At present, everywhere I turn there are tree aeoniums (Aeonium arboreum) coming into bloom. The flowers aren't at all subtle. They're large and an almost florescent shade of yellow. As the flowers develop, the rosettes that produced them die back, giving the plants a shabby look. However, as the flowers are in plentiful supply, choosing them to fill a vase was the logical choice this week.
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| I cut stems of the humongous Leucadendron 'Chief' with its yellow and red flower-like bracts to accompany those florescent yellow Aeonium blooms. The Leucadenron is easily 10 feet tall and covered in "flowers" right now. |
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| Back view: I relied on the bright green foliage of Acacia 'Cousin Itt' as a filler |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left: Aeonium arboreum, Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' |
The arrangement I created two weeks ago in one of the new vases I bought myself lasted two weeks but, after finally tossing the remaining contents on Sunday, I had a vacant space in the front entry to fill. The mauve-pink Grevillea sericea in my north side garden is currently covered in flowers so I decided to hunt down companions to support it.
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| I cut 2 dark stems of Leucadendron 'Ebony' to pair with the airy stems of the Grevillea, then sought other flowers that meshed with one or another of those elements. The vase is the smaller of the 2 matching vases I purchased online in January. |
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| Back view: As usual, I got carried away and crammed too much into the vase |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dianthus barbatus, Hebe 'Purple Shamrock', Leucadendron 'Ebony', Grevillea sericea, Nemesia 'Banana Swirl', Pelargonium peltatum, Persicaria capitata, and Osteospermum '4D Pink' |
We're expecting light rain during the morning hours followed by mostly sunny skies for the balance of the week. With a long to-do list, I'm looking forward to getting a little work done in the garden this week.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy in Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Its a good thing when pruning day and IAVOM are coordinated, as demonstrated in the first vase :-D
ReplyDeleteL. 'Ebony' accentuates the white-to-pink blooms magnificently!
Chavli
I haven't formally attacked the pruning of Leucadendron 'Chief' yet, Chavli, although I've chipped away at it a little with various forays into its thicket. It's a truly mammoth shrub and I haven't managed a photo yet that captures its sheer girth. Its height and width well exceeds the grower's estimate.
DeleteWonderful bouquets :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nikki.
DeleteI have to admit that I do not care for aeonium flowers in general (if they were flowering in my garden I think I would be tempted to cut them off), but you made me look twice with some of the photos of your arrangement. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteIt may be a surprising admission from me, Loree, but I honestly don't care for most succulent flowers. The main exception are aloe flowers. As the Aeonium arboreum flowers continue to proliferate (they're a little like Triffids, although not carnivorous), I'll be channeling my inner Red Queen, beheading them en masse. As I recall, I put some of the flowers out for neighbors when I did that last year and I vaguely recall that many of them were carried off. In the meantime, the bees love them. Unfortunately, so do ants, which proved to be a negative when preparing my vase.
DeleteThat aeonium bloom is amazing - but so your Leucadendron must be too, giving lots of vase material, week after week. What a pretty vase your opportunist second one is, with those pinks and purples. I have always admired that osteospermum and have googled the persicaria, as I hadn't heard of P capitata. There is something similar in the UK though. Thanks for sharing - and hope your leaks have been fully rectified now
ReplyDeleteLeucadendron 'Chief' is an over-performer, even by standards for the genus, Cathy. I wish the Osteospermums made better cut flowers. Those in the '4D' series do remain open in low light (unlike the single-petaled varieties) but their stems still tend to be relatively short.
DeleteI love these, sort of wild Mediterranean tropical. Tree Aeoniums are a difficult concept to wrap your brain around..really cool though. Yay for rain and have fun in the garden. Amelia
ReplyDeleteWell, for "trees," the Aeoniums aren't particularly tall, Amelia. I've never had one above about 3 feet in height but then I usually cut them down and start over with rosette cuttings when they begin to look awkward.
DeleteThe first has lovely color and texture, a good use of the abundant Aeonium. The second offers delicious color contrast, 'Ebony' plays well off the pinks and give weight to the arrangement. Lovely duo, Kris! Eliza
ReplyDeleteI was afraid the 'Ebony' stems might weigh that arrangement down too much, Eliza. I'm glad you didn't think so.
DeleteWow! The Aeonium flowers are amazing! Both vases are wonderful Kris. 'Cramming' so many pinks and mauves together produced such a gorgeous shape and effect. I love the little Persicaria. I grew that one once and it managed to survive one winter by seeding itself between the cracks in our paving!
ReplyDeleteThat Persicaria self-seeds freely here too, Cathy. The seeds must be really tiny as I've never seen evidence of them but new plants pop up all over.
DeleteYour arrangements are just stunning...every time! I love the Aeonium blooms with the Leucadendron stems. Wowza! Thanks so much for sharing this beauty.
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth!
DeleteWhat fun to have two such dramatically different vases. I love that fluorescent yellow.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite bright! You can't miss it as you walk through the garden and the flowers are literally popping up all over.
DeleteThe plants seem to really have appreciated all the rain you have been receiving. Kind of feast or famine for you. The aeonium stalks are rather prehistoric looking but very cool in the arrangement.
ReplyDelete"Prehistoric" is a great description of those Aeonium flowers, Elaine. They're the long-necked giants among the flowers in my garden.
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