When I create floral arrangements, whether utilizing complementary colors or analogous colors, I look for color echoes to link the elements. I fumbled in that endeavor this week.
I used two varieties of dinnerplate Dahlias, 'Iceberg' and 'Lavender Ruffles', in the first arrangement but had difficulty finding companions to play off the latter's pinkish-lavender color.
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Abelia 'Edward Goucher' subtly reflects the color of Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' but as most of the flowering stems are short it doesn't have much impact
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Back view
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Top view: When I squint I think I can made out a very faint pink blush in the Eustoma 'Balboa Blue Rim' (aka Lisianthus) but I'm pushing there
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Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Coleonema album, Eustoma grandiflorum 'Balboa Blue Rim', Dahlia 'Iceberg', and D. 'Lavender Ruffles'
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Zinnia 'Giant Carmine Rose', blooming in earnest in my cutting garden, called out for inclusion in a vase. I love its vibrant color but it turns out there isn't much in my garden that pairs well with it, at least not at present. Cuphea 'Honeybells' was the best match. I played off the touch of yellowish-ivory at the tips of the Cuphea in an effort to bridge the gap between the Zinnia and the arrangement's other dominant element, Dahlia 'Calin'; however, I think the bridge is a bit wobbly in this case.
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I guess I can also claim that there's a touch of yellow at the center of the Zinnias
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Back view, showing off the stems of Cuphea 'Honeybells'
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light', Dahlia 'Calin', and Zinnia elegans 'Giant Carmine Rose'
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For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Gosh, that's a curious-looking eustoma - I can't decide if it appeals or not...I think perhaps I prefer the single colourways? The red zinnia in your second vase is a real star, and I think the vase works far better than you give yourself credit for. Thanks for sharing, as always
ReplyDeleteI've mixed feelings about the 'Balboa Blue Rim' Eustoma too, Cathy. I placed an order for Lisianthus plugs back in November and received these and solid blue/purple plants in late February. Unlike the solid-colored form, 'Balboa' took far longer to bloom and the flowers are both smaller and very tightly clustered. I think I might like the flowers better with other companions (yet to be identified).
DeleteCongrats on the Dahlias! I love them no matter what they go with and the beautiful Zinnias too. I think Carmine Rose may be the star. Colin the co-star. My Dahlias have fried. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you lost the dahlias! They're supposed to like heat as long as they get sufficient water - they're thirsty when blooming. Maybe if you cut the flowering stems back, you'll get more flowers as we get closer to fall.
DeleteIts Amelia not Anonymous...again
ReplyDeleteSorry for the hassle, Amelia!
DeleteThe second one seems to work pretty well best color-wise
ReplyDeleteIn the first, the intense saturation of the Eustoma colors may be the issue--the two Dahlias are more muted pastel.
Flowers themselves seem beautifully grown!
52 more days until the Autumnal Equinox. Not that I'm counting. Well, I'm counting.
The autumnal equinox still seems far away but if summer really ended on September 22nd I'd find that timeframe more reassuring. In the meantime, if the possibility of the summer thunderstorms the weather forecasters have been teasing for a week were realized, I'd be a happy camper.
DeleteKris your flowers always are impeccable and these are no exception. Love the Dahlia 'Calin'. Reading comments I see you had rain too. Yay!
ReplyDeleteNo, unfortunately we've had the possibility of rain but not a single drop has fallen in months. The mountain areas have had some thunderstorms (and floods) but those haven't spilled over into our area. The only thing byproduct of the monsoonal systems to the east thus far has been heightened humidity :(
DeleteYour flower and plant selections, and your vases, are always fabulous. You brighten my Mondays! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's kind of you, Beth. IAVOM has certainly brightened my own perception of Mondays ;)
DeleteI like them both, Kris. The pink and purple works well together and I love the bold and bright zinnias with the dainty cuphea. The older I get, the more I like the warmer colors. Must be something to do with the diminishing of the 'rods and cones' in my eyes, ha! Eliza
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting theory, Eliza!
DeleteCan't see anything mismatched in your gorgeous vases, Kris. They both are full of harmony. I wonder how you succeed with Dahlias as they don't like the heat one bit here and are fairly thirsty too. Do you get a lot of mists from the sea? Fingers crossed for rain for both of us. Enjoy your week :)
ReplyDeleteDahlias seem to handle the heat here as long as they get enough water, Annette. I plant most of my tubers in the raised planters of my cutting garden, where they get more water than the rest of our property. In July, we also benefited from the morning marine layer most days, which keeps our daytime temperatures down. The marine layer is now absent at our elevation but monsoonal moisture stemming from the deserts to the east of us have raised our humidity level if not actually delivering any rain.
DeleteLovely! As always!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy!
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