In a Vase on Monday: Mostly remnants

I'd planned to get the remainder of my dahlias dug up last week but that didn't happen.  In part, that was because my annual tree trimming exercise impacted my time and attention, even though all the hard work was done by a crew of six from the tree service.  Our weather also turned hot and dry, courtesy of another round of the Santa Ana winds that plague our area periodically at this time of year, making digging in the garden less appealing.

I initially thought I might have an opportunity to use yet another dozen of the 'Break Out' dahlias in a vase this week but they became collateral damage in the course of the tree trimming exercise, with the wind probably playing a part.  What was left in my cutting garden on Sunday wasn't much but I was able to make use of it to fill a vase, which was good as the pickings are slim at the moment.

A single flower of Dahlia 'Enchantress' was in reasonably acceptable condition and a handful of the 'Table Dancer' dahlias helped to fill out the arrangement with support from some pink zinnias

Back view: I added 3 white snapdragons, already withering in the heat, but the star of the arrangement may be the 2 twisted stems of Pelargonium 'Colocho'.  This unusual plant has thrived in my garden for years now.  The scent of its foliage is heavenly but it flowers only lightly.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Pelargonium 'Colocho', Dahlia 'Enchantress', D. 'Table Dancer', Antirrhinum majus 'Sonnet White' (a recent introduction), and 2 Zinnias, one probably 'Illumination' and the other 'Benary's Giant Purple'

I cut a single stem of a Chrysanthemum 'Breeze Cassis', purchased a few weeks ago, but it was too short to hold its own with the taller flowers so it was plonked into its own tiny vase

I did get forty Ranunculus corms planted over the weekend and hope to get forty Anemone coronaria corms planted later this week.  It's also time to sow sweet pea seeds here in Southern California so I need to clear what's left in the raised beds of my cutting garden to get those started.  It's been so warm and dry, and the rain has been light so far, leaving me hesitant to get cracking but then waiting for El Niño to deliver a deluge probably isn't a good strategy either.

While I ponder my next steps, it's a good time to check out what Cathy at Rambling in the Garden and other contributors to her "In a Vase on Monday" meme are up to.  You can find a link to her blog here.

Arrangement in place in our front entry, coupled with the small cluster of Chryrsanthemums

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