Monday, March 13, 2017

In a Vase on Monday: Surprise!

The surprise is that I have only one vase to offer this week.  No, there's no shortage of plant material in my garden.  Regardless of what the calendar says, it's spring here in coastal Southern California and there are flowers aplenty.  However, I had a very busy weekend so I cut and assembled my arrangement on the run.  It didn't help that I lost an hour with the start of daylight saving time either.  Despite the rush, I'm pleased with how my vase turned out.  It helps that it features one of my very favorite color combinations.

Front and center are a Dutch Iris than only just opened Sunday morning and a stem of deep blue Pericallis that I planted last spring.  No one is more surprised than I am that the latter plant, sold here as an annual, has survived to bloom another year.

Back view, showing off the yellow Freesia and Osteospermum '4D Silver'

The top view highlights the Dutch Iris.  I think I had just a single bloom last year but I already have 5 buds this year.  Rain clearly makes a difference!

The vase contains: Top row - noID Ceanothus, Coriandrum sativum, and white Freesia
Middle row - yellow Freesia, Iris x hollandica, and Lavandula multifida
Bottom row - Osteospermum '4D Silver', Pericallis (Senetti hybrid), and Ranunculus asiaticus


As I still have the simple vase of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' stems on the dining table, that space is acceptably dressed.  (I hate to breakfast alone!).  The new vase landed in the front entryway.



For more vases, visit our "In a Vase on Monday" host, Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

32 comments:

  1. Yes, definitely a winning combination of colours and blooms - and that osteospermum is most attractive. I am glad you are having success with some things unexpectedly overwintering, even if you can't grow tulips ;)

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    1. It's probably greedy of me to want to grow tulips (and peonies!) when I'm already lucky to grow so much but I can't help myself, Cathy.

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  2. That Osteospermum '4D Silver' is lovely. I had no idea what it was. You always have such wonderful bouquets that one is more than enough for us this week!

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    1. I've always loved Osteospermum, Linda, but the new '4D' varieties offer the advantage of remaining open in low light, making them great for vases.

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  3. It's a classic colour combination of beautiful blooms. Osteospermums are one of my favourites, I'm sure they've all enjoyed the rain. We have more and more in bloom here every week, mostly on the small side so far, but what a joy.

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    1. It's like that here too, Alison - I'm surprised by something new in bloom every time I walk through the garden. I discovered an unusual Salvia I planted last April blooming for the very first time just yesterday.

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  4. This is so gorgeous Kris. The Dutch Iris is a treat and all the other blooms work well together. The vase is such an elegant piece.

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    1. I was very surprised by how robust the Dutch Iris are this year, Susie. I almost pulled out the lot last spring when the clump yielded just one decent bloom.

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  5. A beautiful arrangement, Kris! Blue, yellow and white can't be beat. The pericallis has its own light!

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    1. That little Pericallis is a mini-miracle, Eliza! I wish I hadn't pulled the rest of them last year when they finished blooming and became untidy.

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  6. As we await another 2 feet of snow,I'm getting my spring fix from your flowers. Thank you! I love the deep blue of the iris, and that is a very pretty variety of osteospermum. -Jean

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    1. Oh, Jean, I'm sorry winter is delivering another wallop of snow to Maine! I hope the morning newscasts are more hyperbole than fact.

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  7. Beautiful, beautiful! I love "Dutch" Iris.

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    1. I came very close to pulling out those Iris last year, HB. Pretty as they are, they're certainly not drought-proof. This year's rain made such a difference.

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  8. Glorious. Great color combination & sweet flowers. Well done on the run or not!

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    1. My vases may be better when I don't have much time to put them together, Peter. It limits the vase stuffing.

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  9. THAT IS GORGEOUS!!! I love how you spotlight photographed each contributor as well. All together, from every angle, that is a show stopper!

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  10. Are you sure you don't have a cutting garden farm somewhere close by? The number of gorgeous blooms you manage to come up with, week after week...we'll its nothing short of amazing.

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    1. It's funny, Loree - I turned the 3 raised planters in my "vegetable garden" over for use in growing cut flowers but the majority of what I cut still comes from the main garden areas.

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  11. Blue and white is one of my favourite combinations too; I don't know the Pericallis, that's a winner of a colour too.

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    1. Pericallis is generally sold as "florist's Cineraria" here, Christina, although the Senetti hybrids are generally distributed under the current genus.

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  12. I am just amazed at how you deliver such gorgeous arrangements every Monday. Were you by any chance rushing out to the desert to see the gorgeous flowering. I wish I could see it but TV will have to suffice.

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    1. How funny that you mention that, Jenny. I have an invitation to join friends tomorrow for a trip out to Borrego Springs to see the wildflowers - it's a long trip that will use up the entire day and I haven't definitively decided yet.

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  13. It's a beauty - love the blue and white! Your pericallis is wonderful :) And your Dutch iris... I can't get mine to flower well, though they grow into large and vigorous plants. I've been thinking soil deficiencies, but your comment makes me think perhaps they need a different watering regimen.

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    1. I'd say water/rain made all the difference for the Dutch Isis this year, Amy. They're planted in an area on drip irrigation and, during the drought, I think they were water-starved.

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  14. Blue and yellow shout spring is here for me, and that iris is beautiful at the centre. Lovely to see those pretty Osteospermums too. You have got me thinking about what to put in my summer pots, and I have only just planted a couple for spring! LOL!

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    1. We operate on an accelerated seasonal schedule here in Southern California, Cathy! With temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80sF (29+C), it's already beginning to feel a little like summer here.

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  15. Oh such a fresh and cheery colour combination Kris which is hard to beat. I like your little mouse atop the butterfly.

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    1. I've had the mouse forever, Anna. He was given to me as a Christmas ornament but he's pretty heavy for the tree and works well as a spring accent.

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  16. that yellow blue and white in an iris is one of my favourite combinations.

    From - Robert Goddard - Caught in the light
    Iceland was a place like no other I'd ever been.
    I filled film after film with hallucinatory images
    of glacial white
    and sulphurous yellow
    and deep drowning blue.

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    1. A lovely poem, Diana! Thank you for sharing it.

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