I spent a couple of hours working on my back slope on Saturday and, after admiring all the Calla Lilies in bloom there out of view, I felt compelled to use some of them in this week's "In a Vase on Monday." I had a few ideas as to what might be used to complement them but, in the end, I kept the arrangement very simple.
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| Front view: This arrangement is similar to one I created a month ago, albeit without the Moroccan daisies and with a different vase |
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| Back view: Although it's a bit of a shame to cut the long stems of the lilies short, that was necessary in using this ornamental teapot as a vase |
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| Top view |
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| The vase contains just 3 materials: Freesias, Zantedeschia aethiopica flowers, and a few Zantedeschia leaves |
While I appreciate the simplicity of my first vase, with spring in full gear in my garden, I also felt the need to bring some of that riotous color inside. The oldest of my
Grevillea 'Superb' shrubs is now large and floriferous enough to cut long stems so, with those in hand, I hunted down plant material to complement the coral color of the shrub's blooms.
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| Front view: Strong corals and oranges with a touch of yellow as an accent |
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| Back view, showing more yellow color |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Grevillea 'Superb', orange-tinged foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Inca Husky' (shown with a newly opened bud of Papaver nudicaule), Bulbine frutescens, Lobelia laxiflora, Papaver nudicaule, Phlomis fruticosa, and Russelia equisetiformis 'Flamingo Park' |
The vase full of
Leucadendron stems I created over 2 weeks ago still looked good but it got evicted from the dining room table in favor of the vase featuring the
Grevillea flowers. The Calla Lilies sit in the front entryway.
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| Here are the Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' stems photographed on March 3rd (left) and March 19th (right) |
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| And here are the new vases in their places |
For more vases, visit our "In a Vase on Monday" host,
Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, who is also celebrating her 5-year blogging anniversary this week. Better yet, if you have some spring flowers in your garden, create a vase of your own and join the fun.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I love them both! The Calla Lilies are so pristine, and the riot of color is just that. Happy Spring Kris!
ReplyDeleteHappy spring to you too, Loree! I hope the weather is warming up your way!
DeleteGood morning, Kris, looks like we both had the same idea, I also created an arrangement using calla lilies yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love your calla arrangement. Simple, elegant, clean! The yellow freesias are good companions for the callas, as they pick up the yellow of the spadix of the calla lilies in a harmonious way. I also think that the ornamental tea pot is a wonderful choice for a vase to perfectly complement the blooms.
Your calla lily blooms look so much bigger and stronger than mine. Your leaves seem to be a much more darker green as well. I don't think that my callas like the location much where I planted them...
Happy spring to you!
Christina
These calla lilies were probably planted 20 or more years ago, Christina, which may account for their vigor. I inherited them with the house. Mine die down completely in the summer heat, only to reappear each winter following the rains.
DeleteI really should find a spot in my garden to plant some Calla lilies, I think they're hardy here. I love them, and when the flowers are as unmarred as yours, they're just absolutely luscious.
ReplyDeleteThe callas do mar rather easily, Alison, but down at the bottom of the slope they don't get bothered much, which probably keeps them in more pristine shape.
DeleteWow, I envy the Callas, they are gorgeous and I love the teapot as a vase. Gotta find some Grevillas, I think I leave that comment every time I see yours.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interesting to see how Grevilleas do in your climate, Amelia!
DeleteHello Kris,
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving a comment on my blog, which is how I found yours, and, I'm so glad I did! You've taught me the correct name for those white lilies which I assumed were just named "calla lilies". Zantedeschia aethiopica sounds so much more exotic. They grow in my garden with abandon and were likely planted sometime in the 1920's when our house was built. They are as tough as old boots, judging from their vigorous growth, and the fact that I've yet to kill them off. Yours look lovely with the yellow freesias.
They are tough plants, although ours die down to the ground in summer's heat, only to reappear after our winter rains. They also seem to procreate like rabbits!
DeleteTwo very lovely vases, Kris. I think the first with the white lilies is simply stunning and the teapot makes a perfect container. How different your spring flowers are from the ones we grow here in Scotland - so much more exotic.
ReplyDeleteWhat's exotic seems to be a matter of perspective, Elizabeth. Here, herbaceous peonies and flowers like Astrantia strike me as exotic!
DeleteCallas have such a striking purity - they seem to absorb light rather than reflect it. I would have armloads in the house if I had access to them!
ReplyDeleteThe coral vase is stunning as well. Grevillea and Iceland poppies - so lovely!
I was afraid that last week's heat and dry winds would be the end of the Iceland poppies, Eliza, but if anything they seem to be flowering even more heavily than they did during our rainy period.
DeleteI always worry when cutting down long stems but it is much better to do it. The riot of orange and yellow is stylish as is the simplicity of the calla and freesias. The Leucadendron look almost as good as new. My Viola from last week are still very perky which did suprise me, especially after a few got scorched when I let the water level get low. Silly me.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised to hear that your violas are still going strong, Alison. I felt a bit bad about tossing out the remaining Leucadendron stems but I had to make way for the new blooms.
DeleteIt amazes me how pristine your calla lilies are - just so perfect, whereas mine when they arrive are so quickly dog-eared ;) Hey ho! Mind you, your Leucadendron are pretty amazing too for their staying power and it's good to see that you can't resist creating more than one new vase every week and your fiery coral collection is in direct contrast to your cool callas :) Thanks for sharing them all Kris
ReplyDeleteIt's a challenge for me to hold myself to 2 vases a week right now, Cathy! The garden is literally bursting with blooms but, if temperatures spike again as they did last week, that may not be true for long.
DeleteOh both are most striking vases of flowers Kris but the first one is my favourite. Vase and flowers seem to be as one :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I looked at my calla lilies, it just struck me that the teapot would make a perfect companion (even if it meant chopping the stems of the lilies by more than half).
DeleteTwo lovely arrangements. I am smitten with the calla lily arrangement. Had missed your earlier one, I guess when my husband was in hospital, so went back and looked. Really nice and today's is even more spectacular. You certainly have some unique materials to work with.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the complement, Susie. I hope your husband is doing much better now.
DeleteI love your Calla Lilies; I always imagine they need a lot of water but if they grow on your slope that can't be true. I think such strong flowers need the simple treatment, they even look wonderful just on their own, don't they? The second vase is gorgeous too, really bright and cheerful.
ReplyDeleteThe Calla Lilies were a major surprise to me when I moved here, Christina. They appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, following our winter rains that year and they've consistently repeated the performance every year thereafter. They also melt back into the earth quickly when our temperatures soar. The bulbs can clearly tolerate our summer dry conditions protected under the earth.
DeleteI love the simplicity of your first arrangement. It looks good enough to eat,like a beautiful, shiny poached egg. The colours of the second one are fabulous, I covet the gorgeous apricot grevillea.
ReplyDeleteGrevillea 'Superb' is a winner, even when staked against other Grevillea. This spring the flowers seem bigger and more prolific than ever.
DeleteYour pretty teapot vase is lovely, but it's the strong colours that appeal to me this week. The Grevillea is such a great flower for vases, adding both colour and volume, and you seem to have it in flower almost constantly! :)
ReplyDeleteSince Grevillea 'Superb' has reached its current mature size (or what I hope is its mature size!) it has bloomed continuously, Cathy. I can't recall a month it hasn't had flowers during the past year. A couple of the other large-flowered Grevillea, 'Ned Kelly' and 'Peaches & Cream', also flower year-round but not nearly as heavily.
DeleteJust adore those Leucadendrons, Kris, wish they'd grow here as they seem the perfect cut flowers. All your vases are beautiful though. It'll be a while before my Callas will flower, usually in May/June. Wishing you a beautiful spring, Annette
ReplyDeleteBy the time your Callas flower, Annette, mine will probably be gone, Annette. The plants disappear in hot weather almost as quickly as they appear after our winter rains.
DeleteThe Calla arrangement is perfection.
ReplyDeleteThanks HB! Sometimes simple is best.
DeleteGoodness, those arrangements are just simply stunning! I've got calla lilies growing in a water trough in my poly tunnel. I bought them after visiting Ninfa last spring and seeing them growing as a ribbon of white all along the streams. I'm also growing the same phlomis as you and alstroemeria, and is the yellow flower a tree peony? Although mine are not flowering just yet. All the best. Karen
ReplyDeleteIf you're referring to the yellow flower in the front view of the second arrangement, Karen, it's a newly-opened Iceland poppy flower. I WISH I had a tree peony! Herbaceous peonies are impossible to grow here and tree peonies nearly so. I have an Itoh peony hybrid but it hasn't bloomed since it was first planted. I have one obscure Mediterranean peony that has bloomed the past 2 years, producing just one flower each year. Sadly, coastal Southern California can't be considered peony-friendly.
Delete