I didn't decorate eggs for Easter but I did collect flowers from my garden, which is at its spring peak at the moment. After a cool week, the weekend delivered blue skies and comfortably warm temperatures in the mid-70sF (23C). Despite forecasters teasing us with rumors of a chance of rain last week, we didn't get any and in all likelihood our rainy season is over. Unless we're gifted with a monsoonal storm straying off the desert areas to the east in late summer, we probably won't see rain again until November.
Given the especially dry conditions this year, it isn't really a surprise that the foxgloves have been slow to develop. However, one plant in a well-watered barrel in my cutting garden produced its first flower stalk and I took advantage of that for my first arrangement this week.
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| That flower stalk was very hefty even when I cut it down to size to suit the vase |
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| Back view: Once again, my arrangement looked lop-sided when viewed from the back but I didn't have the time or energy to make it more symmetrical |
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| Overhead view: It also could have used some lighter notes to break up all that magenta color |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Antirrhinum majus in magenta and a lighter pink, more snapdragons in white, Argyranthemum frutescens 'Mount Everest', Digitalis purpurea, Pelargonium cucullatum, P. 'Lady Plymouth', and Salvia canariensis var. candidissima |
My second arrangement made use of two of my Leucospermums, also known as pincushion shrubs.
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| Drama queen that she is, Leucospermum 'Brandi Dela Cruz' took center stage |
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| Back view |
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| Overhead view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', A. 'Inca Sundance', Leucadendron 'Jester', Leucospermum 'Brandi Dela Cruz', L. 'Sunrise', and Lobelia laxiflora |
I cut some succulent flowers to include in the second arrangement but wasn't able to cram them into the vase so I tucked three of the stems into a small vase.
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| The stems were cut from Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', which are flowering abundantly right now |
For more IAVOM arrangements, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Gorgeous! So happy to see your first Digitalis, with all those lovely splotches... I love seeing bees making their way inside the bloom, always makes me smile (mine still in a slumber). The variegated Pelargonium 'Lady Plymouth' over the edge of the front is a wonderful addition.
ReplyDeleteLeucospermum 'Brandi Dela Cruz' is a star, takes center stage every single time. Wow!
Chavli
'Brandi Dela Cruz' isn't as prolific as my other Leucospermums but she is flashy!
Delete'Brandi Dela Cruz' is insane! That arrangement is gleefully exuberant. I like your little arrangement, it's so sweet.
ReplyDeleteThere are already a ridiculous number of Aeonium haworthii flowers in bloom, Tracy. I seriously need to cut those plants back soon!
DeleteThe richness of those cerise shades in the first vase is glorious, Kris, with that astonishing foxglove and the gorgeous antirrhinums, and your second vase radiates golden warmth...amazing! Both stunning today đ
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. I can't seem to coordinate my arrangements with one another these days but I guess I don't mind - and my husband is color blind ;)
DeleteYour vases are always lovely, but something about the pig with the cactus really made me smile :)
ReplyDeleteThe pig is my tea bag caddy - our kitchen wouldn't be the same without him ;)
DeleteThose leucospermum, oh my! That vase is hot! My foxgloves (just a trio in the front garden) are well watered but refusing to bloom. This is their second year in the ground here, but were over wintered in sq gallon pots at the place where I picked them up. Oh.... I just looked up when foxgloves typically bloom and Uncle Google says early summer, so maybe I still have hope (the center leaves are standing tall, which was making me wonder).
ReplyDeleteEverything blooms a little earlier in coastal SoCal, Loree. When it warms up, a lot of the plants that bloom in summer elsewhere go into hiding during that season here.
DeleteWow, fabulous Snaps and Foxgloves. You have had a great spring for flowers. Love the toasty fall tones and the drama queen,too. Amelia
ReplyDeleteSnapdragons and foxgloves do well in the raised planters of my cutting garden, where they get regular water, as well as sun. They don't much care for life in my drier borders at all.
DeleteLovely colors and arrangements. I have just a few blooms still of Spring bulbs. Soon, other things will begin to flower. My lilacs are ready to burst.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have the scent of real lilacs in my garden but I have to make do with the California lilacs, also known as Ceanothus. Unfortunately, despite that California native's common name, it has no real scent that I can detect.
DeleteWow, Kris, your orange arrangement has me starry-eyed đ€© it's gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAnd very brave of you to cut your first foxglove... not sure I could have done that. It's not always easy to cut such exquisite specimens! Eliza
I made a promise to myself when I started my cutting garden that I wouldn't back away from using any of the plants in that area as cut flowers ;) It also helped that a second flower stalk was already developing when I cut the first one.
DeleteA fabulous foxglove Kris! And all the other pinks in that vase looks very summery. The second vase is sunny and cheerful. The pincushions really are dramatic and I wondered what the seedheads look like afterwards… can you dry any of the flowers you grow Kris? 23°C sounds perfect - we have even had a couple of days that warm here recently, albeit much much cooler at night.
ReplyDeleteI dry some flowers and seedheads and until recently kept a vase containing those materials by the front door but, given current concerns about flammable materials too and a pending inspection by the fire department, I've removed them. Protea species dry particularly well. The 2 Leucospermums I used in the orange arrangement are long lasting in a vase and die back into a nut-like cones; however, the squirrels love to eat those!
DeleteOh that's a whopper of a foxglove Kris - it looks as if it has been on steriods. I can't imagine what it would be like having no rain between now and November! I was beginning to panic when our recent dry spell was nudging up to the three week mark đ
ReplyDeleteI wish I didn't have to imagine 7 months without rain, Anna! Last year we went 8 months :(
DeleteI love Foxgloves! I haven't planted them for years, but your arrangement shows how beautiful they are and such great elements for bouquets. And that second arrangement with Alstroemeria, Leucadendron, and Leucospermum...wowza!
ReplyDeleteMuch as I love foxgloves, the second arrangement is my personal favorite this week ;)
DeleteAnna said the exact thing I was thinking. I can't imagine going through such a long dry period. You've really established adaptive plants to keep them appeased under those conditions. We've gone a month to 6weeks before and by then everything is crispy brown.
ReplyDeleteYour spring arrangements are stellar. Love the foxglove and snaps and your second vase just brings on a smile. So cheerful.
Coastal Southern California offers its advantages but regular rain isn't one of them! Luckily, we're still able to run our irrigation system twice a week - the reservoirs up north were in good shape after 2 prior years of good rainfall but I understand that the snowpack SoCal relies on during our long, dry summer period isn't great this year even though the northern part of the state got more rain than we did so restrictions could come at some point.
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