In a Vase on Monday: Plonked in Place

After an all too brief period of temperatures in the mid-80sF (29C), they soared into the mid-90s (35C) last week and appear to be stuck there.  I made half-hearted attempts at cleaning up a couple areas of my garden but the heat sent me back into the air-conditioned comfort of the house all too quickly.  I did my best just to keep my cutting garden watered on a periodic basis.  Still, I managed to fill two vases with flowers that hadn't withered in place.

The first vase contains two dahlia varieties that have been stingy with with their blooms so far this year.

I didn't do much of anything in terms of arranging the flowers here beyond plonking them in this mug I've always used as a vase.  I let Dahlias 'Enchantress' and 'Mikayla Miranda' carry the show with an assist from Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Purple'.

Back view: what was most incredible was that I'm still getting new stems of foxgloves in this heat! 

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left are: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Dahlia 'Enchantress', D. Mikayla Miranda', Digitalis purpurea in white and purple, and Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Purple'  

The arrangement sitting on the front entry table

The second arrangement features Dahlia 'Nicholas'.  I fell in love with its waterlily-like flowers at first sight but the plant's foliage has presented problems from the outset.  Mildew has gradually become an issue for many of my dahlias this year but none are as sad as 'Nicholas'.  However, although it hasn't produced a lot of flowers, the mildew hasn't tarnished the flowers themselves.

The Dahlia's color mellows as its flower ages.  I paired it with stems of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'.

While many of the dahlias appear to be in retreat, the zinnias continue to pop up here and there in small numbers (without any sign of mildew from them as yet!), and one sunflower stalk is now in bloom, awaiting its turn in the limelight.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other contributors have to share this week.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: 'Omega' has got a glow about it

My current inventory of dahlias is somewhat depleted at the moment. As I've been cutting so many flowers to give away of course I've fewer available when it comes to prepare my weekly "In a Vase on Monday" post. While I don't regret the giveaways, I do regret my failure to photograph them before I pass them along, especially when I've yet to feature them on my blog. One that's previously received little more than a nod is 'Omega', another one in the "dinner plate" category. However, I managed to come up with four of the flowers this week to include in my own vase.

'Omega' has been described online as a "sunset blend of peach, coral, apricot, rose and yellow" and it really does glow in an arrangement

Rear view of the vase featuring 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' Zinnias

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left care: Dahlia 'Omega', Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', Lotus berthelotii (aka parrot-beak), Leucadendron 'Jester', and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'.  The latter has been very useful as a filler this year.

Arrangement in place accompanied by my prop, a mouse flying a butterfly

'Omega' wasn't my first choice for today's arrangement.  I'd wanted to feature Dahlia 'Snowball' paired with Dahlia 'Honeymoon' but I had only two of the former currently in bloom and I discovered that 'Honeymoon' only had buds left after my last giveaway, so that combination will have to wait awhile yet.  However, I did cut a couple 'Snowballs' for a small vase in the kitchen.

Front view of that vase showing Dahlia 'Snowball' and the back view showing Tanacetum 'Aureum' and Zinnia 'Oklahoma White'

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other devotees of this meme found to share this week.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

The stars of my August garden

I had to work harder this month to identify flowers worth crowing about in my garden.  August is generally tough to get excited about as it's commonly among the hottest and driest months for us, if not at the top of that list.  Our lead into summer started out on the cooler end of the spectrum but late July and August seem to be making up for that slow start by delivering soaring temperatures combined with heightened humidity.  But all was not lost as I did find some beauties worth taking about.

At the top of the list are a few surprises.

Protea 'Claire' unexpectedly produced 3 new flowers long after its earlier flush was gone

Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' is also suddenly flowering again

I'd thought that the Agapanthus were all done for the year when these 2 flowered out of the blue (pun intended)

Other standouts were less surprising but nonetheless appreciated.

The Amaryllis belladonna normally bloom around this time of year but somehow always manage to surprise me

Catharanthus 'Blueberry Kisses' continues to impress me.  The hotter it gets, the more vigorously it flowers. 

Daucus carota 'Dara' (aka wild carrot) seems to have no intention of dying back

Grevillea 'Superb' literally NEVER stops blooming in any season.  It's the best shrub I've ever grown.

Hesperaloe parviflora 'Coral Glow' looked like a goner earlier this year but came back after what had appeared to be predation by hungry gophers

The dahlias have slowed down a bit over the past week but I can't say they've thrown in the towel yet.  Although many are battling mildew because I failed to spray for that earlier, I think I can expect another flush of blooms from at least some.

Dahlia 'Admiral Rawlings' is narrow but very, very tall by comparison to all my other dahlias - and unfortunately prone to falling over even with supports

Sold to me as tubers of 'Belle of Barmera', the 2 I received proved to be 'Break Out'.  It was very prolific at the start of the season but it may be close to finishing up now.  It's also lost the pink tinge to its petals over time.

'Enchantress' has always been one of my favorites but the tuber I planted this year been slow to flower this year

'Good Day' is a winner!

Although demure in size, 'Karma Caroline' is elegant in form and color.  It also seems to hold up better than many of the large "dinner plate" varieties.

'Labyrinth' remains another of my favorites.  As the weather has gotten hotter, I've noted that its petals became somewhat smaller but also more buttery in color. 

I still haven't warmed to 'Mystery Day'.  I find myself comparing to 'Catching Fire', which I grew in previous years, and feel it lacking.  The latter was clear red and white in color as opposed to the muddy purple of 'Mystery Day'.

'Omega' is another dinner plate variety, and new to me this year

'Snowball' is pure white and very pretty but also a relatively slow at getting its blooms on

I've had mixed feelings about ''Table Dancer'.  It was slow to bloom but, since it got going, it's been prolific; however, it usually starts out with dingy white petals.  They later take in a lavender hue but seem to dry out and develop brownish petals all too quickly.

I picked up 'XXL Veracruz' on the fly at my local garden center rather than growing it from a tuber as I did with the rest.  Its flowers are smaller than most I've grown this year but it's a nice addition to my collection.

My zinnia seeds were sown even later than my dahlia tubers were planted so I probably shouldn't be surprised that they've been even later than the dahlias to make an appearance but I've been even more disappointed by the relatively small number that germinated.  Still, I'm pleased that I've begun to see a few here and there at last this month.

These are probably 'Illumination', Oklahoma White', and Salmon Rose' but I can't be sure any more.  Only a tiny fraction of the seeds I sowed have bloomed.

I'll close as I usually do with several plants worthy of honorable mentions.

These are Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea bush, left) and Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea' (right)

Clockwise from the upper left are: Crassula pubescens, Lantana camara 'Irene', Leucadedron 'Safari Sunset', Rudbeckia 'Juliana', Salvia canariensis, and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'

That's it for the floral contingent worth sharing this August!

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: A 'Good Day' at Last

No, sadly, I'm not referring to the weather.  It's still uncomfortably hot and humid here.  In this case, 'Good Day' alludes to my use of Dahlia 'Good Day' for this week's 'In a Vase on Monday' post.  This dahlia, new to me this year, has produced more flowers than any single plant in this year's dahlia collection, yet I hadn't made an effort to show it off until now.

My dahlia's color is a muted red but that's reputed to change to a creamy orange later in the season 

Back view: I paired the dahlias with flowers of Grevillea 'Superb' and Tanacetum 'Aureum', as well as stems of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left are: Dahlia 'Good Day', Grevillea 'Superb', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'

There are a few other dahlias that have yet to receive much attention but I'm still waiting for them to shine.  While all have bloomed, some have just brought out a single flower or two at a time.  (I'm looking at you 'Enchantresss'!)  Hopefully the stragglers will come through before the dahlia season ends.  That doesn't usually happen until late September or early October but I failed to spray for mildew and, given the humidity this year, that was a serious omission on my part.  Some of the dahlia foliage already looks sad.

My fingers are crossed that we that we get a bit of cooler weather this week.  The power company has scheduled  a planned outage midweek (in contrast to the three unplanned outages we've already endured this summer) and, as our emergency generator only runs a few appliances (which don't include any of our air conditioning units), a continuation of the 90F/32C temperatures would be far less tolerable than it's been thus far.

Check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to discover what she and other IAVOM contributors have to share this week.

This week's arrangement in place in our front entry

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Unlike me, Dahlias & Zinnias Love the Heat!

Our temperatures are still simmering in the upper 80s to low 90sF (31-33C) and our humidity levels remain high as well.  Spending any time in the garden after 9am is a fools errand, although I admit I've exhibited my share of foolish behavior during the last two weeks.  Even so, my garden's received much less attention than it needs.

This week, it was Dahlia 'Labyrinth' that grabbed my attention.  Although a large number of the blooms were no longer in their prime, there were more than I needed to stuff fill a vase.

This view was intended to be the back of the arrangement but I've given it the front view here as it shows off the beauty of the 'Labyrinth' flowers particularly well

"Back view" of the arrangement showing more dahlias, along with a couple of zinnias.  The zinnia seeds got a very late start this year and, so far, I've been disappointed by the number that germinated given the sheer volume of seeds I sowed, but perhaps they'll surprise me before the season's over.  However, my guess is that the local critters dislodged many of the seeds before they had a chance to get started.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'. Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum', Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', and Z. 'Queeny Lemon Peach' (with a hitch-hiking ant I only noticed belatedly)

The arrangement in place in the front entry (with the zinnias were given more attention)

I cut more flowers than I could use in my vase so the leftovers went into a second, smaller vase.  Although dahlias last far longer in the garden than they do in a vase, I can enjoy them more in the house than in the garden at present as there seems to be little chance of relief from the heat in the near term.

The leftovers include Dahlia 'Omega' (rear left), D. 'Honeymoon' (middle), and another D. 'Labyrinth' (right). 

The fillers, in addition to another 'Giant Salmon' Zinnia and more Tanacetum, includes a spray of the peachy-pink Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', which I discovered in full bloom on a last-minute walk through my back garden yesterday morning.  The Callistemon flowers may conceivably be dried-up and brown by next week. 

Of late, I've been cutting flowers and giving them away in record numbers to friends and neighbors.  That provides it's own source of enjoyment when I'm unable to actually work in the garden itself.

To see what others have found to enjoy in their gardens, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and others have found to brighten their hot summer days.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: It's still hot

The weather hasn't gotten any better here since last week.  It's still miserably hot and humid, and I remain closeted in the house most days. I attempted some minor chores in the heat late Saturday afternoon but I held out for only an hour.  On Sunday, I took a twenty minute walk in the early morning, cut some flowers, and that was it for the day.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any relief in the ten-day forecast either.  However, the dahlias remain a source of beauty, even if the gardener is a sad sack.

All my dahlias have now at least made an appearance.  I handed off nearly a dozen stems of 'Break Out' to a friend up the street a couple days ago, yet that plant is still so top heavy it threatens to topple over in its half-barrel container.  Nonetheless, this week for In a Vase on Monday, I cut flowers from other plants that showed up more recently.

The dahlias featured in this arrangement are 'Mikayla Miranda', one of my favorites among those I've previously grown, and 'Table Dancer', which is new to me.  It took me a little time to warm up to the latter as that one starts out a dingy white before it develops purplish streaks, although mine aren't as vivid as many I've seen in online photos.

Back view: I used foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) again this week to fill out the vase

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', D. 'Table Dancer', Digitalis purpurea, Tanacetum partheneum 'Aureum', and Zinnia 'Oklahoma Ivory'

As usual, the arrangement landed in the front entry

I cut a few blooms from another dahlia for a second small arrangement too.  This one is called 'Nicholas'.  I love its shape and color, although its foliage isn't looking all that spiffy.

I supplemented the 3 butterscotch-colored dahlias with more Tanacetum 'Aureum' and a couple stems of Lotus berthelotii  

For other IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to discover what she and other contributors have to share this week.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party