The Old and The New

It's that time again when the remnants of last year's seedling garden are twisted around their stakes with no promise of renewal, unless of course they are torn out and used as props in a flower arrangement. My park visit earlier this week inspired me in many ways but an obvious one was the intermingling of dried vegetation with new growth. I was particular drawn to the beauty of dried vines and branches against blooms of the early spring. Yesterday I decided to harvest the dried annual vines I planted lasted year in my border garden along with their natural plant trellises made from long rose branches. Here they have been added to an elevated weeping composition and the contrast between the dead and the living materials add an earthiness which is quite naturalistic, combining accents of neutral browns and tans creating depth and complexity to the color palette as well as textural contrasts whose lines create accidental plays of movement defining the various parts of the arrangement. Nature is chaotic but not without an intrinsic geometry.