In a Vase on Monday: The Lisianthus step up

It's considerably harder to determine what to use to fill a vase now that the summer bloomers are, for all practical purposes, gone.  A few new flowers have emerged here and there but they don't send the siren's calls that dahlias do.  However, the bush violets, Barleria obtusa, have just gotten started and I can't ignore their blue flowers.  While these plants flower abundantly, the stems are best used as accents and fillers so the remaining question concerned what I could use as a focal point.  Luckily, a small number of Lisianthus (officially classified as Eustoma grandiflorum) provided the answer.

I cut stems of just about every blue flower I have to fill the vase but I had just one stem of a pure white Lisianthus

Back view: The bush violets flower profusely but their delicate blooms also drop continuously.  Fortunately, buds continue to open as others fall.

Top view: The butterfly-like flowers of Rotheca 'Ugandense' (formerly classified as Clerodendrum ugandense) are as prone to dropping as those of the bush violets but less profuse, yet I included them too

Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, berries of Billardiera heterophylla (formerly Sollya heterophylla), foliage of Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Eustoma grandiflorum, Lavandula multifida, and Rotheca myricoides 'Ugandense'

I'd originally planned to use stems of the green Lisianthus in my back garden with the bush violets but, when I saw the pristine white variety in the front garden, I went with it.  Still, I'm very fond of the green variety (which I've used as wallpaper on my mobile phone) so I wanted to take advantage of them while they're fresh.  I cobbled together a second arrangement featuring two of those stems.

I used stems of Correa glabra, a green-flowered Australian fuchsia, to echo the pale yellow-green color of the Lisianthus.  The Correa's flowers are sparse but the plant seems to produce slightly more flowers with each passing year.  The vase is a smaller version of the green porcelain vase I've often used this year. 

Back view:  I used 2 stems of Coleus 'Chili Pepper' to spice things up a bit (pun intended)

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coleus 'Flame Thrower Chili Pepper', Correa glabra 'Coliban River', Eustoma grandiflorum, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

All but one of my dahlias, the 'Caproz Pizzazz' that produced a single bud, are now gone.  While preparing to remove 'Lady Darlene', I realized I had two more zinnias growing nearby in the corner of the same raised planter.  I plopped two of the flowers into the small vase on our kitchen island, accompanied by some of the leftovers from the vase that contained the last of 'Lady Darlene's' flowers last week.

Single stems of Zinnia elegans (probably 'Senorita' and 'Benary's Giant Coral') accompany stems of Leucadendrons 'Blush' and 'Jester'

The marine layer has brought down temperatures again over the last few days but weather forecasters are predicting yet another mid-week uptick.  Meanwhile, there's no rain in sight as we bore ahead into November.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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