It's time to pull up my warm-season cutting garden. I've been tossing plants out here and there for the past month and just about every remaining plant looks sad. I'm already late in sowing my sweet pea and other cool-season seeds. With lots of empty spots in my raised planters, the raccoon intrusions are increasing. Two 'Lavender Ruffles' Dahlias are looking good enough to hold onto for a little longer but that's it. I'll work around them for a little while but I'm ready to abandon the summer bloomers at last.
As I'm clearing beds and barrels of dahlias and zinnias I have a four (!) arrangements this week. I actually emptied the barrel in my front garden containing Dahlia 'Karma Prospero' last Wednesday after the raccoons tossed it yet again. Half the soil was on the ground and the rocks I'd placed to deter the little monsters were buried in the remaining soil. So I put together a vase on Wednesday featuring the last of those dahlia flowers.
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| I added a few purple zinnias from the cutting garden and a single stem of Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle'. An Amarine is a hybrid of Amaryllis belladonna and Nerine. Although 5 Amarine bulbs in my garden have produced foliage, only one has bloomed thus far. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', pink Dahlia 'Karma Prospero', surprise white flower of the same dahlia, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pelargonium peltatum 'White Blizzard', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple' |
Looking for a change of pace, I cut a few stems of the bush violet (
Barleria obtusa) that exploded into bloom last week. Prompted by yet another heatwave and a little rain, it's blooming weeks ahead of schedule this year and already encroaching on its neighbors.
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| The arrangement could've used a touch of white but my garden is short on that color at present |
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| Back view, showing stems of Vitex trifolia (aka simpleleaf chastetree). When cut, the stems tend to droop, revealing the purple undersides of the leaves. I tried dipping the stem tips in hot water to firm them up but that didn't accomplish anything. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, Conoclinium coelestium (aka blue mistflower and wild ageratum), Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus), Helichrysum petiolare 'Petite Licorice' (a virtual weed here), and Vitex trifolia |
With the dahlias and zinnias in the cutting garden facing removal, I cut the most presentable of them to mark the end of their season. Appropriately, Dahlia 'Summer's End' was one of these.
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| I reused the Cotoneaster berries and Leucadendron stems from last week's vase so this arrangement is essentially another spin on that one |
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| Back view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', noID Cotoneaster, Dahlia 'Summer's End', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime' |
Dahlia 'Break Out' wasn't quite ready for inclusion in a vase last week and its flowers were already a bit past their prime this week but I cut them anyway.
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| I decided to use the last of the 'Carmine Rose' Zinnias to play off the pink centers of the dahlia |
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| Back view, showing off the Australian fuchsia, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Dahlia 'Break Out', and Zinnia elegans 'Carmine Rose' |
For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
So festive! You have a vase for each of the four seasons... well, if there wasn't a winter and spring came around twice. The first arrangement is so cheerful and bright, it would look good in a bride's hand!
ReplyDeleteI expect I wouldn't grow Dahlias if I had to pull them up every year to overwinter; it's such a job!
Chavli
Well, it's often said that fall is SoCal's "second spring," ;) Our climate doesn't actually require us to dig up dahlia tubers. If mine were planted out in the garden, they could be left in place but, in my garden borders, they also wouldn't get the spring/summer water they need to flower in the first place. I plant the tubers in the raised planters of my cutting garden because that area gets more water than any other area but, because I replant them to accommodate cool-season bloomers and water accordingly, any tubers left there either get in the way or would be subject to rot.
DeleteMolto bella la composizione sui toni del blu! In quella prima ho visto una bella nerine! Mi sono sempre fiorite bene ma negli ultimi 3 anni mai, eppure stanno nello stesso posto e le ho divise, misteri :)
ReplyDeleteBuona serata :)
Thanks Gabriel! I love blue flowers and was lucky to find the bush violet that bloom so abundantly in autumn. The Amarine was a great find too - I have never had much success with Nerine but, when that plant is bred with Amaryllis belladonna, a plant that does exceptionally well in my dry climate, it is a winner.
DeleteI'd love to have that Dahlia 'Summer's End' bouquet for our Thanksgiving table! A dahlia grower on a local forum mentioned pulling up her plants this week as there was frost in the forecast. That got my attention! Thankfully she's wrong, but with a low of 45 a couple of times this week, well that's plenty cold.
ReplyDeleteIt's the late heatwaves and the blight of mildew (a response to the return of our marine layer accompanied by very warm temperatures) that's taken out my dahlias, Loree. Of course, the raccoons haven't helped either.
DeleteWonderful abundance, Kris! All are lovely and I'm a tad envious. :) I managed to pick a small vase of calendula yesterday that have endured multiple frosts. I usually can count on a few blooms into November. It works! Eliza
ReplyDeleteAt least you have the compensation of that incredible fall foliage color, Eliza! Barleria obtusa (aka bush violet) was a wonderful discovery here as it adds a blast of blue color each autumn. I'm still waiting to see if Senna bicapsularis is going to come through as it has in the past. The Eustoma (lisianthus) and Osteospermums also attempt comebacks at this time of year.
DeleteAlthough there is a lot of colour in the cutting beds here I am nevertheless quelling the urge to clear them - but then they would just be empty till springtime, not like your cool season alternatives! I will hold out tillthe first frots tough and focus on cutting back I can do elsewhere, like climbing roses. Your four vases are so very different and it's always a shock to the senses to have the true blues of your second vase - so lovely, but so is your first one although not in a blue way!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. Frost is a foreign concept here. The days are shorter, which slows flower development, but the cooler temperatures and moister air (if not rain) gives some a boost. I'm very happy with the bush violets and hope to spread them about more in the future. They self-seed freely but always seem happier where they plant themselves than where I try to move the seedlings ;)
DeleteThey are all lovely but I do like the blue one best. I think it looks perfect without the addition of white. It's kind of moody and sophisticated with just a small pop of silver.
ReplyDeleteYou'll probably see the bush violet a few more times in the coming month, Elaine. It's the most striking floral element in my garden at the moment. How much I can do to change up the arrangements using it remains to be seen.
DeleteA quadruple celebration at the end of the season. I love the movement in the asymmetrical vases. I want that Barleria!
ReplyDeleteBarleria obtusa is a remarkable plant and very tough, at least in my climate, Amelia. Yet, I've never seen it in a local nursery or garden center, or even in a mail order catalog. I picked up mine at a plant sale at my local botanic garden years ago and it's essentially propagated itself ever since.
DeleteMy Dahlias were such a struggle this year-so of course I'm ordering more. I won't be defeated ! We had a wind event yesterday and it exposed the defects in my staking procedure. I've pulled all the Zinnias except for Oklahoma Ivory -what prolific plant that is. It was 37 when I got up Sunday am and they sailed right through.
ReplyDelete37! Our nighttime low temperatures are still in the upper 50s to low 60s. We don't get frosts here at all. It was a weird year for dahlias, though. The tubers got off to an very slow start, perhaps because spring was cooler than usual. And then the hot and very dry conditions during the summer months didn't help. More than anything, it was the mildew and the raccoons that had me throwing in the towel. Nonetheless, I've already ordered more dahlia tubers for next year as well ;)
DeleteFour bunches(!) You don't do things by halves :) All are beautiful, Kris. I'm particularly drawn to your blue/purple arrangement this week. I think the drooping vitex adds to the arrangement as the purple undersides of the leaves are more prominent. I've never thought to use Barleria obtusa is a vase before. Do the flowers last long? I have a very sad specimen in a pot, but must make a spot for it in the garden after seeing how lovely it looks in your vase.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you're familiar with Barleria obtusa but, as I understand it hails from South Africa, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. The one and only place I've ever seen the plant here is my local botanic garden, which is where my original plant came from years ago. The botanic garden's specimen is huge in width and height but it doesn't bloom as thickly as my plants (I now have several), which I cut down almost to the ground each year after they finish flowering. The individual flowers do drop but, as the buds stretch along the length of the stem, new ones open as others fade.
DeleteThanks for the info, Kris. Barleria is pretty much unknown here too - although it should be more widely grown as it does so well here. I came across it growing and self seeding in a garden I used to maintain for a elderly lady, but didn’t know what it was. That’s where my plant from - I have never seen it for sale or growing anywhere else locally.
ReplyDeleteI'm equally surprised that it's not both widely available and well-known here given how well it grows in my climate too. It seems completely unaffected by drought or heatwaves, and that's saying a lot. My only concern is how readily it self-seeds but that's only a problem if you're not watching what's happening.
DeleteThere was a lot of pretty there that had to go. I like the asymmetrical silhouette form of the first especially.
ReplyDeleteI'm clearing out here, too, to amend the raised beds and let them sit a bit before winter stuff goes in. A few Dahlia/Zinnia still linger as it continues to be pretty warm during the day. Some mild weather ahead--perfect for getting out there. Hooray!
The weather has been great! I'm making good use of it too.
DeleteOh you have really spoilt us this week with such riches Kris! All beautiful although perhaps my favourite is the blue and purple mix. I've never heard of barleria which reminds me of campanula flowers. Is it a relative?
ReplyDeleteThey're unrelated, Anna - at least according to their current classifications but we know how fast those are changing hese days. Barleria is in the Acanthaceae family and Campanula is in the Campanulacaea family. It looks as though there are some links in their ancestry above the level of their classification order, though.
DeleteAll so inspiring Kris! Nice reworking of the vase with Dahlia 'Summer's End' but feels a little bittersweet. I will miss summer. YOu have a great selelction of dahlias. I think I planted Break Out this year but it was a no-show, so especially glad to see yours. Have a good week. Still on health care duties here so no energy for the garden this fall.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're taking breaks to take care of yourself too, Susie. According to today's Los Angeles Times, we're likely to have summer make a return this winter as the drought further entrenches itself in California :(
DeleteThe Bush Violet is really lovely Kris, and I can imagine it puts on quite a show when in flower. Your dahlias are all gorgeous, especially 'Break Out' with those pretty yellows and pinks. Hope the creatures move on to another garden now your dahlias have been removed! Have a great week Kris!
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, the raccoons seem to really be enjoying the nearly empty raised planters in my cutting garden, Cathy. If they dug out all the grubs and moved along, I'd be pleased but their memories of areas they've already cleared seem to be little better than the squirrels' memories of where they planted nuts (or, in my garden, unripe guavas).
DeleteGlad you’ve got some comfortable gardening temperatures and can be outside for long stretches. That aloe is gorgeous- love the spots!
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of that aloe myself, Horticat ;)
Delete