Dahlia buds take their time about opening but 'Mikayla Miranda' came through this week while my others continue to dilly-dally. Luckily, it's one of my favorites, which makes the slow roll of the rest more tolerable.
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| This is the 4th year in a row I've grown 'Mikayla Miranda', all from divisions of a single tuber I purchased in 2022 |
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| Back view: I used foxglove stems as the primary accent, the majority of which came from a single plant that keeps on giving. The other 2 fillers, stems of common myrtle and the sweet pea shrub (Polygala myrtifolia), were mostly buried in the mix. |
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| Overhead view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', Digitalis purpurea, Myrtus communis, and Polygala myrtifolia |
Dahlia 'Labyrinth' has produced just a single open flower thus far so I elected to hold off on using it until it makes more of an effort. Three other dahlias are showing color and all but eight of my twenty plants are flaunting buds. The stragglers look as though they're ready to pop, however. In the interim, I decided to take advantage of the newest Agapanthus blooms as the blue notes in my garden are rapidly fading under our increasingly warm temperatures.
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| I used 3 different varieties of Agapanthus |
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| Back view: I struggled to find suitable filler and ended up with a diverse hodge-podge |
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| Overhead view |
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Top row: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Billardiera heterophylla, and Myrtus communis
Middle: Agapanthus 'Elaine', noID, and 'Twister'
Bottom: green Eustoma grandiflorum, Felicia aethiopica, and Globularia x indubia |
The afternoon temperatures are relatively comfortable by our standards, running in the low-to-mid 80sF (28-29C) but our air quality is awful. I can't even see the outlines of the mountains to the east and I'm not inclined to take deep breaths when outside. While I'd gotten a little tired of our persistent afternoon winds, I'm now wishing they'd kick up again. Under the circumstances, I'm not sure how much work I'll be putting into the garden until there's some improvement.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, the conductor of our merry band.
All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Using the shortened foxglove stems to support this dahlia was an inspired idea which works so well - and I love those agapanthus in the second vase. I find it ard ti imagine what your poor air quality must feel like, Kris - the fact you are reluctant to go out speaks volumes...
ReplyDeleteI didn't have much choice about the height of the foxglove stems as most of them had dropped all the lower flowers ;) Air quality is a perpetual issue here in the Los Angeles Basin but often worsens in summer. It doesn't help that there's a wildfire north of us (many miles away but still having an effect). LA has way too many cars...
DeleteOh no! I didn't realize your air was smokey down there, I hope it clears soon. I love your combos today, the colors match so well it's crazy. That little addition of the myrtus, so sweet.
ReplyDeleteI actually squeezed numerous stems of the Myrtus into that vase as support for the dahlia stems but their relatively short stems ended up buried beneath the larger flowers. The smoky light was the first clue there must be a fire somewhere - I was surprised it was about 200 miles north of us.
DeleteOh wow, they're both gorgeous! Love the Foxgloves in that first arrangement. I don't have any in my garden currently, and I miss them. They're great cut flowers, as you show. :) That deep, bright blue, with ivory sidelights, in the second arrangement is stunning!
ReplyDeleteThanks Beth! Foxgloves don't handle summer well as a rule here but the one plant I have in a half-barrel just keeps on giving.
DeleteOoh, dahlia time! You always have such a lovely selection! The combination with the rich pink foxglove is lovely. And you succeeded in finding some pretty companions for the agapanthus too. Hope your air quality improves soon Kris. It must be awful in the heat.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that heat makes the air quality problem all the worse, Cathy. The fact that we generally get no rain from early May until October or November makes the smog all the more difficult to clear too.
DeleteLovely set of arrangements, Kris. Glad your dahlias are coming in, mine are slowly coming on, too, but not many at once and short stemmed for some reason. I love the agapanthus mix, with 'Twister' esp. delightful. I learned recently that there may be a hardier version I could try to grow in a warm microclimate near the house. I am tempted to try! Eliza
ReplyDeleteAgapanthus 'Twister' has surprised me with a second round of flowers this year. I may need to find more of that variety!
DeleteThose are both lovely. Love the pure colors in each.
ReplyDeleteA hot week ahead, but thankful for that mild July. Time to spot water--again.
The heat's been creeping up here but not nearly as bad as the inland valley I grew up in. I hope your area isn't either.
DeleteI'm amazed you still have fox gloves in bloom. It is wonderful with Mikayla: it's such an excellent dahlia.
ReplyDeleteAs difficult as it is to find true blue in the garden, your Agapanthus vase seems as close as I've ever seen. 'Elaine' is a stunning blue, and 'Twister' has always been my favorite. It simply dazzles!
Chavli
I got Agapanthus 'Elaine' years ago from Annie's. (I SO miss that source for mail order plants!) I haven't seen it locally but I'm going to be on the lookout for some of the deeper blue varieties like that.
DeleteLast night I went to an open garden that had an entire cutting bed full of Dahlias, it was amazing! So many beautiful colors and shapes, I thought of you. I hope the smoke clears so you can be back outdoors again!
ReplyDeleteMy dahlias are waking up but there isn't a stampede of blooms yet - I expect continuous improvement, though. The air quality remains poor. The Gifford Fire straddling Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County lines has burned over 82K acres and is just 7% contained.
DeleteIt is odd given your hot climate how late dahlias bloom for you, ours have been around for weeks. And foxgloves in August seem weird. I love Labyrinth, those over the top flowers look like a hat the Queen Mother would have worn. Your pink one is pretty too. The agapanthus are such glorious colours.
ReplyDeleteI expect my delayed dahlia blooms can be attributed to the fact that I don't allow them to remain in the ground. I grow them in the raised planters of my cutting garden and I dig up the tubers at the end of each season (usually early November). then divide and store them through their dormant period, pulling them out of storage in late March/early April. I do that to both manage space in the cutting garden (providing for cool season flowers) and water usage - dahlia tubers are prone to rot if they get too much water during dormancy and they wouldn't get sufficient water during their growing season if they were planted in areas outside my cutting garden. I also nip the sprouted tubers once they've grown 8-12 inches tall to promote branching - that in itself delays blooming by 3-4 weeks.
DeleteAs always your arrangements are lovely. Mikayla Miranda is a beaut. I am super excited as I have a bloom stalk on my agapanthus. It was given to me by a friend a couple of years ago but it's done nothing. This year a big stalk. They are quite uncommon in my climate so am thrilled.
ReplyDeleteI've found that Agapanthus do take a 2 or more years to settle in, Elaine. (Most of mine came with the garden but I've added a few over the years.) Congratulations on your pending bloom!
DeleteOoh! So many favourites in there! Quite envious of the Agapanthus and Foxgloves! It seems so strange to me that your foxgloves do so well in your climate. Lucky you. I always associate them with the wild damp woods of the U.K.!
ReplyDeletehttps://zonethreegardenlife.blog/2025/08/04/in-a-vase-monday-august-3-2025/
Foxgloves do well for us during our cool season (provided they're given sufficient water) but they get shabby during the hot, dry summer months. I've been pulling most of them up but there are a few still producing flower stalks.
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