In a Vase on Monday: A Lopsided Arrangement

The flowers on 3 of my Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame' were past their prime.  The bulk of the lower petals had dropped off, leaving just the tops of the tall bloom stalks intact.  They needed to be cut back but the flower tips were still pretty so into a vase they went.  The color of the flowers is relatively unusual so I had to scour the garden for the right accents.

I selected 3 stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' as the foliage accent and several stems of Argyranthemum frutescens 'Madeira Red' as a floral accent.  While the colors blended well, the combination of all those the red tones made the arrangement feel heavy, almost leaden.  So, I moved the Argyranthemum to the back of the arrangement and tucked in Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum' up front to brighten things a bit.

Close up showing Argyranthemum 'Madeira Red' and the stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'

Close up of Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' and golden feverfew

There's been something of a Digiplexis backlash here.  Declared the "it" plant last year, within months it went from being hard to find to everywhere you look.  Despite its overexposure, I have to say I like it a lot.  The orange and pink of the flowers is undeniably pretty and it has proven heat-hardy in my garden thus far.  Even when our temperatures hit record highs here, both flowers and foliage remained in great condition.  I think I probably should have cut the central flower spikes back sooner to promote earlier side growth but that's a lesson I can act on next year.

Close up photo of Digiplexis 'Illumination Flame'

While I like the color combinations in this bouquet, the heavy stems of the Leucadendron created a lopsided display.  In retrospect, I think a more delicate foliage accent, like Abelia, would have been a better choice.  I futzed with it for a while, then decided to let it be.  This asymmetrical arrangement is my contribution to Cathy's meme at Rambling in the Garden, which celebrates flowers cut from materials on hand in one's own backyard (or front yard, as the case may be).  Click here to see Cathy's floral concoction this week and to find links to other gardeners' floral creations.