After an extended period of miserably high temperatures, the heat finally broke over the weekend as Tropical Storm Rachel moved into Southern California. Some areas in Orange County were affected by an onslaught of unusually high tides. Newport Beach areas were closed for a short time. Long Beach experienced waves that resulted in some evacuations. But the effects on Los Angeles County have been relatively trivial so far. We were lightly spattered by rain on and off but we had just 0.02/inch of measurable precipitation through Sunday. More rain is expected overnight and in the morning hours today but I'm not holding my breath. Meanwhile, San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties were still under warnings for potential flooding the last I heard.
I cut a few flowers late Saturday afternoon, when I thought heavier rain might still be coming, and I arranged them on Sunday. My garden is still delivering both dahlias and zinnias so I took advantage of both. I was tempted to cut more but, as we didn't get anything like a deluge of rain, I decided to limit myself to just one vase in the hope that I might still have flowers left to cut next week.
Assuming we don't get more rain that we're currently expecting here today, I hope to be back in the garden working to clean up some of the plants badly damaged by that last stretch of heat - or what I hope was the last stretch. It's high time I get to some serious work in preparation for the fall season.
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| Final arrangement in place in the front entry |
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| I couldn't resist bringing the hang-gliding mouse back out of the closet for another run as a prop for this arrangement |
All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
This is a lovely vase, Kris. I never would have thought a pale-pink tinged Dahlia will benefit from bright orange, but Oh does it ever! Grevillea 'Superb' connects all the elements together. A wonderful way to welcome fall, even if it is slow to arrive.
ReplyDeleteChavli
"Break Out' doesn't always have those touches of pale pink but I love them when they do, Chavli. I count myself lucky that I got another late flush of blooms from them this late in the season.
DeleteYour dahlias have been so enjoyable to see. I love the color of the salmon zinnia. Glad you didn't have problems from the storm.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'd have liked to see more rain from this storm, we were lucky with the result, especially given the force with which some areas were hit.
DeleteI love the colors of this beautiful arrangement Kris, well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree!
DeleteI think dahlias are by far and away the most generous of plants, here in my garden at least - I shall be sorry when the frost does for them... Your vase today is subtly different from previous ones with the pink dahlias working with the zinnias because the latter are more of a coral rather than an orange, and you have picked up on this with the grevillea. Let's hope, as always, you do get a pleasing amount of rain soon, but without any of the ill-effects
ReplyDeleteI was pleased that these 'Break Out' Dahlias had that pink blush as most of the mid-season ones had become yellow - that subtle color iteration must have something to do with the day length and/or prevailing temperatures. And I liked the match-up with that zinnia too ;)
DeleteGlad you were spared. We have had some tropical rain but not much. That salmon orange and pink combo is really gorgeous. The prop is adorable.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually a fan of cutesy ornaments but I do have a particular fondness for that butterfly-flying mouse :)
DeleteI love your Grevillias and the rest of the vase. Rain can be a fickle thing. I am happy about 3 days of sunshine here! I'm surprised at the longevity of the Dahlias! They were well worth it. A.melia
ReplyDeleteI was shocked that so many of those dahlias (albeit not all) withstood those 102 degree temperatures over an extended period!
DeleteA beautiful peachy arrangement with your lovely dahlias, zinnias and grevillea. We had a frost last week and I miss mine already. It's a long wait 'til next July, alas. Glad your heat wave broke. Hopefully, better weather is ahead. Eliza
ReplyDeleteI hope the horrid 100+ degree heat it now behind us, Eliza, although I can't claim that it's actually cool yet. At least we're now seeing some nighttime temperatures in the 60s anyway!
DeleteOh, that mouse is so sweet! I am amazed at how well that dahlia has done, producing so many flowers and now having a second flush. You got your money's worth from that one! Are your dahlias in the ground or raised beds? And do you lift them at the end of the season? I suppose it isn't necessary as you don't get frosts. Lovely arrangement as always Kris.
ReplyDeleteOh, how nice to see a closeup of your mouse riding the butterfly! Amazing how quickly plants push out new growth and flowers when they are cut, especially annuals.
ReplyDelete