I'm still trying to make use of my remaining cool season blooms while they're presentable. Our morning marine layer has been present more often than not over the past two weeks, keeping our afternoon temperatures very pleasant. On Saturday, it was so thick our roof-top weather station recorded one one-hundredth of an inch of precipitation - during a severe drought even that is appreciated.
My foxgloves have produced another flush of bloom. Their stems, like those of the snapdragons, are shorter now but I made use of both to stuff my first vase this week.
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| I crammed more into this vase than I'd planned (as usual) |
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| Back view: My cool season daisies (Argyranthemum frutescens) are also showing signs of fading even though our temperatures haven't crept above the low 70sF for some time now |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Peach' and 'Double Azalea Bronze', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', and Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane' |
My second arrangement was inspired by the first bloom of self-seeded Daucus carota 'Dara' but the concept I had in mind didn't come together as planned.
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| 'Dara' was relegated to the back of the vase and what may be the last of the pink Alstroemeria took center stage, accompanied by stems of Hebe 'Wiri Blush' |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Daucus carota 'Dara', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', noID Alstroemeria, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' (she's back!), Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Orlaya grandiflora |
I cut a stem of a noID pink lily late last week for our kitchen island. Its scent was so strong I considered putting it outside at first but the scent, like its color, has faded somewhat so it remains. (However, I decided to pass on using a second stem in another arrangement.) I embellished the lilies with Lisianthus recycled from one of last week's arrangements, as well as flowers I cut but didn't use in the arrangements shown above.
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| Arrangements on the kitchen island don't really have a front and back. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), noID Asiatic hybrid Lilium, and Nigella papillosa |
For more arrangements created from garden foliage and flowers, visit our IAVOM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Kris, the color combinations in your vases work so well! The foxgloves are beautiful. I have 3 plants but no blooms yet that should be about the same color. The Lisianthus holds us really well, doesn't it? Lovely all.
ReplyDeleteLisianthus does indeed perform well in a vase, Susie. I just wish it was a little less temperamental in the ground. The plugs are best started early in the year so their roots are well-established before our long dry season begins. The problem with that is that the plants are seldom available until late March at earliest and unfortunately growing them from seed is difficult. Those that do best for me are the plants that manage to survive their first dry season to make it to our winter rainy season.
DeleteKris, I love the colour combinations in your vases. My favourite is the green vase - the white/purple flower combination really picks up the colours in the ceramic. Jealous you can grow orlaya grandiflora - mine germinates, looks sad then dies - what is your top tip? Also it never occured to me that digitalis would be happy as a cut flower. I've been eyeing up the perenial varieties at the garden centre. So much inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteOrlaya is actually very easy to grow here, although it definitely prefers more water than it gets in my garden beds. It's self-seeded there but the plants as well as the flowers are noticeably smaller than those in the raised planters of my cutting garden, which get more water. It's possible it appreciates our very mild (virtually non-existent) winter too.
DeleteIt's most obliging of those pretty foxgloves to have a second flush Kris. They are only just coming into flower here. A beautiful gathering of flowers as always.
ReplyDeleteFoxgloves, like many other flowering plants that bloom in summer in your climate, Anna, prefer our cool season here (late fall through early spring). As soon as the rain stops, the garden gets very dry and when temperatures begin to soar the foxgloves and so many other plants just shut down.
DeleteWow, I am amazed at how great the flowers look - the late season ones, to me having Foxgloves and Snaps in June is unheard of. And so lush, with so little rain. Just wow.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I can remember that I've had snapdragons in June or even May, Amelia. They're usually magnets for rust and don't last long. Those that I've grown this year in the 'Chantilly' series were advertised as rust resistant so that may be a significant factor in this year's success. I also think planting them from very small pots (slightly larger than plugs) in early December helped them get established.
DeleteThe pale pinks and soft oranges in the first vase really work well together, as do the blends in your second vase - and then you have topped them with your third teeny vase which could even be my favourite! I always enjoy seeing the range of blooms you use in your vases each week Kris as you never stint on your contributions!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your tolerance for my exuberant approach to creating floral arrangements, Cathy. I know I go overboard but at least my flower addiction isn't harmful ;) But with summer's heat approaching, I may have less to offer, at least until the dahlias show up.
DeleteAbundance! Both are beautiful and I like the peachy tones and burgundy hues equally. I'm awaiting germination on my nigella and 'itsy-bitsy' with fingers crossed, checking every day... soon I hope!
ReplyDelete70s weather sounds perfect to me! I'm sure you are loving it while it lasts.
Eliza
I was pleased to find that Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' recovered from last year's severe pruning, Eliza. It's a much more upright shrub at this point but I suspect it'll be spilling over its neighbors again before the year is out. I hope the seeds of both species come through for you.
DeleteLove all the peachy tones in the first bunch, Kris. I managed to find a punnet of similar snapdragons here -not 'Chantilly'- but they look to be a similar open-faced variety. Seeing them in your arrangements inspired me to grow them!
ReplyDeleteI grew the 'Chantilly' snapdragons from small plants I ordered by mail but I'm hoping to get hold of seeds for the 'Chantilly' series to sow late this year. I've never seen 'Chantilly' plants sold in my local garden centers but I did see another variety labeled as the 'Dragon' series that has similar upward-facing blooms here this spring.
DeleteTotally different looks, both totally awesome! As in last week (?), I'm head over heels in lust with Nigella papillosa!
ReplyDeleteMy foxglove just started to bloom, yay. Snapdragons are annuals in the PNW but I may get a few, for pops of color.
Chavli
That Nigella papillosa is sometimes marketed as 'Chocolate & Cream' but it's more commonly known as 'African Bride', Chavli. Grown from seed, it's been an even better performer for me than the more common love-in-the-mist flowers. I treat snapdragons as annuals here too and usually foxgloves as well, although the latter will bloom a second year for me if given a chance but they're prone to mealy bug infestations when conditions get dry so I generally end up pulling them out, starting over with small plants from pony-packs in the fall.
DeleteI do love how full your vases are...the colors working so well together of both the flowers and foliage. And those yummy peachy tones really are awesome.
ReplyDeleteI love peach and soft orange flowers as well, Donna.
DeleteI'm working on a better supply of material -since I retire as of July 1 I plan to do 2 arrangements a week going forward. My wild card is the river trail that can be accessed from my neighborhood and can supply me with more greens and fillers. And I hope to join in a vase on Monday !
ReplyDeleteWow, Kathy, that's great! I can't wait to see your arrangements turning up regularly on IAVOM :)
DeleteYour foxgloves and snapdragons are such gorgeous colours. Love the whole effect of that first vase. And the Orlaya in your second vase has made a big impression on me. I think I may try to grow that next year. :-)
ReplyDeleteI bet Orlaya would love your garden, Cathy. It grows easily from seed here.
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