Graceful Summer: Cutting Flowers on a Hot Morning

I like the idea of a cutting garden. It feels very Victorian, as I envision myself with a parasol and a full skirt and petticoat, scissors in hand as I glide across dewy grass. I imagine gathering fragrant blooms for the antique vase that sits on the Chippendale table at the base of the grand staircase.

Of course, I don’t have a parasol or petticoats. I cut flowers in shorts and turquoise flip flops. My house doesn’t feature a grand staircase either…or a Chippendale table.

I do, however, own an antique vase. It was my mother-in-law’s, and it makes me happy to fill it with vibrant flowers from my garden – scarlet bee balm, spiky Echinacea, wispy Veronica, sunny coreopsis. I don’t remember ever seeing this particular vase filled with flowers in her own house – I found it pushed toward the back of the upstairs hallway closet when I was filling bags for the Goodwill after she died. But it’s enough to know that it was hers.

I cut flowers in the early morning, before the sun sears hot and the blooms droop. I slide the kitchen shears from the butcher block, slip on my flip flops and head out the back door into the sultry, moist morning.

Clutching the stems in my fist, I step back into air-conditioned cool and lay them in a bunch on the kitchen counter. Then I strip their leaves into the sink, cut each stem at an angle and arrange the flowers one at a time in the vase. Sometimes I place the vase in the center of the  dining room table. Sometimes I simply leave it on the counter, in the midst of everyday clutter. I glide the sponge around the base of the vase, sweeping crumbs in my cupped palm. And I think of Janice.

Do you own anything that reminds you of someone you love?

Welcome to Graceful Summer, a new link-up community here on Fridays through the end of August. We're sharing stories about the smaller, quieter moments of summer - will you share yours, too?

1. Write a post about a quiet summer moment and link it up here on Fridays.

2. Visit someone else and leave a little comment love - you might get a new creatively quiet idea!

3. Please include the Graceful Summer button or a link in your post, so people can find us if they want to join in.

<a border="0" href="http://michellederusha.com/" target="_blank"> <img src="http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab239/mderusha/gracefulsummerpolaroidbutton-1.jpg"/></a>

Click here to get Graceful in your email in-box.
Click here to "like" my Facebook Writer page. Thank you!