In a Vase on Monday: Peppermint Packs a Punch

I really hadn't a clue what to cut for a vase this week.  We've had a cold snap, with nighttime temperatures closing in near freezing but never quite reaching that point.  But that's cold for us!  While I had no damage here, there were no new flowers bursting forth demanding their moment of glory in a vase either.  I clipped a flower here and a flower there but nothing clicked.  I briefly thought of just stuffing what I had in a vase and calling it done but then I though of the Euryops 'Sonnenchein' tucked down in the area I call my glen.  On the way to clip a few stems, I passed the Pelargonium tomentosum, also known as peppermint geranium, which I'd previously thought of using in one of my Monday-morning vases but hadn't.  Those additions changed a sad arrangement into this:

Very cheerful, don't you think?  Here's what I included:

• Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon
• Anemone coronaria 'Mona Lisa Deep Blue'
• Aster x frikartii 'Monch'
• Euryops 'Sonnenschein'
• Lavandula multifida (aka fernleaf lavender)
• Leucanthemum x superbum, ruffled variety
• Pelargonium tomentosum

The Ageratum looks much better than it did when I planted it last April

The Anemones also like the colder weather

I bought a second Aster in November and wish I'd picked up a third

The Euryops flowered with a flourish within 2 weeks of our early December rainstorms

The ruffled Leucanthemum, a gift form a friend more than 3 years ago, are slowly making an appearance

The peppermint geranium (Pelargonium tomentosum) can hold its own in a vase

The arrangement captured Pipig's interest for a nanosecond, albeit not long enough for me to catch a photo of her inspection.  She was quickly diverted by something outside I could neither see nor hear.

With thanks again to Julie at Gardening Jules for the new moniker, I also have an "experimental vase" this week:

Senecio cineraria and Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium)

(Julie, I finally looked into how to shrink the size of the photos used in my posts so let me know if this post loads more easily for you.)

These are my contributions this week to Cathy's challenge to construct a vase from materials in one's own garden.  Visit her at Rambling in the Garden to discover what she's found and what other contributors have to offer.  Although we complained mightily about the cold here in Southern California, it has been a lot colder in other bloggers' gardens so some participants are pushing the limits to come up with creative options (if the ground around them isn't covered by snow).  As for us, daytime temperatures are expected to get back up close to 80F (26C) by mid-week.


 All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party