In a Vase on Monday: Rescue Operation

A tropical storm blew through Southern California late last week.  It prompted flash floods and mudslides in the foothills and mountain areas to the east of us, as well as other parts of the US Southwest.  My own area received only a trivial amount of rain (0.03/inch) but the winds pulverized my cutting garden on the northeast side of our house.  I was shocked to see what it did to my tallest zinnias, flowers I was sure I'd be cutting as giveaways for neighbors into late October or early November.  The winds didn't treat my dahlias well either.  I've already pulled out many of the zinnias and cut back several of the dahlias.  I made use of the less damaged flowers to fill this week's vases.

I cut my flowers on Saturday this week as I was already in the process of cleaning up my cutting garden.  All the 'Mikayla Miranda' Dahlias that remained presentable following the storm are shown here.

Back view: I used stems of Vitex trifolia as my foliage filler.  The shrub flowers but mine has yet to produce many this season; however, its purple and olive green foliage is its main attraction.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda', Digitalis purpurea (still producing periodic blooms!), Symphyotrichum chilense (which I tried to eradicate a few years ago), and Vitex trifolia

My second arrangement is a compilation of the least damaged of my pinkish dahlias.

Before the winds kicked up, there were half a dozen of the tall 'Cafe au Lait Rose' Dahlias suitable for cutting.  On Saturday, there was but one left and even it looked a little ragged from the back.

Back view: I used 4 stems of 'Benary's Giant Wine' Zinnias to fill out the vase.  Relatively few of those zinnias are left now.

Overhead view

Top row: Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', noID Pelargonium, and Dahlia 'Molly Raven'
Middle: Dahlias 'Care au Lait Rose' and 'La Belle Epoque'
Bottom: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine' and 'Queeny Red Lime'

Although the 'Benary's Giant Wine' Zinnias took the hardest hit, a lot of the 'Queeny Red Lime' Zinnias were also knocked over.  I crammed many of these flowers into a small vase.  Much of the damage was due to the fact that the cage supporting the five foot tall 'Cafe au Lait Rose' Dahlia shifted in the wind.

I added a couple of 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' Zinnias and the Rumohra adiantiformis fern fronds from one of last week's vases to the 'Queeny Red Lime' Zinnias

Temperatures fell following the storm, although humidity levels soared.  Our marine layer moved in again yesterday and it was gloomy throughout the afternoon.  There was a forty percent chance of showers but none materialized.  There's another chance of rain on Tuesday but I'm not counting on it.  Meanwhile, the increased humidity seems to have encouraged another flush of bloom from Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'.  Hopefully, the Callistemon flowers and some dahlias will still be available for cutting next week.

When it get hot, these Callistemon blooms tend to quickly turn turn a buff brown color

The temperatures are expected to remain in a comfortable range of the low-to-mid 70sF (22-24C) for the balance of the week but I've been fooled by forecasts before.  

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All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party