Monday, October 21, 2024

In a Vase on Monday: The Wind Factor

I've been fretting off and on about when to clear my cutting garden of the dahlias that have done so well this year.  Given their vigor, I anticipated that the majority could hold up well into November if I allowed it, which meant that my cool season garden would get off to a very late start.  While the dahlias were negatively impacted by the severe heatwave we had in September, they'd come roaring back and even the two stragglers finally offered blooms as our temperatures cooled down.  However, my predictions about the dahlias' staying power failed to take account of Southern California's virulent Santa Ana winds.  As a life-long resident of Southern California, how I managed to miss that factor in making my predictions suggests an element of delusion on my part.  The fierce winds were actually fairly late this year, with the first major event kicking off last Friday.  I lost more dahlia flowers overnight to the strong, dry winds than to the earlier heatwave.  The top-heavy flowers snapped their stems and petals quickly withered.  I'd hoped I could give away lots of flowers to neighbors when I pulled up the dahlia tubers but at the moment I suspect I may be squeaking by just to have sufficient blooms to fill one or two more vases next week.

The first few blooms of Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' opened this weekend but I cut only one stem, filling in my first vase with two stems of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur'.  The latter had performed nose dives in response to the wind's ferocity.

I also included zinnias and Grevillea stems to add interest

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cuphea 'Honeybells', Grevillea 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', D. 'Fairway Spur', Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Coral', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Peach'


Unlike the dahlias, my seed-sown zinnias were hardly bothered by the wind.  I cut a lot of them for this week's arrangements and made them the centerpiece of my second vase.

The largest zinnias shown here were all grown from seed as 'Benary's Giant Wine' but some are noticeably darker than others, as evidenced in this photo.  I added 2 stems of Amarine, hybrids of Amaryllis belladonna and Nerines, to lighten the combination somewhat.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Amarine belladive 'Emanuelle', 2 variations of Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', and Z. e. 'Zinfandel Lilac'


I threw a handful of stems of Dahlia 'Summer's End' and a couple zinnias into a small vase for the kitchen island.

This vase also contains a single stem of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'


Our morning marine layer deserted us while the winds were blowing but we're expecting its return here along the coast as early as tomorrow, which should bring our temperatures back down into the 70sF (21-26C) and raise our humidity to a more comfortable level.  Time permitting, I may start digging up the most woebegone of my dahlias tubers later this week.  I put out a handful of small bottles containing flowers late yesterday afternoon but it's possible the wind may take them out before anyone stops by to pick them up.

Most of what was really battered went into our green bin but the flowers I cut to give away had a couple days of life in them.  If they're scattered all over the street in the morning, I'll know that was a useless gesture.


For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy in Rambling in the Garden, the leader of the merry band of flower arrangers working with what we have on hand in our own gardens.



All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

32 comments:

  1. They're so beautiful, from every angle! Thanks for sharing the overhead views--they're packed with loveliness. And I really love the color and vibrance of the 'Summer's End' Dahlias--they're magical.

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    1. The 'Summer's End' dahlias have always been the most resilient in my garden but it appears they're throwing in the towel now too, Beth. Ugh, they don't call Santa Ana winds "devil winds" for no reason!

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  2. Oh to be your neighbor. Not only to see your garden but to have free blooms available. Both vases are lovely but wow the tropical color of the first vase is amazing.

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    1. I'm pleased that 'Belle of Barmera' bloomed at last. It's currently showing just 3 more flowers in various stages of development and I can't be sure how long it'll hang on given what's happening to the rest of my dahlia "crop" but I'm hoping I'll get at least one more vase out of it.

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  3. Lucky neighbors! I love love the first arrangement, the colors are so rich. I hope your winds have died down. This time of year is always scary for fire potential.

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    1. Well, we didn't get a marine layer this morning, or at least there was no sign of one at 6:30am when I poked my nose out. It's dry but still at the moment; however, the adjusted forecast doesn't show much morning fog until Friday now :(

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  4. I love your street-side generosity! Wind is exhausting, and destructive.

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    1. The winds have been whipping up hardest in the evening but it appears none of the flowers blew away overnight. Half were gone early this morning (with their plastic water bottles left behind for some reason) and the rest, along with the paper carrier, were gone by the time I got home from my grocery run a little later.

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  5. Oh, yes, the dry warm Santa Anas -- I need to buy a lot more lotion!

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    1. The humidity level is back up to 22% here but it still feels very dry, Denise. And now it appears that we won't see a significant morning marine layer until Friday, at least at my elevation. Hopefully, your area will do better!

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  6. Gosh, yes, following this devastation of many of your dahlias, see if you can dry some while you have the chance. I do hope some of your neighbours take in the posies 🤞 How curious that the zinnias are not affected in the same way... You have certainly made good use of the survivors in your two vases, and I especially like the shades in the seco d one

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    1. The flowers I left out seem to have been picked up, Cathy. I really felt little hope for them last night when the wind whipped up yet again.

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  7. A bit of a bummer, to have the winds topple your beautiful dahlias! Oh, well, as you pointed out, you will get a start on your winter flowers earlier. As the saying goes, very apropos, "It's an ill wind that blows no good." 😊
    You created two beautiful arrangements as well. I esp. love the top view of the first. Luscious and rich colors.
    Eliza

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    1. It was a bummer to see so many dahlias topple and wither in one fell swoop but it does take away some of the angst about getting started on my cool season cutting garden. To everything there is a season...

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  8. Kris, your Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' and D. 'Fairway Spur' arrangement is spectacular. The colors are so well coordinated with the other materials, especially Grevillea 'Superb'. Just lovely. And your Z. 'Benary's Giant Wine' are gorgeous. I have some from that series but lost the tag. They've returned a couple years now. Sorry the winds were so harsh. Glad your neighbors picked up the gifts you left.

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    1. Oh to have zinnias self-seed to return another year, Susie! I can't say I've ever seen that happen here.

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  9. Beautiful arrangements as always. The Dahlias are the big stars of yours I think, making the most impact. The focal points.

    Surprised to read your "Wind Event" sounds stronger than ours was. It was what we would call here a very mild one, more breezy than windy. Piles of needles from the Canary Island Pines lined the nearby road, and we had a few leaves on the driveway was about it. Zinnias actually have more flowers now than they did a month ago, a nice treat.

    Your neighbors must love you! I wonder are you a mystery to them, or do any respond with notes of thanks or friendly contact of thanks?

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    1. Well, all weather experiences are relative. The wind picked up most in the late afternoon into the evening. All I can say is that it did a quick job on my dahlias.

      I occasionally hear back from a neighbor about my giveaways, usually as a casual remark in passing. Only one next door neighbor has regularly left a note. The most notable response was to the Mother's Day flowers.

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  10. How hard you work to create arrangements from flowers from your garden really shows, I admire all your efforts each week. Those Dahlias are magnificent.

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    1. Most of my time goes into collecting the flowers and photographing them, Noelle. The arranging is actually the quickest part ;)

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  11. Gorgeous arrangements and photographs of them. You would never know about the winds looking at these. We hear a lot about the Santa Ana Winds up here in B.C but nothing about fires that go with them this year? I hope California stays fire free! Your dahlias and zinnias look perfect to me!
    https://zonethreegardenlife.blog/2024/10/21/in-a-vase-monday-october-21/

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    1. This Santa Ana wind episode didn't trigger any local wildfires, thank goodness! Unfortunately, the winds can reappear on and off through March but hopefully we'll get some rain in the interim.

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  12. Beautiful arrangement and stunning photos. Love them.

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  13. It's a lovely idea to leave flowers out for neighbours to pick up. We live so remote that some days nobody passes at all! LOL! The dahlias in your vases still look fabulous, and the zinnias too. I wonder if the zinnias stood up to your winds better. At least you now have the space to start your winter flowers. Happy gardening Kris!

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    1. There are fewer questions about what to do with the garden when Mother Nature makes some of the decisions for you, Cathy ;)

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  14. Oh what a shame that the winds have damaged your beautiful dahlias Kris but hopefully your neighbours have enjoyed your generosity. You have had some glorious plants this year. How many varieties did you grow? I think that my favourite vase this week is the last one containing the aptly named 'Summer's End'.

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    1. I grew 19 plants but there were 4 duplicates so 15 varieties in total, Anna. I dug up 13 tubers yesterday and most of the others, as well as the zinnias, will probably come out next week. As Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' only just started blooming and as it's in a barrel separate from the rest, I may hang on to that one a bit longer to see if it'll give me a few more blooms.

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  15. The above comment is from me Kris. I'm not sure how I morphed into Anonymous - it doesn't usually happen when I comment on fellow Blogspot blogs 😢🤔

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    1. I think Blogspot hiccups once in awhile, Anna. I periodically have problems commenting on Wordpress but it is weird when Blogspot fails to recognize another user on the same platform.

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  16. Replies
    1. Thanks Diana! I miss the dahlias - they make arranging flowers so easy.

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