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.
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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!
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