Given the majority of the US Supreme Court decisions released over the past two weeks and the testimony coming out of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in 2020 it's hard to feel patriotic right now. I remain hopeful that people will come out to vote in November for a slate of representatives that will do a better job of carrying out the expectations held by the majority of Americans so we can begin to dismantle the harm that's been caused and prevent further harm to human rights. Given the widespread ban on the use of fireworks in Los Angeles County except by state-licensed pyrotechnicians due to our heightened fire risk, I also hope that tonight will be calmer than most July 4th holidays. Neither the ban nor the hefty fines for noncompliance have entirely stopped all the "practice" fireworks we've heard over the last several days but at least there do seem to be less of those.
My first arrangement channels the red, white and blue colors that characterize the holiday, albeit with more emphasis on the blue and white.
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Agapanthus is my go-to selection for 4th of July displays and I was lucky to find several stems still in good enough shape to make the cut
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Back view: My "reddish" selection was Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', which looks like little fireworks to me
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: noID Agapanthus, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Eustoma grandiflorum, and Fuchsia magellanica 'Hawkshead'
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My dahlias are still taking their time about blooming, although a single flower was close enough to it to cut for my second arrangement.
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Dahlia 'Southern Belle' was a gift with purchase
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Back view: For once, the manicured hands clasped to form the vase are readily visible in this arrangement
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Dahlia 'Southern Belle', Grindelia camporum (also known as valley gumweed), and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime'
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Several stems from last week's vase made it into the vase on my kitchen island.
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A second week's run for Daucus carota 'Dara', Eustoma grandiflorum, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Lilium 'Friso'
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For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. For those of you celebrating the 4th of July, best wishes. I have trust that the vast majority of gardeners take climate change far more seriously than certain members of the US Supreme Court.
All
material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Still surprises me how much material you get from your garden on a regular basis to make such fine arrangements. Poignant times but your blooms bring cheer
ReplyDeleteSummer has historically been a dry period in more way than one - I used to resort to succulent arrangements during the summer months because flowers were hard to come by. Dahlias and zinnias, both just getting started now, help to bridge the gap.
DeleteThe red is very subtle in your first vase, Kris! I wonder if I will ever have enough agapanthus blooms to cut...?! đ I love the way the colours in the second vase (particularly from the front) blend together, and I note the fingernails on the hands pick up the shade of some of the blooms too!
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus tends to be maligned here because they grow everywhere - you even find them growing at gas stations! Our luck is all a matter of the climate, Cathy. Your climate may be a little too cool and wet. Growing them in your greenhouse may be helpful.
DeletePretty vases and I am joining you in hopes for voting and lots of it. It surprises me I cannot grow any Agapanthus flowers, just foliage. So, I enjoy seeing yours. Well done with the Dahlia, I hope more appear soon and I like the combination with the other daisy shaped flowers. We have had mad fireworks all weekend, despite the very dry weather. Being careful with my dog, who hates going outside with any booms.
ReplyDeleteKris, above is from Amelia, not sure how I became anonymous..
DeleteAgapanthus can take time to get established so maybe the plants just need more time, Amelia. I feel bad for pets, particularly dogs, on the 4th - they seem particularly sensitive to firework explosions. In addition to paying a fine for setting off illegal fireworks, maybe those guilty of doing so should be sentenced to spend 6 months fostering puppies.
DeleteBlogger changed its practice for logging in commentators. It's affected many Wordpress users. Some have worked out a way to identify themselves but I can't tell you how they did it.
Unexpectedly got 2" of rain yesterday after being missed numerous times by rain clouds. Your vases reflect the holiday nicely and I join you in your wishes for a November change in the country's climate.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Barbara! I'm envious of the rain. Fingers crossed that voters turn out in record numbers in November - and for years and years afterward.
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly with your first paragraph, Kris. Let's hope all this spurs a record voter turnout in November. It's ironic that T used to chant 'drain the swamp'... little did we know he was referring to himself and his cronies.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see agapanthus and your early zinnia and dahlia. I really love that clasped hands vase!
Ha! My brother actually created an "enhanced" photo of #45 as the Swampmonster not long after he took office. He certainly lived up to the image.
DeleteA nice person at the hardware store wished me a "Happy Fourth" because they were simply being pleasant and cheerful. I manged to respond politely, but it was painful.
ReplyDeleteThe pink "fingernails" on the vase matching the Dahlia is a fun touch! Agapanthus always remind me of fireworks the way they explode outwards from a central point.
My zinnias are far behind--just starting to branch. Do you fertilize yours a lot? Sunset WGB says fertilize "generously". Maybe I'm being too stingy.
It IS a tough 4th! A reporter on NPR mentioned that a democracy watchdog (Freedom House) dropped the rating for the US to 83 in early 2021. The rating dropped from 94 ten years earlier. This year another research entity, the Economist Intelligence Unit, rated the US #26 out of 167 countries, between Chile and Estonia.
DeleteMy zinnias are behind some I've seen but I was a late in pinching the seedlings. I mix tomato fertilizer into the soil amendment in my raised planters when I refresh it (before sowing my seeds). I've also been giving the sprouted dahlias a flower boosting fertilizer mixed with water about once a month (per the recommendation of Swan Island Dahlias), which probably helps the nearby zinnias too.
What a treat to have enough Agapanthus blooms to cut! I only grew it once, in a pot, with the grand total of one flower. They sell supposedly hardy ones here, but I am sure it would not survive winter in my garden! Love the Zinnia in the second vase… I sowed that one but am still waiting to see which ones survived the slugs after I planted the seedlings out!
ReplyDeleteOur Agapanthus are evergreen but then my area is frost-free too. In an episode of Gardeners World, I recall Monty Don mentioning deciduous varieties, dormant during the winter months, which I'm guessing might work better in your climate, Cathy.
DeleteAggies do well here too - I've never thought to use them in an arrangement before though - they look great in your vase. And I adore your 'Hawkshead' fuchsia and pretty dahlia.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your November elections. We had elections here recently, and after years of what became know as the 'Climate Wars' (where the major parties viewed climate action as political poison) most of the old crew were ousted. We are now steaming ahead in leaps and bounds. Still probably not fast enough, but it makes for an encouraging change after years of climate denial and inaction. I wish your country a similar outcome.
I spoke to someone today - a Scandinavian immigrant - who expressed the view that the US is too big to govern without the huge divisions we see now. Given the emergence of "blue" and "red" states where compromise is a dirty word (like "facts"), it's hard to argue that point. However, on climate change, it's poison if the continent can't set reasonable standards. Maybe when half of Florida and large parts of Texas end up under water, opinions will shift but that's probably decades in the future and greed still directs way to much of the national policy.
DeleteIt's fab to be able to have a continuous supply of cut flowers from the garden. Your vases are so pretty especially the blue and white one which is refreshing and soothing. My Agapanthus in Pompeii has 4 flowers, no chance that I'd cut them! As for their hardiness, it's better to choose deciduous varieties in colder regions. I've two evergreen ones which do very well. Wishing you a happy summer :)
ReplyDeletePompeii! I'd love to see photos of that garden, Annette :)
DeleteI think all us northerners love Agapanthus the same way Europeans love goldenrod...weedy to some, a treasure for others. Beautiful vases!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris. It seems that people everywhere tend to undervalue the familiar in favor of the exotic ;)
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