On a Monday Cathy from Rambling in my Garden hosts the addictive ‘In a Vase on Monday’, a meme to encourage her readers to bring a little of the outside inside and fill a vase or container with something lovely. Inspired by the beautiful Autumn hedgerows, that we walk past everyday on our daily dog walk, I have ‘borrowed’ some Hips and Haws to help fill the ginger jar given to me by my Mum some years ago.
On the Wild Side
One of my favourite dog walks takes us up out of our village, past the last of the houses and along the lanes and footpaths that skirt the Greensand Ridge, if time permits we head off towards the woods, if not we return past the old church and then loop back again through the village towards home, all along our route the Hedgerows have been ablaze with colour and the Hawthorns spectacular this year, dripping with fruits.
Hedgerows of Colour
Archie our Labradoodle without the doodle, is a kind and patient dog who loves to walk, he keeps a look out when I am foraging in hedgerows.
Archie
From the hedgerows I collected some Haws (Hawthorn berries), native Dog Rose Hips, English Ivy with seed heads, before heading home and from my garden wildflower Achillea millefolium stems, good old Iris Sibirica seed heads and one of my favourite autumn leaves Rubus tricolour (chinese bramble).
In close up
I picked from the Hedgerows on Saturday morning and am hoping the Hips and Haws will survive inside for a few days as I want to return this bouquet to the birds and plan to put it on our patio table later in the week. Inside the Ginger Jar I have put a large Yoghurt bucket with handle so it can be lifted out and hopefully the birds will still get to enjoy the fruits and the empty Ginger Jar will go back on its shelf.
Heading outside for the birds
Enjoy your Monday and please take a look at Cathys In a Vase On Monday post for links to the wonderful creative folk who contribute to Cathys meme.
Gardening Jules 
Your use of seed heads is quite creative. Thanks.
We do not get really good frosts over here John, but I live in hope to see sparkly frost on seed heads left standing in my garden, meanwhile they come in handy for vases.
Such a lovely seasonal combination, just gorgeous.
And your dog looks lovely too, but you’re right, not much ‘doodle’! Our dog, Nimbus, (see home page) is a little more ‘doodle’ than yours, but still not the full bundle of fur you see sometimes.
Nimbus certainly is more doodle than Archie! Ours was the odd bod in the litter, the rest apparently were curly, we were given him at 7 months old as he dug large holes everywhere. He is 8 now and a has a lovely temperament. Your dog walks look wonderful!
Lovely, Julie, absolutely lovely and autumn par excellence in all its splendour! I also admire the colours of the bramble leaves at this time of year, and when I see clematis seedheads and berries/hips I always feel Nature is the best flower arranger by far. How nice to be able to go for walks with such a charming companion. I cherish my 4-legged companion too 🙂
We are enjoying a terrific Autumn over here Annette, the long warm Summer has helped too. I can’t imagine not being able to get out and walk with my dog everyday, its one of my favourite things to do. 🙂
I love this vase of ornamentals you have collected from God’s garden! It really speaks to the season and makes me cheerful and happy, though it is pouring rain and cold this morning in the Upstate. I’m curious about Archie–does he have any poodle in his personalilty?
Hi Marian, your weather sounds grim, hope that will not last too long. Archie has the kind poodle nature and is more likely to roll over for over other dogs, but he does like Horse poop which seems more like a Labrador and not very regal. I understood Labradoodles were bred to be used by non-sighted folk, so they would be unknowingly covered in dog hairs. Archie however, moults by the bucketload. 🙂
Lovely, simply lovely. Love the colors, the composition and the ginger jar, too. Thank you for brightening my day!
Thanks Karen, the Hedgerows here are spectacular this year, it was nice to be able to bring a little of them inside.
I love how you have used your gleanings from the hedgerow and what a lovely idea to put it outside for the birds to enjoy too. I also picked some seedheads on Saturday when we walked in the lane but I’m saving them for when there are no flowers left to pick, which won’t be long now.
Hi Christina, I have only a few flowers left in my garden now one being an early flowering of Hellebores, so I am eeking things out. This Autumn is throwing up a few surprises!
Julie, this is beautiful and colorful. I like the addition of the Rubus tricolor (I mistook it for Heuchera). Archie looks like a sweet dog.
He is a sweet dog Susie, with a lovely temperament. Rubus tricolour is a great tough and tolerant plant that roots easily for new plants to give away.
How lovely. I can’ t think of anything nicer at this time of the year than bounty from the hedgerows for a vase. It looks wonderful. I think I might copy you and fill a vase with hips and haws. The hedges are amazing this year. The woods near us are still full of leaves. The yellow of the field maples and the russet of the oaks. It is amazing to have it all going on so long.
The field maples have even better colour this week than before, they are really beautiful now. I can’t remember an Autumn with leaves lasting this long and looking so lovely.
Red is my favourite colour so I really loved your Autumnal vase. The Rubus tricolour is great – I didn’t know that plant. How invasive is it?
Hi Annette, it roots like a wild bramble but grows along the ground rather than tall thickets. I keep mine in check in the ground and also grow it in neglected tubs behind my summer house, where its very shady- its those tubs that have produced the best Autumnal colour. Early growth is a beautiful glossy green. I am considering it too for a winter hanging basket.
Thanks for info. It sounds a good idea for a winter basket.
Beautiful combination — and that ginger jar is perfect. Wish I could pat Archie. He seems so friendly and soft looking.
Thanks Debra, currently he is asleep in his dog basket under the breakfast counter. In the winter everyone rushes for the seat where you can tuck your feet under him and eat your breakfast at the same time. 🙂
❤
Isn’t that lovely, Julie – you have made an inspired vase from a great combination of materials, and and thank you for reminding people that there is plenty we can legally forage for our vases. What a prolific crop of berries there are on your local hawthorns – many of them on the verges round here are severely cut back at least once a year so the haws are minimal, but obviously it will be different away from the roads. The hawthorn in our own 200+ year old hedge is now almost non-existent. I keep looking at my Iris foetidissima but it only ever seems to have one flower so a single seedhead would be a bit lonely in a vase! Love the ginger jar – it looks as if it would hold a lot of ginger!
I grew up with my mum collecting interesting twisted branches, bark, fruits, all kinds of wild things on every walk she went and still goes on. Theres always a bag and secatuers shoved in pockets. A 200 year old hedge sounds wonderful, has the Hawthorn become crowded out? I bet its a great place for wildlife.
Just come to the natural end of its life really. The holly which makes up much of the rest of the hedge keeps putting out new suckers so rejuvenates itself. Lots of birds around, certainly. It was my grandmother who first taught me about wild flowers, and strangely, even though my Mum has always liked flowering plants she never talked to me about them as a child, wild or otherwise
I love the creation, Julie! It’s seasonal, colorful and very beautiful.
Hi Kris, thank you, we are enjoying a wonderful Autumn here, I am just hoping there is not a harsh winter payback for the lovely weather we have enjoyed so far.
Julie my words for this vase are spectacular in all ways! First the ginger jar, and then the wonderful mix for the arrangement looks so festive. I love it and all the textures and the mix perfectly of the colors. And then to return it to the birds in the ingenious way you prepared for that….I am just bowled over. And isn’t Archie the cutest thing…
Hi Donna, Thank you so much, I always feel a bit guilty picking anything from my own garden or further afield that wildlife would need more than me. I am hoping that if I get my act together with a cuttings garden next year I will find a balance. Hope you have a lovely week.
This is lovely Julie. I love seeing berries and seed heads in the hedges in autumn and they look fantastic when placed together in a vase too. And that you are planning to put the berries out again for the birds really made me smile – then you can enjoy watching the birds enjoying the berries too! The ginger vase is a beauty too… very envious of that! 😉
Thanks Cathy, watching the birds from our house brings a great deal of joy, I hope they like this arrangement, it would be really wonderful if they came down to eat the Hips and Haws. 🙂
Hawthorn is one of my favourite hedgerow plants Julie – I love the mix you found on your walk and these colours feel so homely at this time of year – you are lucky to have had a mother who taught you to appreciate nature. It is easy to think of November as a drab time, but there is still much to be enjoyed if we look hard enough. I am sure the birds will appreciate your treat as well.
Homely is just the word Julie, I do feel lucky to have inherited my mums love of nature and I know my children really appreciate her wisdom and knowledge too. This November has been wonderful so far, hope it continues!
It is simply superb Julies – many above want to pat Archie (me too!), but I really wish I could pat the ginger jar! What a beautiful colour to go with all that hedgerow bounty. It brightened my Tuesday morning! Thanks. I’ve memories of my own mum collecting hedgerow stuff (a little harebell once dried to perfect, colourless transparency on our mantel) – I don’t do it enough myself!
Lol, that Ginger Jar is a Sylvac, I am fond of it mainly because of the colour and that my mum gave it too me. She used to dry flowers too. How lovely to have memories of the Harebell, it sounds so delicate and pretty.
Hi Julie, How lovely your arrangement is (and your ginger jar)! Such wonderful colours. I love animals, too, so it is nice to see Archie. So true … addictive! 🙂
Hi Dana, Thank you, I wish I could join in more often as its so enjoyable, meanwhile I am trying to collect some more containers and planning to put aside some of my veg garden for a cuttings garden, (thats a big decision for me!) 🙂
Beautiful! I love red berries in fall and winter, these mine all get eaten early and do not last much past summer.
Oh no. Your birds are more voracious than I appreciated.
Great use of fall\winter materials for a gorgeous arrangement, love the color contrasts.
Thanks Charlie, nature knows best!
Hi Julie, I have just found your blog for the first time. The autumn colours in the vase are wonderful, a true reflection of nature. Your Archie looks more Labrador than our Murphy.
Hi Brian, ditto! I could not see where to leave a comment on your blog and I am not on google plus either? Good luck with the NGS opening, a great reason to open your garden.
Hi Julie, I am new to writing a blog. I was unable to find a way readers could leave comments on the pages listed along the header only on the home page posts.
Any advice would be welcome.
I forgot to mention Murphy is a rescue dog who looks like a Labrador, the four white feet and other characteristics give the game away!
Hi Brian, do you mean on wordpress? Which is the platform I use, if so for example, I have two tabs, ‘home’ and ‘about’, some folk have more. Click on the tab and scroll to the bottom its exactly the same as on a post, and there should be a box in which to comment. (you need to log in as far as I am aware with for example http://lottieslittlekitchen.blogspot.co.uk – thats my daughters blog) You use the same platform as my daughter – Blogspot. (The reason I do not use ‘Blogspot’ is the download speed is slow here and I use a mac which has a fast processor, combined it means I cannot see the photographs on Blogspot but can on wordpress, depending on the file size of the uploaded photo. If I want to comment on a Blogspot post, I need to read it via my wordpress reader on my laptop, so if I try to see the photos on my iPhone (a slow processor) and am then not logged into wordpress, I then have to log in on my laptop. There are times when expletives are then used! I have almost certainly confused you more, but I understand there are tutorials on You Tube that will help.
Hello again, I have just attempted to comment on your post this morning and there does not appear to be the facility as there is with my daughters blog to comment from wordpress and can only do so with a google account, Facebook ect.. I am not on any of those. Apologies!
Hello Julie.
Thanks for trying again. I visited your daughters blog which is very creative. A daughter of a friend of ours has food based one which she may be interested in visiting.http://www.pathtopatissiere.co.uk/ I think I have solved the problem with guidance from a blog forum, it was ridiculously simple in the end, just turn off google+ for comments.
Hi Brian, thats good news, I have just visited and been able to comment!
Wow Julie… Now that’s what I call a vase full. Beautiful!
Thanks Gillian, we’ve been very fortunate here to have some fantastic autumn hedgerows crops this year.