When I went outside to collect flowers between showers of rain, I had not expected to return laden with a large collection of miniatures. My only explanation is that this is the collection of flowers that “chose” to be stars of the vase for my In A Vase On Monday contribution this week, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

Is that a thing, I wonder – can flowers make their own choices? In my garden, surprisingly, they often seem to!

The native Australian Lilly Pilly buds had already caught my eye today. When I saw them through the kitchen window this morning, the colour of the bud seemed to be a deeper shade of pinkish-brown, compared to two days ago when I took photos of them for my native plants post. I imagined tiny sprigs of the buds looking very pretty in a vase.

In a pot close to the Lilly Pilly bush, I noticed that some of my ‘Chameleon’ roses needed dead-heading. Chameleon – also known as ‘Pur Caprice’ – is a miniature rose, with the blooms changing colour from red to yellow, then pink and white as the flowers age, hence the name Chameleon. Some Chameleon blooms would look lovely in a vase with the Lilly Pilly buds … and so the miniature vase began to take shape.

In yet another pot nearby, the Osteospermum Serenity Pink Magic Cape daisy also needed some attention, so while snipping spent flowers, I chose two healthy blooms to add to the miniature mix. I adore the colour of this daisy! It is not the shade of pink I expected when I first planted the tube stock plant, it’s even more beautiful than I had imagined it would be.

In the front garden, I knew I had some very pretty Gazania flowers in bloom. The colour matches the various pink tones I had already picked, although the delicate petals may have suffered a bit due to being damp from the recent rain. In the garden, Gazania close their petals when night falls, so I will watch carefully as the day turns into night, to see if they do the same when indoors.

When together in the vase, I am quite happy with the selection of tiny treasures I heard calling out to be chosen for my Monday vase!

When deciding on a vase, I chose a tiny jug which is actually a miniature of an old-style wash basin. The design on the side colour-coordinates very well with my flowers as well – perfect!

And my collection of miniature “pets” – the Labrador with four kittens stands guard over the vase …

… with the finishing touch – the tiny bowl under the tiny jug. 🙂