Welcome to the very first 2019 MONDAY MORNING BLOOMS!

I'm so excited to share this Monday morning with all of you.

After all the busy days of the holidays,

I think all of us are ready for some peace, calm, and beauty.

I don't know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with how our home looks after the holidays.

I love the clean, fresh and "anything is possible" look

once the Christmas tree, ornaments and other baubles are put away.

But it does feel kind of empty.

Especially on our fireplace mantel.

Previously decked out in all its seasonal finery.

An easy but "grand" looking arrangement perks that mantel right up.

Lifts my spirits, too.

This weeks floral challenge - the girls and I like a good challenge -

was to create some floral beauty from one type of flower.

In this arrangement, I'm showing off the beauty of just one flower.

The entire flower display consists of two trumpet vines clipped from my back garden, and

sweet soft pink sweetheart spray roses.

Placed in an antique Wedgwood creamware bowl,

the pink shades of the roses contrast nicely agains the creamy white of the bowl,

especially when placed against the white wall and mantel.

This arrangement is a little out of my comfort zone,

I usually create much "tighter" and classic arrangements.

I wanted to show you that an arrangement does not need

to be complicated to be beautiful.

I trimmed the vines and placed them in the bowl first, letting them flow naturally to the right and left.

For added drama, I placed a few smaller roses in a Wedgwood creamer

in front of the large antique creamware platter.

Those two little ones fell off, and I couldn't bear throwing them out.

For now, they join their more healthy friends in front of the little arrangement.

I did use my secret weapon...clear floral tape, to make a grid to hold all the roses into place.

And sunk a heavy frog on the bottom of the bowl to anchor the two vines, and some of the heavier rose sprays.

These next two photos are from the evening, with the candles glowing, and a fire lit.

These photos do show that the roses have a little crushing on the outer leaves, but never mind!

Like the antiques we love, they have a little "wear".

The trumpet vine did pop up with some flowers, while being inside in the warmth of the living room.

So it kind of is another flower. But I'm calling that a "green"....

Not sure if that's technically allowed, but if you don't tell, I won't either.\

I love it.

It's cozy, romantic, and just right for this first month of the year!

Now be sure to visit my friends by clicking on their names below.

I can't wait to see what they have created

to inspire all of us to create floral beauty at home!

SHIRLEY at Housepitality Designs

PAM at Everyday Living

YVONNE at Stonegable

MARY at HomeIsWhereTheBoatIs

and of course, MOI, FrenchGardenHouse

à bientôt