Late to the Garden Party: May 2026

Monday, May 18, 2026

In a Vase on Monday: Seeing purple

I thought I'd have a few lilies in bloom this week but they weren't quite ready to take off yet. So I decided to cut stems of the purple gladiolas I'd been eyeing last week. The trouble was finding other flowers that would show them off. I ended up adding two tall Acanthus mollis stems to balance them out. Combining those and a few other smaller plants were enough to call it an arrangement. I can only hope that the cat won't send the large crystal vase crashing to the floor before the week is over.

It's a very heavy vase but I'm not sure that'd stop a cat prone to pushing her boundaries

Back view: I included stems of the purple-leafed Vitex trifolia but unfortunately it takes a good day for the stems to recover after they've been cut, hence the droop in these photos

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acanthus mollis, noID Gladious, noID Leucanthemum superbum, Limonium perezi, Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea'

Arrangement in place in the dining room

It's getting warmer here and the dahlia tubers that are still in temporary pots could use more space to spread out so I think my sweet peas may half to go soon. It's too bad; however, this year's crop was somewhat disappointing. I can already see signs of mildew on the foliage too.

Thanks, as always, to Cathy at at Rambling in the Garden for hosting IAVOM. Best wishes to all for a colorful week!

Friday, May 15, 2026

Bloom Day - May 2026

I missed two months of Bloom Day posts while sidelined by medical issues. I'm still recovering, but I was determined to get a post up this month. My garden isn't exactly up to snuff as regular therapy sessions take a lot of my time, however I've taken a stab at documenting what I could.

The Agapanthus are blooming heavily as usual this May

Arctotis ‘Large Marge' is more vigorous than 'Pink Sugar'

White and yellow Argyranthemum (aka Marguerite daisies) are at their peak

Cynara scolymus, commonly known as artichokes on the back slope

Echium 'Pride of Madeira', one of 3 Echiums I currently have in bloom

Globularia x indubia (aka globe daisy), beloved by bees

Hippeastrum flower on an irregular schedule. I've noID for this one but it's naturalized in my garden.

Leonotis leonurus, aka lion's tail

Leucadendron salignum 'Blush' - not a true flower but it looks likes one

Leucospermum Royal Hawaiian 'Brandi', the flashiest Leucospermum in my garden (so far)

NoID Pelargonium (left) and 2 Pelargonium peltatum (right) aka ivy geranium)

Flamboyant Salvia canariensis var candidissima

The cutting garden still has spring flowers (soon to be replaced with dahlias).

Consolida ajacis, aka larkspur

Lathyrus odoratus, aka sweet peas

NoID Gladiolus

There are also a host of dependable long term bloomers:

Clockwise from upper left: Grevillea 'Superb', 'Peaches & Cream', 'Scarlet Sprite', and G.sericea

Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink' and a noID orange variety

Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake' & 'Spanish Harlem'

I've thrown several other flowers into a final collage for final measure:

Top Row: Alstroemeria ‘Claire’, Callistemon viridiflorus, and Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tail grass)
Middle: Centranthus ruber, Oenothera speciosa, and Felicia aethiopica
Bottom: Chrysocephalum, Gaillardia 'Desert Flame', and Gazania 'Spin Top Copper Sun'

That's it for this month's survey. Many thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day each month.

Monday, May 11, 2026

In a Vase on Monday: A new color palette to work with

I had a hard time getting excited about my flower choices this week. I'd just about settled on a flashy purple gladiola, when I noticed new blooms on my Grevillea 'Moonlight'. 'Moonlight' hasn't flowered often since the shrub was planted several years ago, and I can't recall ever using it for an 'In a Vase on Monday' post. However, once I settled on that choice, I was off and running with an entirely different color scheme.

Although 'Moonglow' got me started, it was one member of an ensemble cast that included Alstroemeria, Leucadendrons, and even a Leucospermum among other plants

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left are: Alstroemeria 'Claire', Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', noID Leucanthemum superbum, Grevillea 'Moonlight', Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown', L. 'Wilson's Wonder', Leucospermum 'California Sunshine', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

Arrangement in place

I may make use of the gladiolas next week when there are more of them in full bloom. Then again, the lilies may be ready to take off by then so there could be a tug of war. The dahlia tubers are moving forward, but slowly, so there's plenty of time left to enjoy the current season without dashing into summer.

For posts from other IAVOM contributors, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

Monday, May 4, 2026

In a Vase on Monday: The blues

It's been an odd spring. It started off early as usual here in late February. I posted photos of my first Dutch Iris on March 1st. Unfortunately, as I ended up in the hospital, most of the Iris were gone by the time I got home later that month. I only recently got back to doing any gardening. My dahlia bulbs have gotten started in pots but it'll be a while before I see any flowers from them. In the meantime, I'm making use of my blue flowers in the form of agapanthus and larkspur. Here's this week's vase.

Too much? Most of the noID Agapanthus came with house. The flowers return reliably each year.

Back view: The larkspur (Consolida ajacis) flowered better this year than last but still not as well as in previous years.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: 'Abelia 'Hopley's Variegated, noID blue and white Agapanthus, Centranthus ruber 'Alba', noID Consolida ajacis, and Echium 'Star of Madeira'

After an extended heatwave in March, April was comfortable but it's been on the cool side for the past week. I'm hoping for sunnier skies and warmer temperatures in the low 70s (22C) later this week.

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