Monday, July 14, 2014

In a Vase on Monday: Slim Pickings

The flush of early summer blooms has waned and the flowers that really love the heat are just getting started, which left me with slim pickings for today's bouquet.  As this is probably my last opportunity to construct a bouquet around my Agapanthus, I selected 2 fresh blooms to be the centerpiece of this week's vase, prepared in connection with Cathy's "In a Vase on Monday" meme at Rambling in the Garden.  I picked pink and purple blooms to accompany them this week.

Front view

Back view



Here's what I included:

2 stems of Agapanthus (no ID)

2 stems of a late blooming Alstroemeria (no ID) and 4 stems of Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'

2 stems of Pelargonium peltatum (no ID) and 1 stem of Cerinthe major

2 stems of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo Blue,' which is smaller than the 'Borealis Blue' previously featured

3 small stems of Sollya heterophylla (and one stem of Digitalis purpurea)


I love Sollya heterophylla but I've yet to find an effective way to use it in a vase.  The flowers appear in small clusters here and there along twisting stems.  I haven't grown this shrub in many years because it managed to strangle a young tree planted nearby in my former garden but there's no chance it can strangle the full-grown Ablizia julibrissin soaring above this one.  However, now the stems are twining around themselves, making them difficult to cut and untangle.  Perhaps I'll be better able to make use of the cut stems when the shrub reaches its mature size.

This week's bouquet ended up in the front foyer.




 To see Cathy's composition this week and find other gardeners' arrangements, click here.

16 comments:

  1. I really like that, strong colours but nicely balanced. Pretty!

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    1. Thanks Janet! The dark pink Pelargoniums were a last minute addition when I couldn't find any muted pink flowers suitable for cutting.

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  2. Oh who needs crocosmia when you can grow such beautiful agapanthus?!! Most UK gardeners will struggle with them and certainly not want to use them in a vase if they only have a handful. They look stunning and the shades of reds and pinks you have included create a great colour scheme, and that Eustoma is beautiful! :) Very lovely, Kris, and thanks for joining in and sharing your vase

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    1. Sadly, Agapanthus season is pretty much over here, Cathy. Finding flowers suitable for cutting may get harder in the coming weeks.

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  3. Ah! I was going to use an Agapanthus today as there was as broken stem in the garden, in the end I mixed it with some sunflowers and used them in another vase. I like the mix of strong colours you've used today Kris, you have a great eye for what will work.

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    1. Sunflowers were my other contender for this week's vase - you may see them next week.

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  4. I love your dynamic colors. The Agapanthus and Pelargonium peltatum are especially lovely.

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  5. Kris I adore Agapanthus and can't grow it so I loved seeing it in your gorgeous vase...a perfect selection of colors for the vase too. Love your blog!!

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    1. Thanks, Donna. Agapanthus is so common here that it's sometimes maligned but I think it's beautiful (which is a good thing because I have a lot of them).

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  6. Lovely bright colours and the Agapanthus is beautiful! I had never thought to use Cuphea, which I have in a pot this summer, so good to know it can be cut too. Love the toad in the last photo! ;-)

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    1. Cuphea makes a pretty good cut flower, Cathy, especially if you cut fairly fresh stems.

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  7. How lovely. You always have such gorgeous colours in your vases. I can' t resist blue flowers, your Agapanthus are gorgeous. I grow my large flowered ones in pots as they are not reliably hardy here. I love the bluebell creeper , Sollya. No chance of it taking over a tree here, it is a conservatory plant. It is so dainty and pretty.

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    1. I'm still keeping a close watch on the Sollya, Chloris - even though it has no chance of strangling the Albizia, who knows what else it could tackle as it spreads. However, if I decide it can be reliably controlled, I may get more as it seems able to handle both heat and a degree of drought.

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  8. Another gorgeous creation, Kris! You're magic with cut flowers!

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