We expect to be beset by another heatwave beginning today and continuing through the workweek. The forecasters say it won't be as nasty as the heatwave of July 6th that sent our temperature here up to 110F (43C) but then they didn't anticipate an event like that in early July either. I've been giving the most vulnerable areas of the garden extra water in advance of this new heatwave in the hope of stemming further damage. Whether it'll be enough remains to be seen.
I was tempted to cut just about every bloom I had but I restrained myself - I'd like to have some left to cut in future weeks, especially as my dahlias and zinnias have been slow to get a move on. I found a few new
Agapanthus blooms in the shadier areas of my garden on Sunday morning and cut those on the assumption that I'll get more enjoyment out of the pristine blooms in my dining room than I'd get from seeing withered stalks in the garden.
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| While Agapanthus was the starting point for this vase, the real stars may be the white and purplish blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum), which starting blooming in earnest this month despite the earlier heatwave |
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| I used some of the Lisianthus left over from last week's vase to dress up the back of the vase |
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| Top view: The bi-color Lisianthus (center) surprised me. I planted it last year but I don't remember it blooming last summer. |
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The vase contains, top row: Abelia 'Hopley's Variegated', noID Agapanthus, and Crassula pubescens ssp radicans
Middle row: 3 varieties of Eustoma grandiflorum
Last row: Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers', noID lavender, and Prunus laurocerasus |
As my
Gaillardia are blooming profusely, I cut some of them to create a simple arrangement for the front entry.
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| The stems of the Gaillardia blooms are frustratingly short |
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| Back view featuring 2 varieties of Leucadendron, some taken from another of last week's arrangements |
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| Top view |
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The vase contains, top row: Gaillardia 'Fanfare Citronella' and variegated Lantana 'Samantha'
Bottom row: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and what I think is L. salignum 'Devil's Blush' |
For more Monday vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. I'm off to do more hand-watering before the heat soars.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Both your arrangements have wonderful blooms, but this week, for me the Gaillardia are the most interesting. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteIf only the Gaillardia stem weren't so short, you'd see them used more often, Noelle!
DeleteOh your blue vase is a delight - definitely my favurite this week with the agapanthus and lisianthus, and of course it looks as if it would have a cooling effect. Here it has got up to 90 degrees or more today and I really cannot imagine what 110 must feel like...
ReplyDeleteI'd be very pleased to never experience another 110F day, Cathy. Combined with strong hot winds, I felt like I had a giant hair dryer aimed at me.
DeleteA warm welcome in the entryway. Oh those gorgeous Leucadendron! Sorry that you're getting another heatwave. It's going to get warm here today (maybe 90) but will cool down at night. Your Lisianthus always thrill me and that bi-colored one is stunning. Gorgeous arrangements as always!
ReplyDeleteThe bi-colored Lisianthus doesn't have the number of petals some of the other "double" Lisianthus do but it is pretty.
DeleteI hope they haven't miscalculated again and that you don't get more triple digit temps. We're getting into the 90s again this week here, and I don't like it. I love your cool blue and white arrangement, especially the bicolor Lisianthus. I have a thing for bicolor flowers.
ReplyDeleteI've got a bi-colored pink and white Lisianthus this year too but the pink edges seem to fade away in the heat, which is odd.
DeleteBeautiful pair of vases, Kris. I love the bicolor lisianthus - a real beauty. The duranta I remember from last year and still think it is wonderful. Also like the yellow gaillardia, I must look for it!
ReplyDeleteThe Duranta flowers don't hold up long in a vase but they are a luscious blue.
DeleteYou are so right that nothing looks more cool and soothing than blue and white. We dropped down into the low 80s last week and looks like more of the same this week, which is a pleasant change. The weather has been so crazy everywhere that nothing seems unusual at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe low 80s sounds wonderful, Linda! The heat here is supposed to peak on Wednesday but we got up to 94F for awhile today already.
DeleteThe "cool" colors are delicious.
ReplyDelete61 more days of summer... :(
Ugh!!!
DeleteHow interesting I have a similar Gallardia in different colors, still wilting in the heat but flowering. Love that bicolor Lisianthus, I don't remember it,either!
ReplyDeleteIf/when the Lisianthus make it to a second year in the ground, they seem to bloom much more vigorously, Amelia. My record shows I planted that bi-color purple and white variety ('Balboa Rim') in April 2017.
DeleteAll of those purple and blues and delicious.
ReplyDeleteI love those colors and plant just about anything blue and purple that survives in my climate.
DeleteYou’ve been so successful at growing Lisianthus, Kris, and they are charming flowers, as are both of the vases. For me, the leucodendron / Gaillardia combo is a stunner. I hope the temps aren’t as bad as expected. Stay cool!
ReplyDeleteWe'll be fine as long as the air conditioning keeps working, Jane. It's going to be a long week, though, and the electric company is already requesting that we minimize our usage.
DeleteI love your purple and blue bouquet!!! It is such delightful colors not always found in a garden and therefore all the more special.
ReplyDeleteHope your next heatwave isn't too brutal on your garden. It's hard to watch your plants struggle.
I lost quite a few plants in the first heatwave and far more were damaged. The dry conditions make the heat harder for the plants to bear but I did a LOT of extra spot watering this time and my fingers are crossed that it'll make a difference. I dread next month's water bill, though.
DeleteI missed the boat this week-I made a vase as I always do but I had an issue with my photo files on my computer -which is resolved thank god- and didn't want to add any more images into the melee'.I hope you dodge the bullet on this next heat event-we are only forecast for the high 80's this week,though further inland will be decidedly unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteA friend in one of our inland valleys down south texted me this morning to report that they'd already hit triple digits. We peaked at 94F today but the heat is expected to continue to build through Wednesday before slowly coming back down into the 80s next weekend.
DeleteHi Kris, the gaillardia really goes well with the Leucadenron. Maybe those stems will be longer on the later ones to flower. Love the Lisianthus in all colors. Hope the heat spares your garden--smart to give the plants extra water so they don't start out so stressed. Take care of yourself in that heat.
ReplyDeleteI was tempted to cut all my blooming Lisianthus, Susie, as there's no telling what damage the new heatwave will do, but it'd be months before the plants sent up new stems, if they survive the summer at all. Fingers are crossed that most of them make it through this week.
DeleteAwesome arrangements! I really like that first one, especially! There's something about those shades of blue/purple that makes my heart melt. :)
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the blue and white arrangement on our dining table cools me down, Beth - of course the AC helps some too!
DeleteThat blue vase is very cooling! And you had me laughing out loud at "on the assumption that I'll get more enjoyment out of the pristine blooms in my dining room than I'd get from seeing withered stalks in the garden"...seems like a very safe assumption to me!
ReplyDeleteSome flowers don't much like the AC in the house, Loree, but, yes the Agapanthus still should fare better in the house than in the blistering heat.
DeleteI love the cool blues and whites, what a stunning arrangement. Lovely, lovely lisianthus. And I am crazy about the leucadendron in the pretty second arrangement too.
ReplyDeleteThis year we are getting some idea of what you have to deal with all the time, although we don't get such high temperatures. And yet your garden always looks stunning.
My garden was badly burnt by the heatwave on July 6th when our temperature veered into the stratosphere. Even established plants like the Acacia 'Cousin Itt' burned. Temperatures here have risen steadily since I was a kid. Global warming is a reality and an ongoing threat even if the politicians in the US White House won't acknowledge it.
DeleteOh I do hope the weather these last few days has not been as hot as your last heatwave Kris. Beautiful cooling blues and I like your touch of sunshine vase too.
ReplyDeleteThanks to morning fog the past 4 days, it's been considerably cooler than expected in the afternoons, Anna. It's still very warm but not anything like the early July heat!
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