After several very warm days last week, my garden seems to be moving into a sprint to get its spring blooms out before summer-like temperatures put an end to them. My guess is that the calla lilies won't bloom at all this year but I made a last ditch effort to encourage them by hand-watering the back slope last week. It remains to be seen whether that'll make any difference. In the meantime, I cut many of the stars of my spring garden while they're still looking good.
The first arrangement is all about the blues.
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| I featured Iris 'Sapphire Beauty' in an arrangement three weeks ago but this is Iris 'Mystic Beauty'. The striped falls of the flower look almost green in color. |
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| The tree-sized Ceanothus (aka California lilac) on the back slope is already shedding its tiny flowers with every shake of a stem |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant', Campanula portenschlagiana, Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', Freesia, Iris hollandica 'Mystic Beauty', and noID Primula polyanthus |
As a counterpoint to the first arrangement, my second is all about pink flowers.
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| I overstuffed this vase but I couldn't help myself |
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| Back view: Snapdragons launched this particular arrangement but it's really an ensemble cast |
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| Top view |
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Top row: noID Alstroemeria, Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Chiaro', and Coleonema 'Album'
Middle row: noID pink and white Antirrhinum majus
Bottom row: Xylosma congestum, noID Prunus persica, and noID Primula polyanthus |
The stems of Leucospermum 'Brandi' I used last week were still in perfect condition so I tucked them into a vase for the kitchen island, adding a few stems of another plant that recently made an unexpected appearance. I planted a hybrid orange-flowered Anagallis back in 2014. It hasn't reappeared in my garden for a few years and I haven't seen it in garden centers for at least six years. I looked it up online and was surprised to find one of my own posts published in June 2014 on the first page of references. The post was so old that the photos showed some lawn still in place in my back garden. You can find that blast from the past here.
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| As you can see, hybrid Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' complements Leucospermum 'Brandi' quite well |
For more IAVOM creations from other contributors to this lovely meme, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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| Another leftover, a flower of Hippeastrum 'Aphrodite' with a very short stem, has been placed in a small glass bowl at the base of the arrangement on the right |
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Love all 3 vases! My first ‘Lord Lieutenant’ should open soon and I love the colors of your 'Rosa Chiaro'! My favorite is your surprise return of Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' and I did follow the link: the transformation of your garden is an inspiration. I adore that Leucospermum! Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteI do wish I could find that Anagallis again, Kay. I queried availability via the Proven Winners site but it didn't come up with anything. It's not growing in the location I originally planted it so I think it clearly self-seeds but I didn't find a source for the seeds either and I'm a little afraid to try the species scarlet pimpernel as it's widely regarded as a weed. I'll try collecting the seeds from my own plants.
DeleteIt always surprises me when I Google something and find a post of mine comes up in the search! That anagalis is so striking - I definitely need more orange in my garden! In fact, all three vases are striking, and I love the yellow and blue combination of the first one. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI have the same reaction when I find my own images among Google's photos when I run searches, Cathy. I wonder if Google actually sorts based on who's running the query. It's a little scary if that's the case.
DeleteOh I love the addition of the left over Hippeastrum 'Aphrodite' flower to the pink arrangement!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to bring myself to toss any of the 'Aphrodite' flowers while they still look good, Loree - and they do remarkably well even with very short stems.
DeleteAll gorgeous but particularly drawn to the blue and yellow arrangement one of my favourite colour combos. I remember growing the orange anagallis but it hasn't been around for a long time here. Callibrachoas are the latest fad pushing out a lot of the others.
ReplyDeleteI like Calibrachoas too, Elaine, but I personally feel they work better in a pot or hanging container than as a groundcover.
DeleteLovely vases Kris - as always. The first one, with those pretty blues, all quite warm in tone despite being blue! Love them. Lots of beautiful blooms. You have such a diverse garden! Amanda https://therunningwave290580645.wordpress.com/2021/04/05/easter-in-a-vase-on-monday/
ReplyDeleteIt is lively for a blue arrangement, Amanda!
DeleteWhat a nice surprise from the Anagalis. So fun when something unexpected pops up in the garden. Despite the puny rain, the Snaps and Iris look spectacularly lush. I am wishing for rain here, hopeful we both see some soon!
ReplyDeleteThe Iris are fading faster than they did last year when it was cooler and wetter, Amelia. The snaps in my cutting garden are regularly lavished with my collected rainwater (while it lasts).
DeleteI too hope we both get rain but frankly the forecast looks pretty bleak here - the western weather pundit I follow says that the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge" (of high pressure air) is what's once again keeping California so very dry.
To me the blues have it. That screaming yellow really sets off the blues too. Secondly the orange arrangement is so unusual. I love dashes of orange in the garden. Happy IAVOM.
ReplyDeleteOrange is an energetic color I think, Lisa, and it gives a garden a boost.
DeleteYour Dutch Iris are impressive - such rich colors along with the Anemones, while the pop of yellow makes the arrangement. Your snapdragons are beautiful and I love that soft yellow primrose. Do they go dormant during your hot summers? I'm always surprised to see plants that we both can grow, so many zones apart.
ReplyDeleteThe primroses I used in these arrangements are in my cutting garden, where I treat them as annuals, Eliza. In the past, I've grown some in beds in shady areas and at least some of them came back after struggling through the summer heat but they never looked the same. I think our local garden centers generally treat them as annuals.
DeleteSo much going on in your spring garden Kris. I love them all, you are so clever at putting colours together. I can never resist blue and yellow.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie. I find it hard to resist blue in any combination :)
DeleteYour vases are so lovingly designed Kris and always beautiful. The first one captures my heart. Was there ever a lovelier vase of flowers. Just perfection. Love that iris!
ReplyDeleteI'm becoming very fond of that Iris too, Chloris.
DeleteThose dreamy blues with the primula get a big thumbs up from me Kris! What a lovely Iris, and the blue anemones always get me swooning! Blue and yellow go so well together. The pinks are lovely too of course! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. I'm a sucker for all blue flowers.
DeleteBeautiful as ever. I am wondering if many of these plants come back year after year. The anemones, snapdragons and primulas. I know you have many perennial plants but always something different on your table each week. And do you have a vase room like Martha has a basket room? Don't answer that!!
ReplyDeleteHa! I have cabinet for vases in the kitchen but that's it, Jenny. Technically, the anemones should come back but as I grow them in the raised planters I use as a cutting garden, they come out every year when I make way for my summer floral "crop". Primulas don't handle summer well here so I treat those and the snapdragons as annuals too. Everything else I used in my vases this week, including the Dutch Iris, come back year after year.
DeleteYour arrangements take my breath away, as always...truly! We've had summer weather here in S. Wisconsin lately. Today, the high was around 80F, which is highly unusual this early in the season. Everything is emerging and blooming at the same time. We will cool down in the next few days, which is good because it will hold the blooms a little longer. I need to pick some flowers and join the meme soon. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth. I hope you get that cool down. After highs in the upper 80s (peaking briefly at 89F!) we've cooled down but we're still getting into the mid-high 70s, which is taking out my Dutch Iris faster than I'd like.
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