In a Vase on Monday: An Homage

It's hard to believe that the loss of a seven-pound, seventeen-year-old cat can turn your life upside down but that's what happened last Friday.  On Thursday evening my cat, Pipig, suddenly starting walking sideways.  She quickly got worse and her distress spread to my husband and me.  When my veterinary care guide provided no answers, I called my vet's after-hours emergency line.  After discussion, I arranged an appointment early the next morning.  After examining Pipig and reviewing her history, the vet concluded that the problem was probably caused by a stroke or a cancerous lesion on her brain.  She outlined our options regarding further testing and prospective treatment.  Given Pipig's age, her medical history, her distress, and the likelihood of recovery, my husband and I agreed to euthanasia.  The pain of her absence is palpable.

I've buried myself in the garden for the last few days.  I wasn't sure how I felt about cutting flowers to fill a vase, much less blogging, but then I remembered a vase a friend of my brother's had given me several year's ago with Pipig in mind, hence this homage.

I have a lot of photos of her; however, this one, taken in January of this year following her recovery from other medical issues late last year, is among my favorites

The gift vase features a tortoiseshell-tabby cat like Pipig.  It even has Pipig's green eyes.

Back view

Top view

Flowers, clockwise from the upper left: Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Third Harmonic', A. 'Indian Summer', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Grevillea 'Superb', and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'

This wouldn't be a proper tribute without some additional background on the subject.

I adopted Pipig from an animal rescue group in October 2008 at one year of age, after she'd weened 2 kittens rescued with her.  They'd named her "Mandy Manilow" which didn't suit either of us.  I kept her confined in a small space for a couple of days to allow my other cat, Ming, and she time to adjust to one another.  Her mewing sounded squeaky to me, hence her name.  "Pipig" is the Swedish word for squeaky.

Ming's brother, Max, had died suddenly of congestive heart failure a few months before I adopted Pipig.  He wasn't used to being by himself.  He and Pipig adjusted to one another very quickly.  This photo was taken by my husband in December 2009 when I was under the weather.

Ming and Pipig were regular companions.  This photo shows them in a cat tree (built by my husband) in our former home.

Like his brother, Ming had serious medical issues.  He outlived his sibling by more than 5 years but ultimately succumbed to what the vet believed was bladder cancer.  Pipig looked after him as often as I did.

We lost Ming in early 2014, at which point Pipig became the queen of all she surveyed, including the screened catio shown here

Her majesty hung out wherever she pleased, including the mantle in our bedroom.  She was attracted to flowers but never ate them.

I used to allow her to wander in the garden under close supervision (although she escaped surveillance 3 or 4 times, much to my dismay).  When she and I nearly walked into a coyote mid-morning one day in 2017, the outdoor rambling ended and she had to make do with her catio.

I included this photo taken in 2018 only because it's currently staring at me from a 2024 calendar a friend created.  She's made calendars for me annually for a few years, usually featuring photos from my IAVOM posts, but sometimes including one of Pipig.  This photo just happened to be the one in place for June 2024.

Pipig suffered through 5+ months of a home renovation with us in 2019, spending a lot of the time the workers were on-site nested away in our bedroom closet; however, she conducted inspections after work hours

In late 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She had surgery in December 2019, followed by several months of chemotherapy ending in May 2020.  As chemotherapy was mostly conducted during the pandemic lockdown, I spent a lot of hours in the parking lot waiting for her during her treatment sessions.

After a serious medical issue in January 2023, Pipig had another medical problem in late November-early December 2023.  She was better by the middle of December 2023 when I took this photo of her checking into what I was up to in my office.  She had 2 rounds of antibiotics to deal with what appeared to be pneumonia but her lungs were declared clear in January 2024.

I can't claim she hadn't shown other signs of her age.  It was obvious from her gait that she was arthritic but she fought us over the medications we tried to give her to provide relief.  She'd recently been seeking out my husband and I, staying close to one or the other of us.  She started spending most of her time in our bedroom but would hunt me down if I was missing in action for a few hours.  She demanded to be combed every evening and, if I woke during the night, she'd jump on my pillow to be petted before curling up next to my head for awhile.  I didn't see this last event coming and hoped we'd have her for at least a couple more years but I can't entirely say I was surprised.

That's my trip down memory lane.  Thank you for joining me.  Pipig wasn't my first cat and she's unlikely to be my last but each one has its own special place in my heart.  I'll act once my bruised heart is ready for that.

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

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Sweet peas

I considered pulling out my sweet pea vines when I cleared most of my cutting garden of the rest of the cool season annuals.  As the result of our cooler temperatures, they'd gotten a slow start and our persistent marine layer encouraged the foliage to mildew.  However, as the sweet peas stepped up production, I found it hard to let them go.  A few sunny afternoons and, all of a sudden, there are more flowers than I can cut.

A lot of those sweet peas are too tall for me to reach without a ladder

In addition to a varied combination of sweet peas, I added 2 stems of Gladious 'Vuvuzela' growing in the same raised planter

Back view: I also cut 3 foxglove stems

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', D. 'Dalmatian White', Gladiolus 'Vuvuzela', Lathyrus odoratus 'Blue Shift', L. 'Dancing Queen', L. 'Enchante', and L. 'Oban Bay'

 

My second arrangement was inspired by one of the first lilies to make an appearance this year.

I used the lily as my centerpiece even though it was still in the process of opening

I cut 3 more stems of the 'Golden Celebration' rose this week to dress up the back of the arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Claire', Lilium 'Conca d'Or', Lagurus ovatus, Orlaya grandiflora, Prunus lilcifolia, and Rosa 'Golden Celebration'

 

I'd cut a few stems of Centaurea 'Silver Feather' to include in the first arrangement but they looked wonky so I cut them down in size and threw them into a small vase with more sweet peas for the kitchen island.

The small vase contains Centaurea 'Silver Feather' and Lathyrus odoratus x belinensis 'Erewhon'

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

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Just peachy

On Saturday, I noticed that the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) on our back slope was sporting five blooms.  Although I've tried to remove the thuggish plant twice, even enlisting my husband's help to dig it out once, it inevitably reappears, producing tall, sprawling stems topped with fragile blooms beloved by the bees.  I headed down the slope early Sunday morning hoping for at least three intact blooms and came back with only one but I was committed to a white and yellow arrangement so I persevered.  Some peach colors infiltrated the mix as I tried to fill it out.

Although the Matilija poppy was the inspiration for this arrangement, the 'Golden Celebration' rose assumed the lead role

Back view: I used stems of Argyranthemum frutescens and Pandorea jasminoides to add the touches of white I'd originally hoped to get from the poppies

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Achillea 'Moonshine', Alstroemeria 'Claire', Romneya coulteri (aka Matilija poppy), Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Peach', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Pandorea jasminoides, and Rosa 'Golden Celebration'

 

We had another stretch of hot weather late last week, with temperatures reaching 90F (32C).  The seemingly constant pattern of flip-flopping temperatures has stressed many of my plants.  My cool season flowers, like the foxgloves, sweet peas and larkspur, were slow to get going but now seem to be ready to throw in the towel.  The larkspur made an especially poor showing this year and I decided I'd best make use of the remaining presentable blooms before they're gone.

With the addition of a beefy stem of Delphinium elatum 'Morning Light', the arrangement was off to a lop-sided start but I did my best to give it better balance by adding numerous stems of Consolida ajacis (larkspur), Orlaya grandiflora, and Nigella papillosa

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Consolida ajacis, Delphinium elatum 'Morning Light', Lathyrus odoratus x belinensis 'Erewhon', noID white Lathyrus odoratus, Nigella papillosa, and Orlaya grandiflora

 

Nine of my dahlia tubers have sprouted thus far and I've already moved seven of these from their temporary pots into their summer homes, the raised planters and half barrels that make up my cutting garden.  As I remove the cool season plants, the space they occupy will be filled by other dahlia tubers and the zinnia and sunflower seedlings I've grown from seed in plastic pots.  Summer is breathing down our necks here.  Southern California had its first major wildfire last week and, on the heels of that, there was a smaller fire less than five miles from my home in a nearby park.  Swamped by over 80 firefighters and assisted by water drops from helicopters that flew directly over our house a couple of times, it burned just ten acres before it was extinguished.  Luckily no structures were damaged but it was a stark reminder of the challenges summer poses.

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

 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

 

 

In a Vase on Monday: Decisions, decisions

I thought I had all my choices made before I stepped into the garden on Sunday to select blooms for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  But, facing another forecast of toasty temperatures by mid-week, the garden persuaded me to focus on the flowers most likely to respond negatively when the heat's turned up.  They moved to the front of the line while others (pardon the pun) were put on the back burner.

The larkspur (Consolida ajacis) that only recently started blooming was uppermost among the plants I was concerned with, as they'd already taken a hit in late April when our temperatures suddenly soared into the upper 80s, reaching 95F at one point.  The fact that the grayish-purple larkspur complemented the bearded Iris that had just started blooming down at the bottom of my back slope was pure serendipity.

Unlike the dwarf bearded Iris I featured earlier this spring, this one grows very tall so I couldn't miss it when I made a brief trip to the bottom of the slope on Saturday.  I think it's an old-fashioned variety but I've no idea of its name.

I used a few stems of Abelia to dress up the base of the arrangement and stems of an ornamental grass as a filler

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Iris germanica, Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Consolida ajacis 'Earl Grey' and noID white form, and Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tails grass)

The second vase features larkspur in a different color and a few Dutch Iris that recently made a late appearance in my front garden.

Dutch Iris 'Silvery Beauty' grows in a semi-shaded area of the garden and has never bloomed as early or as vigorously as those grown in full sun

I used a narrow-necked vase given to me by a friend last Christmas and dressed up the back of the vase with the first globe daisies (Globularia x indubia) to bloom this season

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Iris hollandica 'Silvery Beauty', Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix', Globularia x indubia, Achillea 'Moonshine' (shown with Anagallis monelli),  Prunus caroliniana, and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'

I hadn't expected to create a third vase but I decided the pink Alstroemeria in a sunny section of the garden might also benefit from seeking cover in the house.  I selected an odd little vase I think I've used only once before to hold those flowers and their companions.

A close-up of the vase, which has a random assortment of irregularly shaped holes on top to hold flowers in place

I added an assortment of pink and while flowers to complement the Alstroemeria

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID pink Alstroemeria, Argyranthemum frutescens 'Everest', Pelargonium 'Lady Plymouth', Orlaya grandiflora, and Osteospermum 'Berry White'

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

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party