In a Vase on Monday: Lilies & Thistles

This week, my arrangements differ in texture as much as color.  The lilies in my garden have been appearing one after another and, as heat is in the forecast, I thought it best to use at least some of them in vases while I can.

Lilium 'Friso' offered its first blooms this week.  I'd completely forgotten about them and failed to cage them as protection against the hungry rabbits but they weren't touched this year, perhaps because they're partially engulfed by the surrounding plants.

Back view: I added a single Lilium 'Pretty Woman' (which I had caged) and 2 stems of white Agapanthus that were blocking the dirt path I use when cleaning up the back garden border

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Agapanthus, noID Alstroemeria, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Lilium 'Friso', L. 'Pretty Woman', and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'

My selection of thistles for my second vase wasn't planned.  As I was cleaning up parts of my garden on Saturday, I discovered that the fancy artichoke in my back garden border had either been knocked to the ground by a critter overnight, or simply fallen over under its own considerable weight.

I only have a few vases heavy enough to hold the weight of the artichoke upright.  I had to cut off the 2 side chokes because the stem of this central choke was greater than an inch in diameter just by itself.  The artichoke was more prickly than many of the agaves in my collection.

Back view:  Even with just a single artichoke stem, I could only squeeze in a few other slender stems 

Top view: The additions included a few stems of Eryngium planum (aka sea holly) and the papery flowers of Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender).  Although the Eryngium was past its prime,  its purply stems and spent brown flowers played off the colors of the artichoke.

Clockwise from the left: Cynara scolymus 'Purple Romagna', Erngium planum 'Blue Glitter', and Limonium perezii

 

I honestly hadn't planned any additional arrangements but ended up with two more anyway.  In one case, I'd cut flowers to be included in the vase containing the artichoke but popped them into a tiny vase when I decided the stems were too short to make an impact in that arrangement.

I used my small cactus-shaped vase to hold a few stems of Melaleuca thymifolia, Polygala myrtifolia, and Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue'.  The unusual flowers of the Melaleuca are particularly difficult to photograph.

 

In the last case, the second of the beautiful Gladiolus 'Guinea' in another back garden border flopped over on its own and I couldn't bear letting it go to waste.

The top row shows the small vase holding the gladiola from the front, back and top.  I used just 2 stems of Grevillea 'Superb' and several stems of Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' to accompany Gladiolus 'Guinea'.

 

We managed to avoid the heat that afflicted much of Los Angeles County last week but this week's heat sounds more menacing.  Hopefully, our morning marine layer will stick with us now, when it's really needed and keep those afternoon temperatures within bounds, but with the weather world-wide becoming less predictable, who knows?

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

 

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party