Monday Vase: Miniature in Red

I have been finding single colour arrangements irresistible lately.  An all red one is the result today.  At its heart is a miniature red rose.  Salvia greggii "Flame" was a close match for colour, and some bells of Russelia equisetiformis completed the tiny cupful of flowers.

I've featured mini rose "Daniela" before.  The plant has all the vigour of a full size rose bush on a miniscule scale.  And the blooms are classic red rose.

The Salvia has begun blooming fairly freely now that it is planted up toward the patio.  It languished for months just a few feet down the bed so I can only think that increased shade is the key to its better health.  I very much wanted it to succeed as I love the rosy-scarlet sheen of the flowers and their subtle gold flecking on the hoods (not so visible in this photo as the pollen seems to have sprinkled down onto the petals).  They are classic sage flowers.

And Russelia equisetiformis is always good for a vase.  With its intense colour and delicate forms, it tends to work well with both large and small companions.  Here it joins flowers of its own size.

I used the smallest vintage teacup of all: something between a doll's cup and a demitasse.  In the top photo I included a full-size bloom of the red hybrid tea "Olympiad" to give a sense of scale.  With these flowers there was a lot of colour to be had for the size!

Florist's foam was used to keep the stems in place, and the foliage of the flowers themselves proved enough to fill out the little cup.

Making these vases, large or small, is such a fun part of Monday!  Many thanks to Cathy for developing this theme and hosting it at Rambling in the Garden.

Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy; High: 104 F (40 C)/Low 70 F (21 C)