The Farmer’s Almanac counts down how many days of winter are left. As of today, there are 63 days left until Spring. Whoo-hoo! I have some sprigs of daffodils showing above ground, and this week, when storms knocked over pots planted with tulip bulbs, I saw that beneath the soil, the bulbs had rooted and were beginning to send up shoots. I hope being overturned won’t stunt the growth.

I have no flowers or interesting dried-out sprigs left to display in a vase for Rambling in the Garden – IAVOM. Happily, I do have a few evergreen plants growing in the gardens. I have gathered sprigs of Nandina, English Ivy, Barberry, and Vinca vine inside today’s vase. I also added a dried-out tassels of a Bald Cypress. To add some interest, I plucked Wisteria pods off the bush and added those into the mix.

The bouquet is so-so, but the vase is a treasure I found this week. Searching for unique containers to craft into hanging planters, I stopped at the local Goodwill. Usually, I find junk, and a caution for other treasure hunters; I often have seen Dollar Store items in the Goodwill store marked at $1.99. To be blunt, this always annoys me. I am often tempted to point it out to the manager, but the earnings from Goodwill Industries go to non-profit groups. Many of the stores have very high rents to pay in the shopping centers they are located in. For this reason, I don’t say a word.

Back to the find in the Goodwill, though. I found treasure—two beautiful McCoy Swan Vases. One is pink, and the other is blue. I used the blue vase for today’s arrangement. I do not have an eye for antiques as some do, but I love McCoy pottery, and I am good at spotting that variety.

My beautiful McCoy vase twins are, Whatsoever is Lovely to me—a perfect choice for Xingfu Mama’s Week Two Challenge.