Although temperatures remain on the cool side thanks to our morning marine layer, I can already see signs of the shift toward summer. The first Agapanthus flowers have already opened, lily flower stalks are up, and several of my dahlia tubers have sprouted. Space for the latter is limited until the current contents of my cutting garden are cleared. I've given flowers away now and then since the start of spring but Mother's Day seemed a good opportunity to step up my game.
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| I relied solely on the sweet peas, larkspur and love-in-a-mist flowers dominating the raised planters in my cutting garden to fill a dozen plastic bottles. I left them on the curb with a note wishing passers-by a happy Mother's Day late Saturday afternoon and all of them were gone by 10am Sunday morning. |
I made up a floral arrangement for a neighbor last week and liked it enough to create something similar for our own dining table this week.
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| The ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' has been working overtime on flower production, leaving even its sturdy stems dragging on the ground in some cases |
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| Back view: The peach foxgloves have also been producing stalk-after-stalk of flowers. Even the Aeoniums are obstructing paths with dense sprays of flowers. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Grevillea 'Superb', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', and Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' |
I swung to the other side of the color wheel for my second arrangement, taking advantage of the first blooms of the Echium gentianoides I planted in the fall of 2022. I'd almost forgotten about it and, when I saw the foliage, I momentarily mistook it for a Euphorbia.
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| This Echium has the brightest blue flowers of any plants I've grown in the genus. It's foliage has narrow white stripes and leaves unlike any other Echiums I've seen. |
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| Back view: The Echium's buds start out pink so I considered pairing it with pink flowers but settled instead for white accents |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Centranthus ruber 'Albus', Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix', noID white Lathyrus odoratus, Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste', and Nigella papillosa |
I recycled leftovers from last week's arrangements and combined them with some of the material I cut for this week's vases for a third arrangement.
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| The "leftovers" included Alstroemeria 'Claire' and Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink'. The newer ingredients included Nigella papillosa and Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy canary clover) |
I've still got more flowers than I know what to do with. I'm planning to clear out the raised beds of the cutting garden within the next three to four weeks so, absent an early heatwave, I anticipate giving away more flowers before the month is out.
For more IAVOM creations, check in with our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
A truly wonderful Mother's Day gesture, giving flower arrangements away; I'm not at all surprised they vanished so quickly :-)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous vases this morning. The first, invoking fall colors, is particularly saturated with warmth.
Thankfully, A. 'Kiwi Verde's blooms are more subtle than those bright yellow ones you get earlier in the year.
Chavi
Yes, unlike the somewhat garish flowers of Aeonium arboreum, I actually like the 'Kiwi Verde' flowers. That's good as they're literally all over the place right now, impeding paths right and left!
DeleteYour neighbors are lucky for you to pass on the gorgeous flowers! What a great idea. Both of these arrangements are stellar, and since I sent my own mom flowers I had to think about how much someone would pay for yours, a lot!
ReplyDeleteFree flowers seem to move faster than even my succulent plant and fruit giveaways, Tracy. The small arrangements took longer to put together than I'd anticipated but at least they were a hit.
DeleteAll beautiful, and what a lovely thing to do, leaving flowers for people to take! (Arwen, Notes from the Under-Gardener)
ReplyDeleteThanks Arwen. I may need to make a Mother's Day giveaway a regular thing.
DeleteI'm wondering when you say that temperatures are on the cool side Kris what that actually equates to 😂 I love the foxglove and the nigella. Your Mother's Day flowers must have been much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteOur mid-morning to mid-afternoon temperatures have been in the 55F (12C) to 65F (18C) levels, Anna. We consider the former downright cold and the latter chilly ;)
DeleteHow lovely of you to leave out flowers for others to take....still just getting into the swing of spring here. Love those peachy flowers!
ReplyDeleteI do seem to have a lot of peach and orange flowers, Donna. I probably should have cut some of the ivory and peach succulent flowers for my little giveaway as I've currently got masses of them!
DeleteThat's so sweet of you to share your flowers at the curb. :) Gosh, you could sell your arrangements--they're always so beautiful and professionally done. Just lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe sweet pea, larkspur, and love-in-a-mist combinations were really just plunked into their bottles, Beth, although I did try to pay attention to the color mixes ;)
DeleteI love your curbside flower gifts, wonderful for Mother's Day. That coral confection is divine today. Summer seems to be marching right towards us! Amelia
ReplyDeleteDespite the morning marine layer's attempt to keep temperatures down, summer seems to be on the march here too, Amelia.
DeleteAn abundance of flowers, what a lovely problem to solve... I bet your neighbors hustle over when they see your giveaways!
ReplyDeleteLove your two opposite color arrangements, Kris. The orange/peach is hearty and bold (love G. 'Superb' so much, as well as the peach foxglove) and the blues are soft and lovely (the Echium is stunning).
Hope your weather continues on the cool side, much more pleasant for all. Eliza
If we're lucky, the morning marine layer will take the edge off summer temperatures well into June, Eliza. Cooler afternoons are worth the cost of several hours of morning gloom.
DeleteLovely of you to make a Mother's Day giveaway from your garden. Gardeners are the best!
ReplyDeleteMy husband's offered to build me a stand to facilitate future giveaways as I struggled to find something I could use to keep the plastic bottles upright in the wind ;)
DeleteWhat a lovely gesture to make up little posies of your spare flowers 💗 You always seem to have blooms and foliage suitable for a vase of the 'coral' shades, which I particularly associate with you, but then you often come up with flashes of blue and the echium really stands out today. The nigella is such a pretty bloom to accompany the latter, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. I wasn't sure what to do with the Nigella but I was pleased with the way it complemented the Echium and the Centranthus.
DeleteYour neighbors must be delighted to stop along your curb for flowers. So lovely to share your garden with them. The arrangements are gorgeous. I just set out nigella seedlings I'd not had time to deal with. Much too late probably but we'll see.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Nigella seedlings come through for you, Susie. In my garden, the Nigella seedlings come up promptly but dilly-dally seemingly forever until they bloom en masse.
DeleteYour vases have bowled me over again Kris! Isn't that Echium a gorgeous shade of blue?! Beautifully combined with white and the blue of the Consolida. And the peach vase is wonderful. How long does that Grevillea flower for? I wish my Aeonium would flower, but I suspect it never will! Those flowers are quite unique.
ReplyDeleteIf cut at just the right time, those Grevillea flowers will last a week but, more commonly, they start shedding in 4-5 days. Cutting an inch-long slit into the woody stem helps. The real workhorses of that arrangement are the Leucospermum flowers, which can last for weeks.
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