In a Vase on Monday: Strange Bedfellows

In creating this week's vase, I knew I wanted to use the beautiful Agastache I picked up on one of the recent plant shopping binges I'd promised myself I was going to avoid this spring.  However, I had no notion as to what to pair with it.  In the end, I made a bold color choice (by my personal standards anyway) and chose flowers that picked up the color of the calyx surrounding the Agastache's flowers, as well as some that played up the warm tones of the flowers themselves.  I'm happy with it but I apologize if the combination scorches your eyeballs.

Back view (with another photobomb by Pipig, who seems to be very jealous of flowers)

Here's what I included:

• Agastache 'Summer Glow'
• Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'
• Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Arizona Apricot'
• Hebe 'Wiri Blush'
• Pelargonium x domesticum 'Rembrandt' 

This beautiful Agastache 'Summer Glow'  with its lemon yellow flowers and purplish calyxes was new to me but I couldn't pass it up when I saw it (even if I struggled to find spots for the 2 plants I brought home)

With its wavy stems and bronze-tinged leaves, Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' makes a great foliage accent

Although Gaillardia 'Arizona Apricot' is taller than G. 'Gallo Peach,' its stems are still relatively short 

I understand that many of Hebe have been reclassified as Veronica but 'Wiri Blush' is a hybrid whose parentage I've yet to discover so I don't know if it's still a Hebe or now a Veronica.  Whichever it is, the flower color picks up the purplish hue of the Agastache's calyxes.  

As does the color of the vibrant and aptly-named Pelargonium 'Rembrandt,' another relatively recent acquisition

I placed the new arrangement in the entryway, displacing last week's arrangement.  As that arrangement was still in very good condition, I moved it to the living room.

Pipig still seems obsessed with this arrangement but at least she hasn't tried to pull it apart again (yet)

I had a group of friends over this weekend and created a splashy, loose bouquet to decorate the dining table, which I'll also share.

The bright white of the Eustoma made taking a good photograph of this vase difficult

It photographed better from the back

I included:

• Agapanthus, blue and white forms
• Eustoma grandiflorum, blue and white varieties
• Jacobaeus maritima (formerly known as Senecio cineraria and commonly known here as dusty miller)
• Prostanthera ovalifolia (aka mint bush)

The Agapanthus were meant to be the stars of this arrangement but I think the Eustoma, particularly the white form, usurped the other elements.  The blue Eustoma are holdovers from last year but their flowers are much smaller this time around.  The white Eustoma is also a holdover but its placement in partial shade appears to have allowed it to return with more vigor this season. 

Cool temperatures and persistent "June gloom" on Saturday led me to move lunch from the outside patio to the dining room at the last minute, side-lining the vase to the kitchen counter during our party so my guests didn't have to peer around it to see each other.

However, the vase returned to the dining table when the party was over

"In a Vase on Monday" is hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  You can see what she's put in a vase - and find links to other participants' creations - here.


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