Monday, July 20, 2015

In a Vase on Monday: Sunny days are here again

Like last week's vase, this week's creation for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in a Garden, started with a sunflower.  In addition to seeds in the "Drop Dead Red" mix that produced last week's sunflower, I planted seeds of a more conventional mix, labeled "Florist's Sunny Bouquet."  Like the sunny sunflower this mix produced, everything in the garden is happy right now as we got a thorough soaking from Tropical Storm Dolores this weekend - hip hip hooray!


Back view


Here's what I used:

Helianthus annuus, the first bloom from the "Florist's Sunny Bouquet" seed mix

Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach', which has been producing a continuous supply of blooms since I put in 5 plants back in January

Solanum xanti had to be cut back this week because it's starting to flop over on its neighbors, making it a perfect candidate for my vase

This self-seeded Tanacetum parthenium (feverfew) flowered last week in the vegetable garden


For something completely different, I loaded each of the photos shown above into "Deep Dream" software using technology created by Google to support machine learning.  You can read more about the software here.  I learned of it through an excellent post by Gerhard at Succulents and More, which you can read here.  His images are more extreme (spooky!) than mine.

I think the converted photos look rather like paper cut-outs of flowers (I used Dreamscope's app, which offers multiple options, including the Art Deco one I selected)


What do you think?  Is this interesting or just plain weird?

Meanwhile, the completed vase sits on the dining room table.  I hope this week's sunflower doesn't drop its head within a day like last week's flower did.



Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find more floral creations.


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

33 comments:

  1. That's a very nice choice and good to have it as a stand alone complemented by the smaller blooms.

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    1. A few others bloomed today but this is still the prettiest one I think.

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  2. Lucky you indeed, having some rain, no sign here of any to come in the near future. Love your sunflowers, I think they need a long drink in a deep bucket before arranging if it is hot. I must get a Solanum other than my white, they do flower so consistently I like how the sunflower looks in the treated images but I'm not so sure about the Solanum..

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    1. It might be fun to play around with the different options provided by the Deep Dreams app. I only tried a few images and used the Art Deco option for all but one. The exception was a photo of my cat - my husband thinks she's a demon so I applied that option but neither of us was especially impressed..

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  3. Kris I love this sunflower. I have been impatient waiting for my sunflowers to flower so I can put them in a vase. Soon I hope. And the addition of the purple and white blooms is perfection. Love the feverfew! And I saw you got some much needed rain.....I was doing a happy dance for you.....

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    1. The happy dance is much appreciated. I was thrilled by the rain. My 3 rain collection tanks are almost completely full. (The 265-gallon tank could have used just a touch more rain.)

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  4. Your selection of flowers is delightful. I was only looking at a Gaillardia plant yesterday, and hesitated, now I am really interested. It is both bright and soft at the same time.

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    1. The Gaillardias, which have good drought tolerance, have done really, really well here. They hold up pretty well in vases too.

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  5. Interesting and weird, the pictures in the mosaic make rather pretty patterns. I love your colour scheme with cheery sunflowers and Gaillardia. The Solanum is perfect with them.

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    1. Some of the options available with that app are definitely weirder than others. I think the sunflower turned out best and suspect that was because the flower has very symmetrical dimensions.

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  6. Such nice arrangement Kris. Amazing sunflower--such rich color. And you have to love a plant like your gaillardia that blooms so long. I saw some "Deep Dream" images of people that were freaky, but the flowers are more interesting.

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    1. I think the options you choose with the Deep Dream software make a big difference, as does the symmetry of the original image. The image of my cat I converted using the demonic option wasn't particularly interesting.

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  7. Those Deep Dream images are really intriguing - it would be fun experimenting I think... It is such a sunny vase - and your sunflower looks huge against the gaillardias, doesn't it? I think I dunked mine in boiling water fro 20 seconds or so last week and they certainly lasted several days and perhaps might have lasted longer if I had realised the water had all gone :( I am so glad you got a soaking to take the edge off your heat and refresh your garden - you will always need it more than we do.

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    1. I thought about trying boiling water on the sunflower stem but didn't take the time. Next time perhaps. The rain was wonderful!

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  8. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first! I had to go and check out Gerhard's post. So interesting! I like them a lot.

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    1. My photos weren't nearly as extreme as Gerhard's with the eyeballs and dog faces.

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  9. Great vase! The altered photo's look like they have been embossed.

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    1. That's a good description of the app's effect, Jill.

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  10. I like your vase, Kris, it is so summery!

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    1. Thanks Anca. Our skies are still gloomy gray so the bright vase is particularly nice to see.

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  11. Beautiful vase. I love the effected photos. They look like fabric appliqued versions

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    1. That's another great description of the effect, Gina. I'm glad you liked them. They were easier on the eye than the effect achieved using some of the other options.

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  12. Gosh Kris, great that you can grow sunflowers from seeds like the one from today's bouquet. I like the combination of the sunflower with the Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach' and the feverfew quite a bit. It is totally amazing to me the gaillardia is blooming since January for you. That is my kind of plant ;-)! I think that 'Gallo Peach' is an extra beautiful variety.
    Warm regards,
    Christina

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    1. 'Gallo Peach' is probably my favorite Gaillardia, Christina. It's only fault is its relatively short stems. I think the regular dead-heading is what keeps the plant blooming like a powerhouse.

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  13. I always love to see your beautiful flower arrangements. It sounds as though you got the benefits of Dolores without the destructive flooding. How nice! -Jean

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    1. There were no serious flooding or mudslide issues in out area but even that amount of rain brings problems in California - a bridge along one major highway between LA and Las Vegas blew out, among other things, but no serious injuries I've heard of.

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  14. I love that big/little combination of sunflower and Gaillardia :) Such a sunny collection of flowers - I can tell your garden must be smiling...!

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  15. That Gallo Peach is a stunner - especially in combination with the Solanum. What a fun app - your blooms suddenly look like they've been rendered in glass or ceramicized. I'll have to check that out!

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    1. And I almost forgot! I'm so happy for your much needed rain. Here's to nearly full rain barrels!

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    2. The rain was the highlight of the weekend, Deb!

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  16. Oh, I wish someone could blow the tail-end of Dolores over to London, we could do with a good soak! Your vase is gorgeous, I have sunflower withdrawal symptoms as I have none this year because I moved house – seeing yours put a smile on my face today :-)

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    1. It would be nice if Mother Nature could be more thoughtful about spreading rain benefits about, Helene. I'd trade you a few of my sunflowers for your lilies if I could.

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