In a Vase on Monday: Split Personalities

We woke up to rain on Sunday, which was an auspicious way to start the day, or so I thought.  I took advantage of a break in the weather mid-morning and cut flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the weekly meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  As the Leucadendron 'Chief' in my dry garden was in full "bloom" I went out with a plan to build a vase around its flower-like stems.

The cones and yellow bracts of Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' make a splash in my dry garden in winter

Instead, I end up with an arrangement with a split personality.

As this front view shows, the left and right sides of this vase look very different

The top view emphasizes this.  I tried mixing the stems together differently but it didn't help.

In theory, I thought the colors of the 3 plants would complement one another but they demonstrated dysfunctional behavior when combined.  Left to right, the plants are: Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite'.

In retrospect, I think I probably should have left well enough alone and let the Leucadendron 'Chief' stand on its own.

The lighter pink tones in the Leucadendron weren't strong enough to balance the dominant pink color of the Leptospermum

I've gotten used to having more than one vase to add color to the house so I wandered beyond my dry garden and found materials for another vase.  Its dissociative identity disorder is less pronounced.

The white and blue daisies struggle a bit for dominance in the vase but neither really overwhelms the other

View from the top

Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: Pericallis x hybrida (aka florist's cineraria), Argyranthemum frutescens, Lavandula multifida, Lobularia maritima (alyssum), and rosemary

After another round of rain, the noID Narcissus by the back door was flattened so I ended up with a third vase.

I couldn't leave the Narcissus plastered to the pavement like this

Pipig expresses curiosity (or is it jealousy?) about the vase on my desk

Unfortunately, the rainstorm that started our day deposited far less rain than was forecast, at least in our location.  We received only 0.20 inches of rain but we got lots and lots of wind.  The wind pushed the rain right out of here but that's not all it pushed.  I walked into the living room mid-day to see this:

The wrought iron screen on the side patio collapsed, knocking over the pots at its base

It wasn't as bad as I initially thought.  Amazingly, none of the pots broke.  The pink Echeveria 'Afterglow' had just one broken leaf and an Aloe vera lost the tips of a few leaves.  However, the Hoya carnosa that grew up the heavy screen broke at the base.  We righted the screen and tied it to the patio post.  I took cuttings of the Hoya but I think I'll try replacing it with another vine in this location.  Although the Hoya bloomed reliably, its leaves were sun-bleached so I'll plant the cuttings in a more shaded setting.

After the clean-up, almost as good as new (except for the Hoya vine)

With that chore dispatched, I took shelter from the wind inside, spending the afternoon catching up on a household chores.  It's no way to spend a Sunday afternoon but at least I have a clean start to the week!  I also found appropriate spots for my vases to sit.

The mixed up Leucadendron/Leptospermum vase sits on the dining table

The blue and white arrangement sits in the front entry

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have brought inside to add cheer.  The signs of spring are out there!


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party