As I collected materials for today's vases yesterday morning I listened to the call of foghorns from the Los Angeles harbor, as well as the flutter of leaves falling from the Magnolia tree in our front garden. Mingled with birdsong and the clucking of chickens up the street, it was very peaceful interlude following yet another difficult news week in a country that seems bound and determined to ignore the realities of life in the twenty-first century in favor of some glorified notion of life 245 years ago.
I still have no dahlia blooms to share. Aphids managed to compromise the first blooms of Dahlia 'Calin', a bush variety that had an early start on the rest of my tubers. I thought I had the aphid problem under control but it's clear I was a little late addressing it. I cut off the disfigured blooms. Hopefully, the remaining buds will bloom soon, along with the other dahlias currently bearing buds. In the meantime, I took advantage of three blooms from a group of lily bulbs I planted last fall.
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Orienpet Lilium 'Friso' (aka 'Silk Road') managed to bloom despite our drought conditions and the appetite the local rabbits have for lily foliage
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The back view is all about Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', my go-to foliage filler when I use flowers with red tones
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Top view: I used Daucus carota 'Dara' again this week but these self-sown flowers came from a different clump in the front garden and have a much deeper color. I also added one stem of the unusual blooms of Pelargonium schizopetalum (best viewed in closeup as shown below).
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Clockwise from the upper left: Daucus carota 'Dara', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', Salvia lyrata 'Purple Volcano', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), Lilium 'Friso', Pelargonium schizopetalum, and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'
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My second arrangement was inspired by another round of blooms from my peach foxgloves. I hesitate to say these are the last of them as the plants have surprised me this year; however, surging summer temperatures are clearly stressing the plants and their stems are getting shorter and shorter.
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In addition to the foxglove stems, I cut a few of my shaggy Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum, variety unknown). The daisies have made a very poor showing this year, which I'm blaming on the drought.
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Back view: I used stems of Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash' to give the arrangement more height
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Double Azalea Bronze', Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Grevillea 'Superb', and noID Leucanthemum x superbum
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Once again, I have a small vase of leftovers.
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In addition to a stem of last week's Lisianthus, I tucked in stems of Corokia 'Sunsplash' and white-flowered foxgloves
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For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Both lovely arrangments. Love the colors in the second. Your Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' always makes a great backdrop and the Lisianthus is so beautiful! I can't get out of my mind the destructive forces at work in our country. Thrown back to dark ages by these power grabbers.
ReplyDeleteTo say I'm preoccupied with current events would be an understatement as well, Susie. I hope a lot of people who took their rights for granted are now looking at the voting process more critically.
DeleteThank you for the pretty moment of respite from my Monday morning news!
ReplyDeleteWe need those moments more than ever now!
DeleteCertain plants grow in both our gardens and I'm used to the fact that yours bloom far ahead of mine. Except today I wonder if our Dahlias will bloom at the same time... I'll be in the garden tomorrow, (I don't garden where I live), and check on my Mystic Illusion (or is it Bishop of York, I can't tell).
ReplyDeleteThe maroon Daucus carota 'Dara' is ravishing! I love it. And that fantastic snapdragon: a wonderful rich color!
Chavli
Last year I don't think I had any dahlia blooms until late July and the bulk of them didn't make an appearance until August, Chavli. I tried to get an early again start this year by planting tubers in temporary pots but, as spring was cool on average, I'm wondering if the soil was just too cold to promote growth.
DeleteThe snapdragons are looking increasingly wonky, although they're still developing some buds...
Love your peachy second arrangement, and am fascinated by the Pelargonium schizopetalum in the first bouquet.
ReplyDeleteI ordered that Pelargonium last year from a grower that specializes in plants in the Geraniaceae family after seeing the flowers in an Instagram post. It's lived up to my expectations :)
DeleteCurrent events: yes indeed just when you think it can't get worse it does.
ReplyDeleteThe first two are lavish, but the simplicity of the "leftovers" is sweetest to these eyes.
Although we were warned, it didn't make things any easier when the news came down, did it? I've always held the Supreme Court in some esteem, even when I didn't like some of its judgments but that's gone. So much for the value of Congressional interviews.
DeleteLove them all as always, such fine looking arrangements!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThank you for sharing your lovely arrangements. They add some happiness to the day!
ReplyDeleteI'm always glad to share the beauty of my garden, Lee.
DeleteA backward step for the women of your country Kris 🥲 It's interesting to see the variation in colour in the daucus. Two no three inspiring vases as always full of all sorts of gems.
ReplyDeleteIt feels like a backward leap, Anna :( Regarding the Daucus flowers, I had a vague sense that those I cut last week seemed washed out but the newest blooms in my front garden this week made that much more apparent. All are self-sown.
DeleteI am just astonished at how widespread the anti-abortion movement seems to be and how quickly states seemed to move after the judgement - there can't be women voting for this, surely? (Sorry, I wouldn't normally comment on politics) Sorry to hear your dahlias have been slow and aphid-affected, Kris, but hopefully we will see them in your vases soon. You have really tempted me with your various foxgloves in recent weeks and I shalll begin seeking seed shortly. The colour of the leptospermum is a good foil for the lilies and other blooms - shows how important foliage can be
ReplyDeleteSome of the loudest anti-abortion mouthpieces in the US are women, Cathy. However, the states in which the anti-abortion movement is strongest are dominated by one political party, which has become increasingly "conservative" (or reactionary) about accepting the societal changes that have been emerging over the last several decades. Those same states that purport to value the life prior to fetal viability also have the poorest record in providing support to the poor who struggle to support themselves and the families they already have. In addition, they also tend to oppose gun regulations, which I also find grossly hypocritical - apparently the respect for life doesn't extend to school-age children and beyond. The majority of Americans support abortion, at least within certain limits, but our election process is construed in such a way as to give disproportionate weight to states with smaller populations (at least with respect to representation in the Senate). I haven't seen a survey of women as opposed to men on the subject but our public broadcasting system just ran a survey showing that, while people in the Boomer and Millennial generations preponderantly oppose the recent Supreme Court decision, individuals in Gen X are split almost in half. I find that perplexing.
DeleteBeautiful arrangements, Kris! I bet the lilies smell wonderfully, and I love the peachy colors in #2 so much, as you know. I bought two leucanthemums like yours last year and sadly, both died overwinter. So bummed. :( Eliza
ReplyDeleteMy shaggy Leucanthemums, so vigorous in prior years, are really struggling this year. Maybe they don't like weather extremes - cold or hot and dry...
DeleteLovely as always, Kris! Your Grevillea 'Superb' certainly lives up to its name - and it goes beautifully with your other selections. Lucky you, getting another flush of foxgloves so late in the season. I'm on the hunt for Pelargonium schizopetalum after seeing it your Bloom Day post, but can't find a local source as yet....
ReplyDeleteI didn't get around to contributing this week - too much on my plate, but will endeavour to create a bunch next week. I enjoyed seeing your arrangements - a bit of happiness in these dark times.
Grevillea 'Superb' is my most prolific ever-blooming shrub, Horticat, and the bees and hummingbirds love it as much as I do. As to the Pelargonium schizopetalum, I got my plants by mail order from a grower that specializes in plants in the Geraniaceae family. I've never seen it anywhere else here.
DeleteI know, Kris, it's very demoralizing. Unfortunately I live in a Southern state now and the political ads before our primary were disgusting. Then the hearings, then the big decision - just all beyond what I would have believed possible. But oh, that white lisianthus is just lovely - very akin to looking like a rose. And your vases, as always, show off your flowers so well.
ReplyDeleteI find some comfort in the fact that California most definitely leans hard in the other direction, Barbara. However, I'm both sad and angry that we have to fight so hard to preserve (or establish) basic reproductive rights and protection from gun violence in the 21st century in a country that wants to be seen as a world leader.
DeleteBeautiful bouquets this week. I really love that Pelargonium shizoptalum. The blooms are pretty crazy but super unique.
ReplyDeleteI fell in love with that Pelargonium the first time I saw it in an Instagram post and immediately hunted down a source (guided by the Instagram poster). I was amazed to find it available immediately and, less than a year later, voila!
DeleteI seem to be replying as anonymous (noticed same for many others). Not sure why. Elaine
DeleteI can't explain the mysterious machinations of Blogger, Elaine. When they introduced reCAPTCHA (which I'm unable to turn off) a couple of months ago, a lot of people were thrown into the "anonymous" category. Some have resurfaced under their former blog IDs but not all. You seem to have reappeared as luv2garden this time.
DeleteI always enjoy your peachy creations using the Grevillea, and the Antirrhinums go perfectly with it. The Geranium in your first vase is gorgeous, and what a great name too! Have a good week Kris!
ReplyDeleteFor once we have a name that actually fits the plant, Cathy ;)
DeleteLove, love the peachies. I can't believe you have Foxglove this late in the year and you are making me want to try the Lisianthus and the Daucus, though I fear they hate humidity. I think political tides are going to turn and hoping Millenial women get out and vote, these people have just gone too far.
ReplyDeleteThe foxgloves have been toasted during the last week of higher temperatures, even though those haven't hit the stratosphere in my area yet, so I don't expect I'll get much more out of them (although there are a few flower stalks even now). I understand that the old single-petaled Lisianthus were prevalent in Texas - they even bear the common name of "Texas bluebells" - so I expect they can handle more humidity than we get in coastal SoCal. A can't say how well Daucus carota handles humidity but it's an annual and grows easily from seed so it's worth a try.
Delete