In a Vase on Monday: Fall colors

Last week brought another round of hot, dry winds in both Northern and Southern California.  Sadly, they triggered more fires.  The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County (Northern California) is a monster.  Only 10% contained as of yesterday morning, it led to evacuation orders affecting 180,000 people.  The Tick Fire in Los Angeles County was 70% contained as of last night but, with the Santa Ana winds blowing again today and more expected later in the week, full containment may be a struggle.  Another fire, close to The Getty, a major museum/garden complex located next to one of our major freeways started at 1:30 this morning, is a new concern.  In our immediate area, the marine layer moved in on Sunday and hung around all day, dropping temperatures dramatically.  The cooler, damper air was welcome and reassuring as my husband and I prepared for this week's remodeling activities.  Unfortunately, the marine layer is much lighter this morning and already breaking up.

I dug up all but one of my dahlias last week.  I'd hoped to have a few flowers of Dahlia 'Punkin Spice' to use as a nod to Halloween this week but the blooms dried out under the steady blast of last week's winds so I drew on other plants for this week's vases.  I used the plastic-covered top of the island in our still unfinished kitchen to take photos once again.  The natural light was good even under cloudy skies.

The flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Devil's Blush' have been glowing in my garden for 2 months now and I thought it was time to give them some exposure before they fade further.  They make me think of rosebuds but other people have told me they remind them of tulips.  Red zinnias provide additional pizzazz.

Back view: I added the chartreuse foliage of Coleonema and Duranta to lift the color scheme a bit.  Only afterwards did I realize that the color picked up the tones in the leaves of the Amaranthus (shown in the prior photo's front view).

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Amaranthis caudatus, Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Duranta repens 'Gold Mound', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', seed cones of Magnolia grandiflora (used as an accent next to the vase), Zinnia elegans in a pinkish-red and pure red and, in the center, Leucadendton salignum 'Devil's Blush'

Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' has proven surprisingly resilient in my cutting garden but I haven't used it in vases often since I planted it from plugs as I've been hard-pressed to find new companions to set off its strong colors.

Once again, I ended up pairing the Rudbeckia with the feathery plumes of Pennisetum and the red-tinged foliage of the Leptospermum in my front garden.  The only "new" element is the Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii), which had just produced its first blooms of the season.

The back view looks much like the front

Top view

Clockwise from the top: Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and Tagetes lemmonii

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

Since the interior of our house is in the process of being painted, there are even fewer spots to place flowers.  The first vase is sitting in a corner of our new kitchen, where I hope it'll be out of the way of workers when the flooring is laid later this week.  As most of my indoor plants were consigned to my shade house during the painting process, the second vase landed in an open space in my office.  We're getting closer to completion of our project - it's just a few more weeks away (I hope!).

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party