In honor of Independence Day tomorrow, I'd intended to create a red, white and blue arrangement but the reds I have on hand are limited and they didn't mix well with the blues I'd selected so instead I have a red and white arrangement and a separate blue and white arrangement.
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Daucus carota 'Dara' was the inspiration for this arrangement but Lilium 'Pretty Woman' assumed center stage
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Back view: Unfortunately the small white flowers of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' were almost lost in the arrangement
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Red', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Daucus carota 'Dara', and Lilium 'Pretty Woman'
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I spent a lot of time dithering with the blue arrangement, although Agapanthus remained the primary element from the outset.
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Like a lot of flowers in my garden, the Agapanthus were slower to get started this year but they're currently coming on like gangbusters
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Back view: I included cuttings of the twisty mystery vine I discovered in my cutting garden to add some interest. The stems of Salvia 'Winnifred Gilman' I added were largely lost among the Agapanthus but they do add scent.
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Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', Osteospermum 'Violet Ice', Prunus ilicifolia, noID blue Agapanthus, Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman', noID vine, and noID white Agapanthus
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Our marine layer is still intact but it's been clearing between 10am and 11am each day so our afternoon temperatures have crept up.
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I took this photo Saturday morning but the view was the same on Sunday morning. Our temperature reached a high of 84F/29C on Saturday but it didn't climb above 80F/26C on Sunday. However, our humidity levels remained significantly higher than usual both days.
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For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. For those of your celebrating Independence Day, best wishes for a happy and safe holiday! Avoid the noise, air and water pollution caused by outdated firework displays and the heightened risk of wildfires that accompany them and try out the new drone-driven light shows if you have that option. It frankly sounds - and smells - like a war zone in my area on the 4th of July. The Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board recently nixed the professional firework displays along a large stretch of our south coast due to the plastic pollution that ends up in the ocean. Amateur displays of even the so-called "safe and sane" fireworks are illegal in my high fire-risk area but that hasn't stopped the fireworks we've been hearing regularly for more than two weeks leading up to the holiday, despite the exposure to hefty fines.
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Your agapanthus bouquet looks like fireworks going off! I love it, Happy 4th!
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus is a classic flower to show off on the 4th, tz!
DeleteI think red white and blue looks better on a flag than a bouquet, so having two arrangements worked out perfectly today.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I naturally gravitate towards blues, I think the "red" vase is quite amazing, from the vase to the tip of the pistil... gorgeous!
I love that early morning overcast sky. Seattle will hit mid-high 80's in the next few days and I'm dreading it. What's that dark bloom in the scenic photo, right of center?
Chavli
Thanks Chavli! Near mid-afternoon, we're currently hovering just below 80F, just like yesterday - we're getting off much easier than the folks in our inland valleys with this heatwave.
DeleteThe plant in the photo you referred to is Salvia canariensis var candissima, a native of the Canary Islands.
Seems bizarre that people are risking fines and still letting off fireworks - do the authorities actually prosecute at all? Sorry you didn't manage a red, white and blue vase, but I love your striking blue alternative - must be lovely to have enough agapanthus to cut for a vase! I wonder if I can get that osteospermum here? I successfully brought last year's osteospermum into the greenhouse over winter and was going to take cuttings, but the plants bushed out so well I didn't bother and used them as they were
ReplyDeleteI think many people are reluctant to report their neighbors on fireworks charges, although more and more are getting tired of the noise, pollution and fire risk so that may change. Historically, the police have also been reluctant to respond to calls about that. However, the fines are quite high though and the cities are always looking for revenue so that may change too. As 2 major insurers have discontinued providing wildfire insurance in California, there may be additional pressure there too.
DeleteThe "double" Osteospermums have been proliferating here so I'd expect they'll make it across the pond at some point!
I like your more subtle nod to the holiday. My blue agapanthus has a couple of buds on it this year, although it will be a few weeks before they open. So far this fireworks season seems more muted here (they're illegal, that stops no one), I fear that will all end tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteWe can usually see dozens of firework displays from our back garden stretching across the harbor area and beyond. As the professional firework displays along the coast have been cancelled due to plastic pollution impacts to the ocean, we should see fewer but, if the nightly "practice" sessions are any clue, I doubt a lot of the amateur displays will stop even though transgressions carry fines ranging from $1000 (for the first offense) to $7500.
DeleteThe pink queen anne's lace blows my mind! I wish I could grow agapanthus like that, maybe it is too humid for it? Happy Fourth. Amelia
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus is a South African native so it likes a Mediterranean climate like mine. I expect Florida gets both too much rain and humidity to keep them happy, Amelia.
DeleteThe red arrangement is wonderful but oh my! The Agapanthus stole my heart.
ReplyDeleteJust read someone local was waiting for her neighbor's Agapanthus to bloom.
She said she searches it out every year. Maybe I'll give it a try sometime. Didn't think it liked our hot, humid summers. I agree with you about fireworks. I'm sure they'll be going off everywhere in our neighborhood tomorrow.
When we bought our current house, the real estate agent made a big deal out of all the firework displays we'd see from our back garden. Clearly, she's never lived through the experience :(
DeleteI love the idea of both vases especially seeing my favorite Agapanthus that you grow. I look forward to seeing it in your vases. Very similar weather here....80s, humid and foggy in the mornings if we don't have the smoke...then it is just haze.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you're getting smoke on occasion too, Donna. I know from experience how miserable that can be.
DeleteHa! I am enjoying theses as red state and blue state celebrations.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year I'll just go for purplish-blue, Linda!
DeleteBoth very pretty. The wild carrot is lovely, I can't resist umbellifers. A lovely osteospermum and I have never seen that gorgeous salvia before. You always show something new to me.
ReplyDeleteChloris
Although I purchased Daucus carota seeds again this year, I never sowed them so it appears last year's crop took care of that for me ;) Salvia clevelandii is a California native that's nearly indestructible here.
DeleteThe Agapanthus always look like fireworks to me, but the Daucus does also. The red arrangement is nicely subdued and the blue is, well, beautiful wonderful blue! My favorite.
ReplyDeleteOur neighborhood is mostly empty. People are either at their vacation home or at someone else's vacation home. We heard a few bangs Saturday night and a couple Sunday night but that was about it. Because of the wildland park a few hundred feet down the hill we've got county park, sheriff, fire authority, and county-sponsored volunteer patrols all over, which is helpful in keeping the neighborhood safe.
I hope your 4th is better this year.
We've heard firework displays every night for a good 2 weeks, yet the volume still seems lower than usual. I've heard individual fireworks going off at intervals all day - what's the point of setting them off in daylight? But the proof of the so-called pudding will be what happens tonight...
DeleteKris I don't know how many times I have sworn to plant Daucus carota "Dara" because I have seen it in your posts more than once and love it. That and the agapanthus in the vibrant blue .. I keep dropping the ball , and running out of room too. I love the marine layer .. it reminds me of the fog we would get on the east coast .. I loved it as a child, so mysterious yet friendly. Your flower arrangements are very pretty .. oh ! I had to get rid of my sweet peas before I even got any flowers from them .. the invasion of aphids was just too overwhelming .. I have an idea this year is going to be very tough when it comes to the garden .. I have seen the dreaded lily beetle too and that makes my heart sink a bit .. neem oil helps but those beetles are pure evil ! LOL
ReplyDeleteOh no! I didn't know that lilies attract beetles! I just found evidence that a gopher may have moved into one of my borders after I thought (or hoped) I'd gotten rid of them 3 years ago but all that rain may attract new pests too. I hope the fires in your area can be brought under control and the hot, dry conditions that feed them will abate.
DeleteYour cultivated Daucus carota is very pretty, and yet so different to the wild white one that grows in my garden. (Post on that coming up!) Gorgeous Agapanthus in your second vase. I do envy you being able to grow them so easily! That blue is just heavenly. Hope you had a good holiday, despite all the noise and smell of the fireworks.
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus is so widely used here (even showing up in places like gas stations!) that many people shrug the plants off as ordinary. Their loss! Breeders are developing a lot of new varieties to spur interest in the genus, though. I'm very interested in the 'Black Jack' purple variety that won the best plant award at this year's Chelsea flower show.
DeleteAgapanthus fireworks are definitely the way to go! :) I despair when humanity continues stupid behavior despite being educated as to why said behavior is insane and unsafe. 😡 Eliza
ReplyDeleteI'd hoped that there'd be fewer fireworks last night but unfortunately that wasn't the case, even though the professional displays along the coast were cancelled, Eliza. Amateurs must have made up the difference by buying fireworks for themselves as it was once again a war zone.
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