It’s a real pleasure to be joining in with Cathy and other bloggers today to celebrate five years of In a Vase on Monday. Do click on the link to see what she and others have come up with to rise to her challenge of (Not) In a Vase.

I’ve used a sculpted wooden bowl – a polished piece of rhododendron bought at the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall about 15 years ago – and some of the beautiful burnished cherry leaves that are currently scattered all over our back lawn. They have such glowing colours that I couldn’t leave them out there to all turn to mush in the heavy rain we keep having.

I’d like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to Cathy for hosting IAVOM and for keeping it going so brilliantly over the years. It’s a lovely thing to join in with on a Monday when I have the time and has really rekindled my love of flower ‘arranging’ (that’s in inverted commas because I go by instinct rather than proper arranging techniques) and of photography. I’ve started growing flowers specifically for cutting which brings such pleasure and I’ve discovered that one of my most favourite things to do is to stick some flowers in a jug and take photographs of them. I’d especially like to thank her for all her encouragement and kind comments on my blog over the years.

Here’s to many more Mondays of flower, grass, leaf or whatever faffing!