I've already cleared most of the spare decorations I set up to celebrate Christmas this year. With those tucked away, I was more than ready to cut flowers to add color to the house. It's been cold and damp for the last few days due to a persistent marine layer, which has made puttering in the garden less comfortable than usual but, as those marine layer conditions have contributed six one-hundredths of an inch of precipitation, I'm not going to complain (much). However, there aren't many options available to fill a vase so the two arrangements I have to offer today may look a lot like retreads of earlier ones.
The first arrangement was inspired by another Protea flower. Two more Protea buds remain but I elected to leave them on the shrub to develop, which sent me scrounging for other plants to accent the one I cut.
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| I balanced the Protea flower with an equally flashy stem of Medinilla myriantha (aka Malaysian orchid) |
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| Back view: I used multiple stems of Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' to fill out the arrangement, along with the ever-useful Leptospermum stems |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Medinilla myriantha, Plectranthus scutellariodes 'Florida Sun Rose', and Protea neriifolia 'Claire' |
For my second arrangement, I recycled the yellow Alstroemeria I included in last week's vase, as well as several other stems that were still in good shape. I've been using a "flower food" in my vases for the last several weeks and it seems to be making a big difference in the vase life of many of my flowers. My Lisianthus looked good for nearly two weeks and the Grevillea stems I used last week, which usually fall apart within four days, held up through yesterday.
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| The colors in this arrangement just made me happy, which seemed a good way to start the new year |
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| The back view could have used dressing up but so it goes. The back side of this vase faces the wall anyway. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Correa 'Ivory Bells', noID Narcissus, Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', and L. s. 'Chief' |
Yesterday was my twelfth blog anniversary. Honestly, when I published my first post on a whim in late December 2012, I never expected that I'd still be at it twelve years later. According to Blogger's statistics, I've recorded 1942 pots, accumulated 44,694 comments (roughly half of which were my own responses to commentators), and racked up 2,011,184 views. I've appreciated the advice and feedback commentators have provided, the friends I've made over the years, and the general sense of camaraderie the medium provides. Many people criticize social media and I'd agree that much of that is toxic but I appreciate all the garden bloggers and garden-avid readers out there every day. Whether you take time to add a comment or just stop by, thank you!
For more of this week's IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Best wishes for a happy new year too!
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Hi! Just stopping by. Happy New Year! Bye!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Best wishes to you as well!
DeleteThe "peaches and cream" vase looks like spring to me! (a welcome sight, even if the reality is a long way off). Happy Bloggiversary! I was thinking along similar lines when putting together my post for today. Social media and all. I'm so thankful you've kept with your blog. Having visited in person I feel such a sense of being there again through your photos. You're tending the Southern California garden I wish I had! Plus since I've been lucky enough to get to know you a bit there's definitely the feeling of visiting with a friend when I read your words. Here's hoping 2025 has some good things in store for us.
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree! I appreciate getting to know you along the journey as well. Yours was among the first blogs I followed, even before I had a blog of my own as I recall. You're welcome to visit my SoCal garden any time the opportunity presents itself.
DeleteAlways amazed by the arrangements you are able to make from your garden.
ReplyDeleteOur Southern California climate offers the gardener some very real advantages year-round, although sadly I can't claim that ample rainfall is one of them, Noelle.
DeleteYour vases are cheerful delights. Odd to see Narcissus this time of year but love that you've worked it in. Happy Blogging Anniversary, Kris! It's been a treat to get to know you online and through the fling. And best wishes in the New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susie! I hope we'll have a chance to see one another again in person one day.
DeleteI meant to say to you that our three days of mist made me think you and the marine layer you get, and wonder if it was similar. As a child growing up in Edinburgh, which is on the east coast of Scotland we used to often get a sea-mist or 'haar', probably more like your marine layer, which Google tells me is peculiar especially to the east coast of Scotland between April and September, when warm air passes over the cold North Sea.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like the varied pinks in your first vase today, but also notice how well the alstroemeria in the second vase links with the foliage although I can't put my finger on the reason why!
Well done on your twelve years of blogging - I certainly had no idea what to expect when I started, but our blogging community has certainly exceeded any expectations I could have had, if I had any! Here's to 12 more!
Your experience on the east coast of Scotland does sound similar, Cathy. Even when it's cold (relatively speaking) and damp, I appreciate the light precipitation our marine layer often delivers, especially when it appears we're entering another period of drought. Climate scientists have predicted that our marine layer may disappear as the planet continues to warm but I'm hoping I won't see that happen.
DeleteTwelve more years of blogging! That's rather daunting, although at present I've no intention of stopping any time soon.
Beautiful creations, Kris. I admire your color schemes, you have a great eye!
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats on year 12, that is a lotta posts! 👏🏼 Eliza
No one is more surprised than me about generating so many posts over a period of 12 years, Eliza ;)
DeleteThey are both so pretty, I can't decide which one is my favorite. I love to see the medinilla blooms, I've committed crimes against mine :(. I always look forward to and enjoy your blog posts, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracy. I'm glad you threw your hat in the ring this year, creating your own blog.
DeleteMany, many congratulations on your twelve years of blogging Kris - that is some achievement! I think after two days of dripping fog might have given me a better understanding of your marine layer. Colourful vases as always.
ReplyDeleteThe marine layer doesn't always drip but sometimes it's really thick and persistent, Anna. We appreciate precipitation in any form we can get it! I've read that Native Americans once collected dew from the marine layer and fog using blankets. It's tempting to consider trying that when it gets as dry here as it is at present ;)
DeleteHappy New Year, Kris! Congrats on your blogaversary! As always, my visit to your blog is one of the highlights of my day. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words, Beth. Best wishes for a great start to the new year!
DeleteCongratulations on 12 years Kris! I always enjoy seeing your lovely vases and being introduced to new plants or flowers that grow in your climate. Wishing you a happy and rain-filled new year Kris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy! I hope the new calendar year brings in some real rain. We picked up another hundredth of an inch from the marine layer this morning but, at that rate, we can't get by on it alone ;)
DeleteHappy New Year and congratulations on your twelfth Blogaversary - still a tween, next year a teenager ;~)
ReplyDeleteHa! That's a good way of thinking about it, Diana!
DeleteKudos to you, for being able to add your own cut Protea flower to a vase!
ReplyDeleteI love that first arrangement: I'll never tire of Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl': a gift that keeps on giving.
Chavli
I generally think of spring as the peak period for 'Pink Pearl' but the shrubs are really going to town this winter, Chavli!
DeleteFlower food...citric acid? Seems like that would help grevilleas as they are lower-pH lovers?
ReplyDeleteThe arrangements are lavish despite a shortage(??) of material. Leptospermum so particularly lovely.
Narcissus already! Mine barely waking up.
Happy blogger-versary! Have never found a garden blog, a gardener, or a garden that was toxic. They are all little spots of goodness in a stressed world.
"Little spots of goodness" - I love that perspective! The Narcissi surprised me too. They're not abundant by any means but there are clumps in 2 different areas of the garden (front and back), neither of which I can even identify by name. One neighbor up the street already has a bevy of paperwhites in bloom too.
DeleteThat is great to know about flower food. I think I have some around, a lot of the flowers don't last very long! I am in love with your Proteas, but know it is too humid here to hope for that miracle. I had Malayasian orchids for about two years and boom, dead. Sigh. I enjoyed seeing yours. I think garden bloggers are much less toxic than other social media..congratulations on your success and Happy New Year. Amelia.
ReplyDeleteMy Malaysian orchid is in a large pot in an area protected from extreme sun exposure and wind, which I think is why it's survived as long as it has, Amelia. It generally only produces a couple of flowers a year but they're long-lasting. Medinilla myriantha isn't as striking as M. magnifica and I'm tempted to try the latter.
DeleteWhat beautiful arrangements to lift your spirits when it's gloomy outside. We are heading into a cold and snowy stretch so relying on colour from my last Hippeastrums and some pelargoniums I brought in for the winter and put under lights. Hope 2025 brings lots of precipitation and interesting plants your way.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the snow, Elaine! Best wishes for a great gardening year to you as well!
DeleteThese are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Blog Anniversary and Best Wishes for 2025!
Thanks Nikki. Happy new year to you as well!
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