Monday, September 21, 2015

In a Vase on Monday: The 'Warrior' Steps Aside

Walking through the garden, the only flowers that leaped out at me as prospects for this week's "In a Vase on Monday" post were those on my Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior'.  It isn't the only plant flowering in my garden but it's the only one just beginning it's seasonal bloom cycle.  I thought I'd add a few stems of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Blue' and be done with it but then I noticed one yellow rose and suddenly my vase came together.

Front view

Top view


Here's what I included:

Clockwise from top left: 'Buttercream' rose, Abelia x grandiflora 'Radiance', Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Blue', E. 'Borealis Yellow', Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior', and Salvia 'Mesa Azure' (Included but not highlighted: purple Angelonia)


After our temperatures soared again this past weekend, my yellow rose wasn't in perfect condition but it's still pretty and it has a delicious scent.  The blue and yellow Eustoma are also much smaller than they were during their earlier bloom cycle but, again, still pretty.  The Plectranthus took on a smaller role in the vase than I'd planned but it'll undoubtedly get exposure in one or more future vases.  My biggest problem was finding a place to put the completed vase.  Last week's succulent arrangements are still intact.

The larger succulent creation in the white vase (above, left) spent some time in the sun on the back patio on Friday but it's little worse for the wear; however, I've moved it to the coffee table in the dining room.  The smaller succulent arrangement in the stone vase still sits in the front entry.


The dining table got a new vase last Thursday as I prepared for visitors on Friday.  Perhaps you can guess what I used as a centerpiece for that arrangement?

If you guessed pink Eustoma grandiflorum, you'd be correct.  The vase, shown above from both front and back, contains E. 'Echo Pink', Grevillea 'Pink Midget', silver Leucadendron 'Pisa', and variegated Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'.


If you think that I've exhausted my supply of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Pink' by now, you'd be wrong. 

There's still an ample supply of these flowers left in the garden despite heat, rain and wind.  Growing the Eustoma from small starter plants set in place in early spring seems to be the ticket.


So the new vase ended up on the mantle in the master bedroom.



For more vases created from materials participating gardeners have on hand, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, the host of this popular "In a Vase on Monday" meme.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

28 comments:

  1. My those Eustoma are put to good use there...and I love the yellow rose even if it is fading a bit. Amazing how your succulents look almost as if they are not real...just gorgeous. Love the pink Eustoma vase too! We finally cooled off this weekend to fall temps...low of 44 overnight! The cool breezes are so refreshing and welcoming...I hope you temps cool for you and there is some rain!

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    1. A low of 44F! I can barely remember temperatures that low. It did cool down here this afternoon as the clouds came in but it looks as though the rain to the southeast may pass us by. I'm still holding out hope, though - tropical storm Linda managed to deliver rain a week ago so maybe this storm will come through too.

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  2. Oh my that is so lovely. I love how it came together for you Kris. Great photos too. It was nice to see your Eustoma growing in the garden.

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    1. I added that Eustoma as a filler when that area was torn up to remove a tree (at the request of a neighbor who said it blocked her view). Little did I know just how happy it would be in that location.

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  3. Your vase colors are fabulous, Kris, I love that yellow and purple combination. The Purple Warrior adds such a nice trailing element, I love Plectrantus, they are great house plants. The Eustomas are marvelous as usual, and to see the bed with all the pink ones blooming, you can hardly complain for the lack of roses with such gorgeous flowers. I'm getting sorely tempted by your lovely blooms to try growing them. The pink arrangement is so elegant!

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    1. The Plectranthus is happy enough outside year-round here, Hannah, which goes to show how different our 2 climates are. I brought it with me as a cutting from my former garden and it grows happily as long as it gets afternoon shade.

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  4. I simply have adored all the eustoma you have put in your vases and it was a treat to see how it grows too - I am definitely going to try it from seed for next year. Have you always had it as young plants? The yellow rose, despite the contrast, is a real complementary addition to the mainly blue vase and your pink centrepiece is lovely too. Thanks for sharing

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    1. I tried growing Eustoma (Lisianthus) from seed once and failed. The seed is marketed as requiring skill with seed germination. I'll probably try it again from seed someday as there are bi-color forms that are hard to find as plants but, in the near-term, I'll continue to rely on 6-pack purchases of new plants in early spring.

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  5. Eustoma looks stunning, I have to find out if it grows in my area, it is so beautiful! Love all your vases, but my favourite is the first one.Have a great week, Kris!

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  6. Oh that yellow rose really pulls your vase together Kris and how apt a name. The seashell pyramid container caught my eye too as it's so unusual :)

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    1. There are actually 2 seashell pyramids on the mantle, Anna, but the smaller one was just outside the photo's frame. I've had them for more years than I can count - they were picked up at a craft fair as I recall.

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  7. Yellow and purple is such a grand combination! Your Eustoma grandiflorum continue to amaze.

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    1. I'm thoroughly hooked on those Eustoma flowers, Peter!

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  8. Love the yellow and purple combo. You certainly put all those eustoma to good use. I'll be remembering that tip about small starter plants set out early for next spring, though I won't be setting mine out as early as you will yours.

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    1. The Eustoma will over-winter here, Evan, but the plants are never as vigorous the second year, which I suspect is why they're commonly sold as annuals even here.

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  9. OMG...that photo of the Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Pink' in the ground, that's unreal! It looks like you went and stuck silk flowers in the ground, only better - of course. This plant likes you!

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    1. Even I'm surprised by those pink Eustoma, Loree. Because I bought the plants in 6-packs, I put in more of the tiny starter plants than I usually do with the 4-inch pots. Six-packs are the way to go!

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  10. I'm not only really impressed by the beautiful combination of colours, but to see your Eustoma flowering in the garden, made me literally gasp. So nice to see how they are grown.

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    1. The pink Eustoma seem to be peaking now, Noelle. I'm very pleased with them (even if I'm getting a little tired of using them in my vases).

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  11. I think the yellow rose really lifts the vase - how lucky to find it! I agree that the Eustoma is quite magnificent and lovely to see it in situ in your garden too.

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    1. The roses have done very poorly this year overall due to our water restrictions but that yellow rose, never healthy, still managed to produce a few blooms despite temperatures near 90F (32C).

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  12. Blue and yellow, classic for a reason, it's beautiful. I have at last found a supplier of Eustoma seed, so with any luck I'll be joining you in singing their virtues. They are gorgeous flowers, I just hope mine grow as well as yours Kris.

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    1. You'll have to let us know how it goes with the seed, Christina. I understand that germination can be difficult. I failed with the seed the one time I tried but I'm not especially good at growing from seed to begin with.

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  13. Kris - will your Eustoma come back year after year? They establish as perennials here on occasion (our native blue form at least) and bring welcome blooms when nearly everything else has given it up for the year.

    Gorgeous vases of course - yellow and blue is such a sweet combination!

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    1. The Eustoma are classified as short-lived perennials but are normally grown as annuals here, Deb. I've carried them over from one year to the next in a few cases but their vigor seems diminished in the second year and I haven't discovered the trick to perk them up. I've noticed that the foliage often shifts from a healthy blue-green to a sickly yellowish-green. As the plants generally produce healthy new growth when the stems are cut back to the ground, I'm guessing that the change in the foliage color is the response to stress of some kind - perhaps just the strain of supporting all those flowers!

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  14. The yellow rose is a beauty, but I am even more impressed by your everblooming Eustomas... do they flower all year round? The pink ones are gorgeous. I like the vase you have used this week too. :)

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    1. The Eustoma don't bloom continuously but they do produce periodic flushes of bloom. I think the unexpected rain in July and September may have prompted and supported this latest wave of bloom.

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