This month, I'm featuring some of my favorite plant combinations for Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens. I've also added a floral bouquet for In a Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden. I've used collages in most cases but, be warned, this is still a photo-heavy post.
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| Only one of my large-flowered bearded Iris have bloomed thus far. Iris germanica 'Haut les Voiles' is shown here with Alstroemeria 'Claire', Euphorbia 'Blue Lagoon', Anagallis monellii, and Lobelia erinus. |
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| The mass of Achillea 'Moonshine' is probably the most dramatic element in my back garden at the moment. Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' and Geranium 'Tiny Monster' (photo upper right) provide accents on one side while Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' and Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow' (lower right) offer accents on the far side. |
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| Clockwise from the upper right, the bed adjacent to the back patio on the north side contains: Anigozanthos 'Yellow Gem', Gaillardia aristata 'Gallo Peach' (shown with blue and yellow violas), Leucadendron 'Pisa', self-seeded California native Solanum xanti, and Tanacetum niveum |
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| This bed directly across from the previous one contains: a noID yellow-red Anigozanthos, Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Lantana camara 'Irene', and Lobelia laxiflora. After more than a year in the ground, Leucospermum 'Brandi' in the same bed still isn't blooming but at least the plant seems healthy. |
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| I took the photo on the left from the dirt path just inside the hedge surrounding the main level of the back garden looking toward the house. The bed in the foreground contains: the fading flowers of Pelargonium cucullatum 'Flore Pleno', Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa' and no ID Scabiosa (row, top right). The bed in the background contains: Santolina chamaecyparissus, Lobelia valida 'Delft Blue', and Santolina rosmarinifolia (row, lower right). |
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| The floral highlights of this area are (bottom row): Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Nierembergia linarifolia 'Purple Robe' and Ozothamnus diosmifolius |
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| These photos show 2 sides of the arbor between my vegetable-turned-cutting garden and the dry garden on the northeast side of the house. The vines in flower over the arbor are: dark pinkish-red Pelargonium peltatum, Trachelospermum jasminoides, and Pandorea jasminoides. |
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| I don't have a good photo that captures all of the blooms on the steep back slope but, clockwise from the left, the blooms there include: Bignonia capreolata (first 2 photos), a very happy artichoke, Centranthus ruber, Drosanthemum floribundum, Oenothera speciosa, and Romneya coulteri. I inadvertently omitted photos of Pelargonium 'White Lady' and Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid' but they're still in full bloom on the slope too. |
There are also some heavy bloomers with a presence in spots throughout the garden.
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| Clockwise from the left: Dorycnium hirsutum (aka Hairy Canary Clover), Gaura lindheimeri, Gazania 'White Flame', Gazania 'Yellow Flame', Pelargonium peltatum, Pelargonium "Georgia Peach' (one of several of the Regal Geraniums currently in bloom), and noID Violas. |
And, as usual, I have a few color collages of flowers I didn't manage to work into the preceding collections.
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| Top row: Aquilegia 'Spring Magic', Catananche caerulea, and Cynoglossum amabile Middle row: Eryngium alpinum, Limonium perezii, and skunky smelling Plectranthus neochilus Bottom row: Salvia 'Mystic Spires', Verbena bonariensis, and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' |
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| Top row: Cistus ' Grayswood Pink', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', and noID Dianthus Middle row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Hesperaloe parviflora 'Brakelights', and Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' Bottom row: noID rose, Salvia lanceolata, and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' |
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| Tow row: Aloe 'Rooikappie', noID Calendula, and thuggish Cotula lineariloba Middle row: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire, Hemerocallis 'Elizabeth Salter', and noID Lonicera Bottom row: Rosa 'Golden Celebration', Rosa 'Joseph's Coat', and Tagetes lemmonii |
Finally, to close the Bloom Day portion of this post, here's a look at some of the blooms that signal summer's arrival here:
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| Clockwise from the left: the first of 200+ Agapanthus, Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lilies), Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Globularia x indubia (or what I call "hairy blue eyes"), dwarf Jacaranda 'Blue Bonsai', Leucanthemum x superbum, and recent purchase, Leucospermum 'High Gold' |
Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens for more Bloom Days posts.
Those of you who follow my posts for IaVoM may be surprised that I'm offering only one vase this week. Last week's yellow vase is still holding up well in my front entry so I've prepared just one vase inspired by the first blooms of the Arthropodium cirratum and Centaurea 'Silver Feather' for my dining room table.
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| From left to right, views of the vase from the front, back and top. The vase contains: Arthropodium cirratum, Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Jacobaea maritima, Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', Trachelospermum jasminoides, and Verbena bonariensis. |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see more vases created from materials on hand in bloggers' gardens.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
With all your lovely blooms at the moment you certainly won't run out of materials for a fab arrangement!
ReplyDeleteSpring and early summer are flush as far as flowers are concerned. It's late summer when the pickings get slim.
DeleteYour post shows me just how many flowers you have in the garden - wonderful. Your vase this week is very different in style with much more space emphasising each bloom; the colour is rather good too.
ReplyDeleteI love those Renga Lilies. It's a pity they don't show up better in photos. Centaurea 'Silver Feather' provides a nice accent, although the number of blooms are still limited.
DeleteHow interesting to see more of your garden, Kris - what bountiful blooms you have and no wonder you usually give us three vases week after week! Like Susie's, the verbena gives great structure to your vase - will this only have a short season too, like your sweet peas?
ReplyDeleteThe Verbena never died down to the ground last year, Cathy, and its vigor seems greater this year so I'm hoping I'll enjoy a long season of blooms. The sweet peas offered a full 3 months of bloom. The first blooms appeared in early February and I pulled the plants out last week. However, I didn't get the main flush of bloom until late March/early April so I think I need to focus on planting all early blooming varieties. Our Santa Ana winds are largely responsible for bring bringing sweet pea season to a premature end each year.
DeleteKris, you really have an amazing garden--just wonderful to see your handiwork and remember how the drought caused you to redo so much. It all looks perfect. Love the verbena and friends in your vase this week too. Do you find it short-lived indoors? Mine drops petals pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteThe slightest touch or breeze seems to cause the tiny Verbena petals to drop here, Susie, but so far the stems seems to hold up well enough. Time will tell. I can't recall cutting the flower for an arrangement last year.
DeleteFor mass effect you can't beat your photo of Achillea 'Moonshine.' Another fav is your huge dorycnium! And catanache too. You definitely are dialing in what's happy for your site. Beautiful, Kris.
ReplyDeleteIt took a season or two but, once the Dorycnium was established, it self-seeded freely and I distributed some of the seedlings throughout the garden. I have large clumps all over now. Hopefully, I haven't created a monster!
DeleteWhat an amazing collection, it looks like a catalogue tempting us all. I'm hoping for Eryngiums this year. I expect they like your dry conditions.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've tried Eryngiums in this garden, Alison. I wasn't especially successful with them in my former garden but it was fairly shady. I ordered 5 plants on a close-out sale from a mail order company. Only one of these seems vigorous so the jury's still out. I'd expect that a plant known as "sea holly" should be able to handle our high winds but, thus far, it appears that most are struggling.
DeleteYour garden is amazing - there is always so much in bloom! And of course, always something for a vase too. Love the Verbena bonariensis!
ReplyDeleteI didn't do well with Verbena bonariensis the first time I tried it here, Cathy, but I planted two in another area of the garden last year and both seem much happier. I think the earlier location was just too dry.
DeleteI don't mind photo-heavy posts at all, especially of all your beautiful blooms. I'd actually prefer full-size shots over collages, to be honest, that way it's easier to see all the details. I hope your cooler temps hold on for a while.
ReplyDeleteIf the forecasters are correct, it appears that the cooler temperatures will be history by this weekend, Alison, but then they predicted a warm-up late last week too so there's always hope!
DeleteI don't think there has been a month when you haven't had a ton of blooms ! Your Achillea drift though looks very nice, especially set off with the flagstone path.
ReplyDeleteEarly spring is our peak bloom period, Kathy, but we're generally good through early June. Last year's start of summer heatwave blasted everything but, if we're lucky, there won't be a repeat of that.
DeleteLove all your photos. So many beautiful blooms.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer!
DeleteYour gardens are such a delight to see in photos, I can only imagine how wowed I would be in person. Maybe someday far into the future, I'll get the chance, I hope.
ReplyDeleteThe red lotus is a really eye-grabber!
The garden is slowly coming into its own. You're welcome to visit any time you're in SoCal, Eliza! I'm busy hacking everything back at the moment in the hope of a second flush of bloom but I fear the rising temperature may thwart that plan.
DeleteYour garden is a delight in all seasons but right now the abundance of blooms makes my heart race. No wonder your vases are always so interesting and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOh, things slow down immensely when the temperature zooms, Peter. The garden is still in it's happy place right now.
DeleteOne word kept running through my head as I paged down down down... "florabundance"...
ReplyDeleteAnd, believe it or not, I didn't include everything!
DeleteYour garden is looking great. I love some of the colour combinations. I introduced some Achillea 'Moonshine' last year and will be buying some more plants this week!
ReplyDeleteYellow is one of my favorite colors, Steve, and I don't think you can get it in a brighter floral form than 'Moonshine'. The plant's gray foliage is also a plus, as is the fact that the flowers have a long bloom period.
DeleteThe hardest part about commenting on your bloom day posts is coming up with adjectives I haven't already used. It's a sight for sore eyes for sure!
ReplyDeleteI hope spring is making itself known in your area of the country too, Sue! Based on your plans for your garden, I know it's going to look terrific when you get through your changes.
DeleteThank you for posting all of these; it is so fun to see the pictures. Do you think you are having more flowers this year because of the rain, or does your garden always have so many blooms? It is fantastic! Do you have to water a lot when it gets hot?
ReplyDeleteI think the rain this winter had a big effect, Rachel, but the garden is also maturing so that too may be part of the equation this year. Many of my plants retreat into semi-dormancy when the temperature soars in summer. I run the irrigation system 2x a week in most areas during the summer months and will provide additional spot water to new plantings if necessary for survival.
DeleteThe garden is just amazing. Again, thank you for taking the time to share your pictures!
DeleteYour May garden is just as beautiful as it was in April. Finally some Leucospermum flowers--yay!
ReplyDeleteWell, 'High Gold's' flowers were a Bloom Day cheat as the plant, an April purchase, came with them. 'Goldie' appears to be dead - I was foolish to plant it in the same general location I planted another Leucospermum I killed. The Leucadendron I have in that area is fine but there's something about it the Leucospermums don't like.
DeleteLOVE the collages and all the color!! Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Wendy!
DeleteHi Kris, your garden is spectacular! Everything is so colorful and lush. You have too many wonderful photos to comment on, except that the second one with Achillea 'Moonshine' is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb! That Achillea is usually the star of my back garden in early summer. I have a couple of other Achilleas but none hold a candle to 'Moonshine'.
DeleteYour spring garden is gorgeous! So colorful!
ReplyDelete