In a Vase on Monday: Not what I expected

I had a plan in mind for today's vase for the weekly series sponsored by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.   Coreopsis 'Big Bang Redshift' had begun to bloom so I thought I'd make it my focal point, adding the Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' that recently reappeared in the front border and some of the coleus (Solenostemon scuttellarioides) growing in a pot by the front door.  Well, I did cut stems of all those plants but the combination didn't come together as I envisioned.  Instead, what I ended up with was this:

Front view

Back view

My initial combination with the coleus lacked zing so I wandered through the vegetable garden and discovered that more of my red sunflowers were blooming, which set me off along a different path.  Here's what I included in my vase:

Clockwise from top left: Helianthus annuus from my "Drop Dead Red" mix; another darker Helianthus from the same mix; Leucadendron 'Chief'; Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'; Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' with Coreopsis 'Redshift'; and Salvia lanceolata (aka rusty sage), acquired last spring at my local botanic garden  (Included but not highlighted: Ocimum tenuiflorum aka holy basil)

You may have noted that I included another of bloom of what I'd called the "black-hole of sunflowers" in a previous vase post.  That plant is the most vigorous of the sunflowers in my vegetable garden.  It was popular among those who commented on my prior use of the flower and, as some of you predicted, it does become redder as the flower matures, at least as long as it remains in the garden.

Photo of another flower on the same plant that produced both this week's dark sunflower and the one featured in my earlier post, showing much redder color

However, what really makes this week's vase in my opinion, are the stems of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief'.  It's hard to appreciate in the thumbnail photo included in the collage above but you can appreciate the plant's impact when it's viewed in the garden.

Leucadendron 'Chief' showing its summer color in my dry garden (with L. 'Ebony' at its feet)

So what happened to the coleus?  I didn't throw out the stems I'd cut.  They went into a separate vase, along with a very fragrant rose that was blooming all by itself out near the trash cans.

I've never been able to definitively identify this purplish rose - it smells a lot like 'Angel Face' but it doesn't look quite like the flowers I had on that shrub in my former garden.  It's accompanied here by Solenostemon scuttellarioides 'Lava Rose' and pink 'Cut & Come Again' zinnias.

While I was in the vegetable garden cutting those red sunflowers and the pink zinnias, I decided I might as well cut a few of the smaller yellow sunflowers as well.  Yes, this means that, once again, I produced 3 vases this week.

Three Helianthus annuus from the "Florist's Sunny Bouquet" mix with Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' left over from one of last week's vases and Jacobaeus maritima

With summer's heat turning up a notch, the flowers are quickly retreating so this kind of floral overload will soon come to an end.  However, in the meantime, I'm enjoying it.  Here are all three vases in place:

The red sunflower mix landed on the dining table; the yellow sunflowers in the front entry; and the fragrant rose in my office, where I can enjoy its scent

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find still more vases.


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