious fragrance! Nice to see the ‘Christmas’ basil – I recently bought a package of those seeds. Will try it indoors over winter and save some seed for next spring. 🙂
You’ll love it! Do you use a lamp for winter herbs? I’ve never tried it, but am tempted, as light levels are so low here in winter.
The arrangement is just beautiful, Cathy, and the herbs very unexpected. i have never thought of using them for cut “flowers” and in a vase! I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before. 🙂 I particularly love the look of basil and this variety, in particular. You have such a good eye for how to enjoy every little piece of your garden! My garden catalogues come in the spring by the dozen, but I don’t get very much from the nurseries in the fall. I was interested that you had such a nice pile waiting for you. 🙂
We get so many catalogues for autumn mainly for spring-flowering bulbs which need to go in the ground before the frosts. It’s also a good time to plant small shrubs and trees, as they can settle in over winter and start growing as soon as the ground warms up in spring, thus getting a headstart. I love planting in autumn as I know we will get some rain and don’t need to worry about watering. I will try and keep some of the basil going indoors this autumn, but it does love heat so this is when I envy you your climate!
I was eyeing up some mint flowers this afternoon and debating whether to pick them 🙂 Love your herb vase Cathy. My vase on Monday last week included fennel flower heads and oregano. The oregano did not last long but the fennel was still ok yesterday. I like the sound of the ‘Christmas’ basil. Was that from a German seed supplier?
It was from a German supplier, but I have since seen it is now on offer by Thompson & Morgan. The mint lasted very well in the vase, as did the basil.
I love this and if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can almost smell it too! Great.D.
It smelled lovely for the best part of a week, and a few pieces are still left even now! 🙂
Mmmmm…I can almost smell it. Great idea, too. My chocolate mint is in bloom and looking lovely, along with the Nepeta and peppermint.
You are full of great ideas.
Hi Alys. Any ideas what to do with chocolate mint?! I’ve got some too, but haven’t used it for anything yet. Just like rubbing the leaves when I walk past. 🙂