Summer is a time for simple pleasures and I chose to keep my vases simple as well this week. As my cutting garden has nothing new to offer yet, I selected plants I've used before this season but I hope the mixes seem fresh.
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| It suddenly occurred to me last week that this vase was practically made for Agapanthus |
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| Back view: The Abelia used here has reached extraordinary heights in my north side garden and is seriously in need of grooming so I got a start on that Sunday morning when I cut stems for my vases |
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| Top view: I initially included a couple of aster stems as well but removed them at the last minute |
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| Clockwise from the left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', noID Agapanthus, and shaggy Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) |
The first arrangement had a couple of hitchhikers, one of which I was able to get outside unscathed.
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| I thought this was a baby grasshopper and it resembles some labeled as such online but its long, thin antenna suggest it could be a katydid |
My second arrangement sits on the opposite end of the color spectrum from my first.
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| Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' and Grevillea 'Superb' are planted near one another in my front garden and I thought they were meant to be combined |
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| Back view: I added the frilly foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' to flesh out this arrangement |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Grevillea 'Superb', and Lantana 'Lucky Yellow' |
Last week's vases held up fairly well. The one on my kitchen island is still in place, albeit without the faded pincushion flowers (
Scabiosa columbaria). The blue Lisianthus (
Eustoma grandiflorum) in my front entry had enough blooms and buds to last another week so those flowers were tucked into a smaller vase with flowers left over after I finished putting together the vases shown above.
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| I cut the spent dark blue Lisianthus blooms, leaving the lavender blooms that opened during the course of last week. They mix well with the flowers of the California aster (Symphyotricum chilense) I'd originally intended to include in the first vase, as well as leftover Abelia stems. |
Last week's dark red
Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' stems still looked as fresh as they did last week so I recycled them too even though I tossed the rest of the contents of their vase.
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| This onyx vase doesn't hold water well so I cut the Leucadendron stems a bit shorter and added them to the vase without water along with stems of bunny tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) I picked a couple of weeks ago |
To see what other contributing gardeners have put together for IAVOM,
visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Three lovely vases, as always, Kris! I do enjoy agapanthus. My mother always had them in big terracotta pots on the terrace in my family home. These days they remind me of Australia where they grow wild - everywhere!! Such a handsome plant. And it's good to see your California aster again. Our equivalent won't appear until about August. Have a good week. Amanda https://therunningwave.blogspot.com/2020/07/in-vase-on-monday-stripes-and.html
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus don't grow wild in California, Amanda, but they are everywhere. They've long been used as foundation plants here because they're evergreen and fit our climate. In contrast, the aster is deciduous and it's blooming well ahead of schedule even by our standards.
DeleteThe blue and white combination is cool and soothing for a hot day.
ReplyDeleteIt was toasty today! We reached the upper 80s, warm but not horrible. I was able to do a little work in the garden in the morning and again in the late afternoon.
DeleteYour blues are so lovely. I'm swooning over that first vase. And I love the rich red of the Leucadendron. The vase is perfect for it.
ReplyDeleteI love that onyx vase. If only it held water, I'd use it far more often. The throat is too narrow to fit much of anything that holds water except florists' tubes but those aren't very practical as the water is depleted very quickly.
DeleteA 'katydid'?! Is that a real name - but surely something to do with the book? So much to enjoy in your vases this week, Kris - I was drawn especially to the leucadendron and bunnytails (the former didn't stand out like this last week, did it?) and to the beautiful vase the lisianthus is in. Thanks for sharing, as always
ReplyDeleteWhat Katy Did - is a book I loved as a child.
DeleteBut we too have katydids in our garden.
That blue Art Deco (?) vase is beautiful.
That's the common name for the North American long-horned grasshopper or "bush cricket" here, Cathy, more properly known by the scientific name of Tettigoniidae. (You can see why we use the common name.) Re the Leucadendron stems, I stripped off some of their bracts to enhance their flower-like appearance when I moved them to the onyx vase. I'm sorry to say they're already fading without any water at all.
DeleteI've never heard of that book, Diana. I'll have to look it up. The Art Deco style vase was a wedding gift from a co-worker, the only person I told of my intent to wed in advance of a very brief ceremony conducted by a traffic court judge on his lunch break. My husband and I didn't want a fuss as we'd been together for 10 years at that point already. Needless to say, our families were not entirely pleased at being cut out of the process...
DeleteThey all look good to me. I like agapanthus and the vase it is in. That vase of hot colors is a beauty too. That other blue vase is reallly pretty. Have a good week.Try to keep cool.
ReplyDeleteBased on the weather reports I've seen, I ex[pect it's probably hotter where you are, Lisa. We've been lucky so far. The marine layer's still making a dauly appearance here, albeit a very brief one.
DeleteYour arrangements suit your vases very well, Kris. I love the dichroic blue esp.
ReplyDeleteI suppose to you think of Agapanthus as common, but I love it. It goes well with the Shasta Daisy and Abelia.
Love the hot mix of Grevillea and 'Vermillionaire,' and the Agonis gives it a great windswept look.
It's funny that both of us found katydids on the flowers we brought in, who'd have thought that both east and west versions hatch about the same time (although yours looks a bit more mature than mine)? Right now I'm listening to a YouTube video of katydid songs, which is so soothing. [ https://youtu.be/TjM9tZE_bDg ] I've bookmarked it to pull up in winter when I'm longing for life and summer sounds. I'm really enjoying the birds and buzzing of bees this year, more precious than ever. <3
I see the large brown grasshoppers here every summer but I don't remember seeing the katydids; however, I also didn't know much about distinguishing one from the other until I looked them up on Sunday. Thanks for the katydid link. My husband plays the sounds of ocean waves breaking at night to help him sleep. I should see how he feels about katydids and crickets!
DeleteLovely as always, but my favorite is the first vase with the Agapanthus. I bought a few bulbs this year, but most likely won't see any blooms since I have heard they don't bloom until they are root bound. I'm so glad you shared yours. They are such a beautiful flower and such a lovely blue/purple. One can never have too much of that in the garden.
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus are tough plants here. I hope they do well for you as well, Cindy!
DeleteOh yes, what a pretty vase with the agapanthus in it. I love the back view of that vase too. And the hot colours in the second vase are a nice contrast. I like the foliage you have used in that one as well. And the third is so pretty with the asters. Wonderful arrangements as always Kris!
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of the Lisianthus-aster combination, Cathy. You may see a larger version of that mix at some point.
DeleteThese are lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree!
DeleteHI Kris, Amazing variety, your Agapanthus never fails to amaze me..it suffers and dies here. I guess I get Heliconia instead?. I love the Safari Sunset,such a dramatic color. The blue vase is really a find, love the flowers and the vase. I had some similar Cuphea for a while, that looks wayyy better than mine ever did, so pretty! Happy Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteThe orange Cuphea 'Vermillionaire' is a hybrid and has performed better than any other orange Cuphea I've ever grown, Amerlia. It and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' are stars in the garden even if they usually play back-up roles in my vases.
Delete