I have only 2 varieties of lilies in my garden, one is an unnamed light pink variety that bloomed exceptionally early this year and the other is
Lilium 'Stargazer,' which I planted from bulbs the first year we lived in our current house. In the border, the plants have a very formal appearance that make them look a bit out of place, which may explain why I'm not particularly hesitant about cutting them for a vase. I'd hoped that their bloom period would coincide with the appearance of white roses or white Lisianthus, but this didn't happen so I had to look further afield for suitable companions.
Here's what I used this week:
- 2 stems of Lilium 'Stargazer'
- 3 stems of Asparagus 'Sprengeri' (at least I think that's what it is)
- 3 stems of Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'
- 2 stems of Pentas lanceolata 'Nova'
- 2 stems of Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'
- 1 stem of Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Kong Jr. Green Halo'
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| The 'Stargazer' lilies are smaller this year than last - too little water perhaps |
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| The asparagus fern I inherited with the house works well in bouquets if you can put up with its tiny thorns |
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| Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' has proven to be drought tolerant as well as pretty |
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| Pentas 'Nova' grows taller than other varieties, although I think it wants more water than it has been getting |
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| 'Kong Jr. Green Halo' coleus is doing well in a pot in partial shade |
My bouquet ended up on the dining room table this week, as part of a possibly fruitless effort to keep my cat from chewing on the asparagus fern. She doesn't jump on the dining room table (at least I've never seen her do so) but she does like to hang about in the foyer.
I had some floral rejects again this week, which ended up in my small pink glass vase. I cut more of the
Amaranth I featured last week and, while it linked with the color of the lilies, it added a somber note to the combination that I didn't care for. The
Amaranth was paired with 3 more stems of the
Echinacea 'Cheyenne Spirit' and the
'Inky Fingers' coleus from last week, which was still in good condition. I placed it on the foyer table even though it's small in scale.
These are my contributions to Cathy's "In a Vase on Monday" meme at
Rambling in the Garden.
Visit her webpage to see what she's put together this week (while traveling) and to find links to other floral concoctions.
Love the fo-yay bow-kay ... that dark red is a favorite flower color of mine. I see that your garden survived the storm enough to have blooms. Did you get any 1) rain, 2) thunder or 3) lightning?
ReplyDeleteWe heard thunder off and on for a few hours on Sunday afternoon, Jane, but I didn't see any lightening or, regrettably, any rain (despite the fact that Venice beach where the deadly lightening struck is only 1/2 an hour away). I've continued to ratchet back the water here and I am experiencing more plant losses as a result so the blooms may be fewer as summer progresses.
DeleteGorgeous flowers in a beautiful arrangement. I have nothing worth picking in my garden. Everything is hunkering down in the heat and humidity. So nice to enjoy yours.
ReplyDeleteWe've had more humidity here, which is unusual as well as uncomfortable, but the temperatures haven't gone above the mid-90s since May. I've been trying to cut back the water the garden receives, though, so I may be making bouquets out of succulent cuttings soon...
DeleteWow! The combination of the lilies with the coleus makes a bold statement which is gorgeous and the smaller flowers and fern foliage soften it beautifully! You're magic!
ReplyDeleteI think the coleus breeders have gone crazy developing new varieties, Peter - some are as pretty as flowers (or maybe prettier).
DeleteHi - did you know your last week's vase post was re-blogged with no reference to you as if it was the blogger's own? I don't know if Blogspot notifies you of anything re-blogged, like WordPress does. Your vases are a real encouragement to us in the use of colour, mixing colours that we might not have considered and showing us that it works - not to mention the subtle balancing in terms of height and width and the like, for which you clearly have a natural eye. I used to feel that my better vases were happy accidents, but I believe I am getting better at recognising whether a vase works and tweaking it as necessary. Your vase looks even better against the darker colour of your table and your 'reject' vase is gorgeous, definitely deserving its spot on your little table :)
ReplyDeleteNo, Cathy, I didn't know about the re-blog and haven't found it (yet). Thanks for the heads-up. I checked Blogger but couldn't find advice on the subject so I submitted an inquiry to the Blogger Help Forum. Pretty tacky to do that without attribution. I've been getting mountains of spam too, so this doesn't make me happy to say the least.
DeleteThanks for your kind remarks about this week's vase - and thank you for hosting even while you're on vacation!
Good to know the Stargazer lilies flower much later than the others, Perhaps I'll find some to plant here. I love the Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' , I would love to have that in the garden, the colour is amazing and I'm always looking for new drought tolerant plants. The Coleus is rather special too.
ReplyDeleteI love that Cuphea, Christina - it's not a show-stopper on its own but it's great at playing 2nd fiddle to other flowers. I got mine from a Northern California nursery (Annie's) by mail order but I've also seen what appears to be an identical plant labeled as C. 'Kristin's Delight' if you want to look for sources in your part of the world.
DeleteTalk about high impact, with the liliums combined with the coleus, gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThat coleus has gained a surprising amount of attention! The pictures of it on-line seem to have a lot less yellow than the 2 I have in pots here.
DeleteKris, you always have such beautiful and varied materials to include in your arrangements. Love the stargazers and that is a striking coleus.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susie! The relative shortage of floral material forces creativity, I guess.
DeleteWow! The 'Kong Jr. Green Halo' is quite striking in the arrangement. I love the way it complements the other plants, especially the lilies.
ReplyDeleteAlso, regarding your comment on my last post about Stromanthe tricolor, it is in fact a tropical plant that I bring inside for the winter. No way would it survive my winter!
Thanks for the heads-up about the Stromanthe, Deb. It would be depressing if I found it only to kill it.
DeleteHow lovely! I adore that cuphea in with the Stargazer lilies. bravo, beautifully done
ReplyDeleteThanks Deanne!
DeleteVery nice Kris ! The colors are just right..clever to add that Coleus !
ReplyDeleteThe coleus was a last minute addition (again) but it seems to have hit the mark, Kathy.
DeleteOh I adore that combination Kris! Although I have to admit to a laugh when reading 'Kong Jr. Green Halo'...who names these things!?
ReplyDeleteI have a little info to share with you regarding blogger and how to handle someone stealing your material, as well as a question for you about your photos. Can you email me? spiky plants at gmail dot com (with no spaces and the appropriate changes).
Thanks again for the input, Loree.
DeleteVery creative ideas. I would have never thought to cut my coleus to put in a vase with flowers.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! David/:0)
The coleus not only looks good - it generally lasts longer than the rest of the materials. In fact, it will root if the water is kept fresh.
DeleteI love the asparagus fern, such a fresh green and interesting texture. And I don't know what it is, but I prefer your "rejects" vase again! I think because of the echinacea, which I love.
ReplyDeleteI like the Echinacea too, Janet - I just have trouble selecting the right foil for it from my garden.
DeleteKris what a stunning vase....the Kong Jr. Green Halo' really makes this vase pop with those lilies as stars!! The vase has a place of honor on your table which is most appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI think the coleus is getting more attention than the lilies, Donna - it seems to be catching everyone's attention.
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