It's getting harder to pull together arrangements using what's blooming in the garden but I managed to do so again this week. My first arrangement was created around the last of the Amarines to flower.
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| I think the pale pink Amarine was upstaged once again, this time by a coleus rather than a dahlia. Amarines are hybrids of Amaryllis belladonna and Nerines. |
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| Back view: I used a second stem of Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' (aka coleus) to dress up the back. The coleus stem in the front view is the one I used 3 weeks ago. It's developed roots and I hope to overwinter the cutting in my shade house. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Prostanthera ovatifolia 'Variegata', Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' |
The second arrangement features some flowering plants emerging from their summer dormancy. Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' has also returned with a mass of tiny blooms. I cut the shrub down to the ground months ago. The foliage bounced back quickly but the flowers took their time.
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| Stems of Polygala myrifolia (aka sweet pea bush) provided the base of this arrangement but it's really an ensemble cast |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Antirrhinum majus, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', self-seeded Osteospemum, Digitalis purpurea, Gomphrena decumbens 'Isty Bitsy', Polygala myrtifolia, and Vitex trifolia |
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
You still have a good amount blooming to make these gorgeous vases. That coleus is indeed beautiful in color. And both vases seem to work off each other. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteJust luck thus far, Donna. I can only hope that new flowers will emerge at intervals over the coming weeks. It's going to be a couple of months or more before I see flowering bulbs.
DeleteOh that amarine is glorious with that coleus as contrast, Kris - I love it! 😊 But then when I see the beautiful shades in your second vase, I am equally enamoured! 🤣 Thanks for sharing, as always
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. Even I'm amazed I'm still managing 2 arrangements each week but that trend will have to end sometime ;)
DeleteWhat a lovely array of flowers in your two vases this week Kris. I particularly love the Coleus which you have used to great effect.
ReplyDeleteI've become very fond of that coleus myself, Noelle. I haven't seen it in local garden centers very often so I'm hoping I can keep it going from cuttings. I should probably look for seeds too.
DeleteLove both of the vases today. I feel the Leptospermums and coleus frames the bright Amarine, brings it into focus rather than upstages it.
ReplyDeleteThe second vase is very sweet, made extra special with 'Isty Bitsy'. How is it that this little guy adds so much to any composition...
Chavli
I think 'Itsy Bitsy's' contribution is the sense of movement those wiry stems provide, Chavli. As to the Amarines, I'm very glad to see they're happy here - it's nice to get some taller blooms like that in my backyard border, especially this late in the season.
DeleteNo more flowers from the garden for me-we've had 2 mornings in a row of temps in the high 20's and that pretty much wiped out what few plants I still had blooming. Time now for a bunch of Trader Joes bunches with evergreen stuff from the garden mixed in.
ReplyDeleteTemperatures in the 20s would be a real shock here, Kathy. We've never had even a fleeting frost.
DeleteOoh, that gorgeous foxglove caught my eye Kris! It is such a lovely colour. I really like the Coleus together with the Amarine in your first vase. And the Leptospermum makes such a nice filler.
ReplyDeleteI bought the foxglove in a 4-inch pot at my local garden center relatively recently. I was surprised when it produced its first flower stalk so early in the season :)
DeleteOh, the Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' stood out to me immediately, how pretty! And I love Gomphrena anything - but 'itsy bitsy' is especially great.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, Annie's sells what I believe is the exact same Gomphrena labeled under the common name of "airy bachelor's buttons." In Texas, what also appears to be the same variety is called Gomphrena 'Little Grapes'.
DeleteThe coleus is indeed as bright and beautiful as a flower.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping I can keep that coleus going via cuttings as I seldom see it in garden centers. I should probably hunt down seeds but in the past coleus was always so easy to find!
DeleteAmarines are a gorgeous hybrid, they bring out the best in each species. Your arrangement highlights that beauty so well, Kris. As sparse as you claim your garden to be, you always pull of an impressive vase or two! Eliza
ReplyDeleteThe cool season flowers always take much longer to arrive than I'd like, Eliza. I expect I'll be using the same flowers again and again well into the new year.
DeleteTwo beautifully put together vases as always Kris. My favourite this week is the second.I think that it's down to the colours 😀 I'm most envious of the profusion of flowers that you have at this time of year!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers don't seem profuse to me but then everything is relative, Anna ;)
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