The seasonal change is in the air. After a miserable heatwave, temperatures here in Southern California have returned to more normal levels. It's possible to work outside without melting and to sleep at night without feeling as though you're roasting on a slow spit. Days are becoming noticeably shorter. Fall arrives in Los Angeles at 7:29pm PDT this evening. The garden is responding. Even the most robust of my summer flowers are tiring out while the first of my fall flowers are making an appearance. It seemed appropriate to note the change with this week's floral arrangement, created in connection with the weekly meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden.
Summer is represented by
Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue,' which has bloomed off and on since early June. Fall is represented by
Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior,' which has just begun to bloom.
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| The Eustoma blooms are smaller now but just as pretty as they were at the start of the season |
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| The delicate lavender-pink blooms of the Plectranthus are coming on in a rush now that the heat has abated |
I added bits and pieces of other plants to add fullness to the arrangement, including:
- Angelonia augustfolia (aka summer snapdragon)
- Leucadendron 'Pisa'
- Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'
- Salvia leucantha (aka Mexican bush sage), also just beginning to flower
- Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum,' which bloomed all summer
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| An Angelonia stem is seen here poking out to the right of the Eustoma |
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| The silvery Leucadendron is beautiful even without flowers |
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| A Salvia stem can be seen above the variegated foliage of the Pseuderanthemum |
Pipig resented the time I spent fussing over flowers, feeling that my time should be devoted to her. She watched me reproachfully during the photographic process until the vase was in place and she had my full attention.
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| She doesn't value plants unless she can chew them |
Do you feel the change in the air?
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have put together to usher in the autumnal equinox.
All material
© 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Kris what a beautiful vase. I love the flowers showing up now especially the pinky purple ones and the foliage...the little white flowers are a great filler and contrast...makes it all pop. Glad the weather is a bit more bearable now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna! Unfortunately, it has warmed up again this week but another cool-down is expected by the weekend. The temperature ups and downs are characteristic of early fall here in SoCal.
DeleteGlad the temperatures are more manageable now for you and the garden. This is a very pretty arrangement Kris I love the foliage of the Leucadendron, it's so shiny a great compliment to the lovely blue of the Eustoma
ReplyDeleteI need to find a spot in the garden for that Leuacadendron - it has been in a pot fall too long.
DeleteIt's been very dry here, but our temperatures are of course nowhere near yours and there were only a few weeks when it was uncomfortably hot (for me, not for everyone though) - so you must be well relieved! You can't go wrong with that eustoma - it has been wonderful! How long has it flowered for? The silvery foliage really draws the other flowers together and was a great choice. Thanks for joining in, as always
ReplyDeleteI first photographed the Eustoma in early June, Cathy, which I suspect means I purchased the plants sometime in May. The other variety, planted from 6-packs, wasn't looking so good but I cut the plants back to the ground and the foliage appears to be making a come-back.
DeleteBless Pipig but how could you ever resist her? :) it never fails to amaze me how you always come up with well coordinated floral arrangements, all sourced from your garden.
ReplyDeletePipig doesn't like to be ignored and she seems to have a special dislike of attention given to plants instead of her - every morning she breaks, chews or otherwise attempts to destroy one of the plants in the bedroom until I get up myself to the kitchen to feed her.
DeleteBeautiful! But what I really enjoyed was all the different shots and cropping you did to focus on different aspects of the bouquet.
ReplyDeleteThe crop function is my favorite photographic technique. My point-and-shoot camera isn't good at close-ups but, by cropping, I can effectively zoom in. One day I really do need to take a class in photography (and purchase a better camera).
DeleteVery nice Kris..I should join in this meme; I do a vase every weekend .
ReplyDeletePlease join, Kathy!
DeleteGorgeous as always, Kris! You always come up with great-looking arrangements from your garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter. It's becoming more challenging each week. I was momentarily tempted to clip a few blooms from a neighbor's shrub this week but I managed to avoid that (this time).
DeletePlectranthus is another new plant for me and it looks so pretty in your vase, reminding me of some basil flowers still going strong here. Lovely arrangement again Kris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy! Plectranthus is a favorite genus of mine and it does very well in this climate. I believe it's related to the coleus.
DeleteWhat a lovely airy vase and a great idea to combine summer and autumn in one arrangement. My garden is certainly showing signs of autumn - I will be interested to see what you are growing as we move into autumn and winter.
ReplyDeleteLately, Julie, I wonder every week if I'm going to find anything to use in a vase - at least anything I haven't already used. We're in the doldrums here at the end of summer and, with temperatures still warm, it may be awhile before we get a lot of fall blooms. Still, this is Southern California and you can find flowers of one kind or another all year, although not perhaps in my garden.
DeleteA lovely arrangement as usual. That Eustoma goes on and on, it is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteNext year: more Eustoma!
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