Last week, I rued the fact that I'd crammed too much into my vases, yet this week I've once again stuffed them to the gills. Apparently, I can't help myself. Looser arrangements usually show off the individual components to better advantage but somehow I always cut more than I need during my Sunday rounds through the garden and then I find myself loathe to discard the excess. So now I'm thinking: maybe I just need bigger vases.
I'd planned to focus on succulents this week but then I realized that one of the faded
'Medallion' roses was just about a perfect match for the blooms of
Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'. With those 2 elements, I was off and running.
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| IAVOM never seems to coincide with the peak bloom stage of the 'Medallion' roses but they're pretty even when past their prime |
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| The flowers of Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' and the foliage of Corokia 'Sunsplash' deserve more prominence than they received half hidden at the back of the vase |
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| The top view is dominated by Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', berries of a noID Cotoneaster, flowers of the succulent hybrid Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Leucanthemum x superbum, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', and Rosa 'Medallion' |
Tagetes lemmonii (aka Mexican Bush Marigold and Copper Canyon Daisy) also had a heavy flush of blooms despite its partial shade location. The unusual yellow and burgundy flowers of the orchid
Oncidium 'Wildcat' set the color scheme for the second vase.
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| Unfortunately, the orchid's flowers are still in the process of opening and are largely eclipsed by the berries of the Toyon I placed behind that stem |
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| I could've used another stem of the Tagetes in the rear here but was trying to limit the volume of the odoriferous blooms |
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| This vase is another jumble as the top view shows |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Tagetes lemmonii, Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Oncidium 'Wildcat', Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', and berries of Heteromeles arbutifolia (aka Toyon, the official native plant of Los Angeles) |
The problem with
Tagetes lemmonii is its scent. While I like it, my husband is bothered by it. He says it makes him sneeze. I've managed to create vases with small amounts of the flower without it bothering him but this vase contained more flowers than he could tolerate so it was banned from the house.
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| The first vase sits on the dining room table. The second sits on a small table on the south patio. |
Rather than leave the front entry unadorned, I reused remnants of last week's busy blue vase.
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| At least I kept this one simple! It contains a single stem of Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) and Leucadendron 'Pisa'. |
For more "In a Vase on Monday" arrangements,
visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Please keep cramming them in, I love your floral extravaganzas. If you've got it, flaunt it. On this side of the world we are having to make do with mostly seedheads and twigs. Let us feast are eyes on your gorgeous blooms. Oh that grevillea is dreamy. I love them all. I agree about the smell of tagetes though, it's horrible.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how odors can be perceived so differently by individuals. Today's high winds knocked the outdoor vase over, though thankfully without breaking it, so that arrangement is now sequestered in my home office. My husband hasn't noticed it, nor sneezed.
DeleteHi Kris, the combination of the Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' and rosa 'Medallion' is sooo... beautiful. A match made in heaven! I think these flowers also go very well with the colors of the vase that you have chosen. Cutting and arranging these home grown flowers must be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteWishing you a wonderful week!
Warm regards,
Christina
With all your beautiful roses, you should join in on the weekly floral celebration on occasion, Christina!
DeleteYour tropical, lush vases are most welcome on this cold day, Kris, and make me dream of warmer climes! It's awesome to be able to cut all these flowers at this time of year. Grevillea can be found not that far away from here, maybe I'll give them a go some time. We seem to be in for a cold winter though, at least that's how it feels like at the moment. Have a good week :), Annette
ReplyDeleteGardening in coastal Southern California is a year-round occupation, Annette. Some of the Grevilleas with smaller flowers seem to over-winter in colder climates but my guess is that those with large flowers and year-round blooms, like 'Peaches & Cream' would need to spend your winters in a greenhouse.
DeleteOh yes, keep up the tropical extravaganzas! Your grevillea is such a pretty thing and how well you have complemented its prettiness - and what a shame about the sneeze-causing bidens in the second vase; Love the solitary blue eustoma in the third vase - will this be the last eustoma we see till next season?
ReplyDeleteOur climate is classified as a Mediterranean one, Cathy. We don't have the humidity or the rain to be classified as tropical, although tropical plants will grow here if you can provide them sufficient water. The Eustoma appear to be mounting a minor comeback but then another unseasonal heatwave could fry those buds before they bloom.
Delete'Peaches & Cream' along with your rose is a wonderful color combination. Lovely arrangements Kris.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie! I couldn't pass on the opportunity to pair the 2 flowers, even if the rose was already waning.
DeleteAlways lovely! The jade of the vase complements the Grevillea and rose. I like the dear blooms of Graptoveria, and the snowflake-like blooms of Shasta daisy.
ReplyDeleteI tried growing Lemon Tagetes this summer and it was a bit underwhelming, it may not be hot enough here for it. The scent was nice, however, but I get that it could overwhelm.
Tagetes lemmonii is said to bloom almost continuously here but my experience is that most of its blooms appear in spring and again in fall - it takes a siesta during our summer heat.
DeleteI will say this...you have some of the loveliest vases and your arrangements are always spectacular because they are so full. That said the first vase is my favorite with the beautiful rose and that gorgeous Grevillea....of course the colors in the second are perfect for late fall and are stunning. I say keep cramming them full of your beautiful flowers as I can't get enough of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna! The first arrangement is my favorite too.
DeleteOr more vases? You have a real talent for putting colours together. The rose and Grevillea are made for each other, aren't they? The reds and yellows look fantastic and I like the idea of outdoor arrangement. Not for the UK in November, though I have done it in summer before.
ReplyDeletePerhaps what I should do, Alison, is just post one vase and fill as many as I'd like without photographing them all. I fear my habit of posting 2 vases each week can be obnoxious.
DeleteCertainly not obnoxious but we may all be green about all the flowers you have to choose from. We love to see your vases.
DeleteGood to hear, Alison - I don't want to wear out my welcome on IAVOM.
DeleteYou have such a wealth of fabulous plants and flowers that I am not surprised you tend to fill your vases. But I always love them. You should just think of it as your own "iconic style."
ReplyDeleteI like that characterization, Linda!
DeleteIndeed some bigger vases kris--you can whip up a few of those hotel-lobby style arrangements that loom over the guests . I have an addiction to vases (mostly Bauer when I can find it) so I hereby enable you.
ReplyDeleteI keep wondering when you're going to pop up on IAVOM, Kathy! I know you have a cut flower habit too.
DeleteThe grevillea is just so beautiful; I wonder if it would survive here, I know that some do - but I'm being silly, today I awoke to heavy frost, I don't think the grevillea would like that at all! I actually like the back of your first vase better than the front; as to buying larger vases - sadly I don't think that is the answer as with all things you would simply pick even more!
ReplyDeleteFor kicks, Christina, I looked up a California resource on Grevillea. It seems that most can handle low temperatures down to 25F (-3.89C). A few can handle slightly lower temperatures (20F/-6.67C). I don't know if your winter temperatures go lower than that but growing Grevillea in a large pot that can be moved into a greenhouse might work!
DeleteThe Grevillea is always an eyecatcher Kris, and I do love those berries you have used too. Yes, you definitely need some larger vases so you can let your imagination (and garden shears) run riot once in a while! (Although I have never felt your arrangements are overcrowded.) :)
ReplyDeleteThe berries are in ample supply at the moment, Cathy. I do wish I had some of those wonderful purple Callicarpa berries, though...
DeleteReally nice color combinations as always. You've got a delightful problem of having too many flowers for your vases. Here, we're looking for smaller containers to hold the dwindling supply of blooms. Oh yes, bigger vases!
ReplyDeleteCutting flowers in my garden is a little like filling my plate on Thanksgiving - my eyes always seem too be too big for my own good.
DeleteBigger vases! I see shopping in your future...thrift shops, tag sales, Home Goods, Marshalls...oh the fun!
ReplyDeleteI do need to flesh out my vase collection! I've got some very tall crystal vases I never use (meant for those long-stemmed roses I don't grow and rarely receive) but I "need" more mid-sized vases with wide mouths.
DeleteYes, bigger vases! Have you seen those metal french vases that display flowers for sale? The Grevillea would look great in one of those! Michael's sells them I think. I have one I may have to get it out. Love the Grevillea always I think it is my favorite plant in your garden.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason I have so many Grevilleas, Amelia ;) I'll have to check out Michael's after the holidays - there's no way I'm going near the place at this time of year!
DeleteWhen you have so many beautiful flowers, stuffing seems entirely appropriate.
ReplyDeleteOr it could mean that I can't see the arrangement for the flowers, HB!
DeleteI'm always amazed (and impressed!), Kris, at the number of flowers you have in your garden. I especially love the grevillea arrangement.
ReplyDeleteI used to be loathe to cut the Grevillea flowers, feeling that they were too special to shorten their lives in a vase, but the fact that they're now relatively plentiful in my garden has eliminated my reservations.
DeleteThey're wonderful :) I'm afraid I rather like the Tagetes scent myself (all types of marigolds), but different noses certainly smell things differently! The grevillea and Medallion combination is a dream...
ReplyDeleteI only wish I could get 'Medallion' to reach peak bloom on a Monday, Amy! The Thanksgiving heatwave didn't help the blooms either.
Delete