In a Vase on Monday: Nothing to spit at

My Osteospermums  are doing especially well this year so I decided to make one variety the focus of this week's vase.  After cutting a couple of stems, I realized that they were covered in a sticky foam, the tell-tale evidence of the presence of a spittlebug.  I hosed them off and used them anyway.  I'm not sure how common spittlebugs are but you can see them in action here.

As usual, I stuffed my vase

I've got oodles of frothy white Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven) in the garden at the moment.  It's a great filler but I won't use much of it in a vase as I dislike the smell of the flowers.  The foliage has a lovely scent but, when it's blooming en masse on a warm day, the smell of the flowers can be unpleasant.

The Ranunculus in my cutting garden are fading fast now due to warm temperatures and dry winds

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratum corymbosum, Coleonema album, Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Lavandula stoechas, Freesia, Ranunculus, Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly' and, in the middle, Osteospermum '4D Violet Ice'

I put together a second vase this week specifically as a personal challenge, using Salvia africana lutea as my inspiration.  I've never had any idea what to combine with its flowers, which have an unusual shape and color.  It's been in my garden for 3 years now and, while it's far from reaching its mature size, this year it's produced numerous flowers.

The flower color is variously described as clay, brick, or rusty orange

 

I surprised myself (again) by finding more than enough flowers and foliage to accent the Salvia.

This vase was a Christmas gift from my brother and his thoughtful girlfriend.  It bears some resemblance to my cat, Pipig, who was described by the rescue organization I adopted her from as a "Torbie" or tortoisehell-tabby.

I used the orange/salmon Ranunculus to complement the color of the Salvia and to repeat the orange color in the vase

I'm a little shocked that I cut one of the first blooms on my Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid' but it did play off the color of the Salvia surprisingly well

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid', Lotus berthelotii 'Gold Flash', Narcissus 'British Gamble', N. 'Geranium', Ranunculus and, in the middle, Salvia africana lutea

It's probably entirely a coincidence but Pipig showed up as soon as I put the vase down on a side table in the living room.

Admittedly, Pipig (her name is Swedish for "Squeaky"), periodically checks out my vases but it's not a regular practice and it's been many months since she's shown any interest in them

She settled on the arm of the sofa, keeping her eye on the vase

I'm still feeling a bit guilty about cutting the Leucospermum bloom for this vase but the flowers have a long vase-life so I expect I'll be able to enjoy it for awhile.

This Leucospermum 'Brandi' flower is still in great shape 2 weeks after I originally cut it for another of my IAVOM posts.  It's sitting in my office now with some new accents in the form of Ranunculus and Agonis flexuosa foliage but the sun's glare made it impossible to get a good photo of it in situ.

For more Monday vases, visit our IAVOM guru, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Fest (Bloom Day - April 2018)

I think my garden may have already reached its peak in terms of spring blooms.  At this point, it seems it'd be easier to list what's not blooming than what is.  I gave up trying to take photos of everything and I once again threw a lot of my photos into collages just to keep this post to a manageable size.

Echium webbii began blooming last week.  It's a bee magnet.

Other blue blooms include: Top row - Ajuga 'Mint Chip', Alyogyne huegelii, and 'Pink Icing' blueberries
2nd row - Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', noID Delphinium, and Felicia aethiopica
3rd row - light blue and mid-blue Freesias, and Iris hollandica
Bottom row - Osteospermum '3D Silver', Scabiosa 'Fama Blue', and Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud'

This "ever-purple" Ageratum corymbosum has already begun to fade in response to last week's heat

Clockwise from the upper left, other purple and magenta blooms include: Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Geranium 'Tiny Monster', Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia', 2 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus, Lavandula stoechas 'Anouk Deep Rose', Limonium perezii, Osteospermum '4D Berry White', Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', Salvia 'Love and Wishes', and, in the middle, Osteopermum 'Violet Ice'

All the Coleonema album are in full bloom.  Together with Erigeron karvinskianus, a weedy groundcover here, they create a sparkle of fluffy white throughout the garden.

Still more splashes of white are provided by Pyrethropsis hosmariense, which has become one of my favorite year-round groundcovers as it's beautiful in and out of bloom

Other white bloomers include: Top row - Argyranthemum 'Mega White', Centranthus ruber 'Albus', and Convolvulus cneorum
Middle row - a few Leucojum aestivum, white Freesia, and Narcissus 'British Gamble'
Bottom row - Narcissus 'White Lion', orange blossoms, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

More Erigeron karvinskianus mixes here with Gazania 'White Flame' surrounding Phormium 'Maori Queen'

Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' is still going strong on one side of the path through the back garden.  The newer plants on the other side of the path are now caged to protect them from the bunnies that ate several small plants down to nubs.

Other plants sporting red color include: Top row - Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Cymbidium Sussex Court 'Not Peace', and Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl'
Middle row - Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Lotus jacobaeus, and Oncidium 'Wildcat'
Bottom row - Pelargonium peltatum, P. 'Oldbury Duet', and Ranunculus asiaticus

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' is STILL blooming strong with regular dead-heading

Other pink blooms include: Top row -  noID Alstroemeria, Antirrhinum majus, and Arctotis 'Opera Pink'
2nd row - Argyranthemum 'Madeira Pink', Centranthus ruber, and Cistus x skanbergii
3rd row - Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Helleborus 'Phoebe', and Lampranthus 'Pink Kaboom'
Bottom row - Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', and picotee Ranunculus

Ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' continues to out-perform even the other large-flowered Grevilleas in my garden

Clockwise from the upper left, orange flowers include: Begonia 'Fragrant Falls Peach', Bignonia capreolata, Calendula 'Bronzed Beauty', Digitalis pupurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Narcissus 'Geranium', Metrosideros collina 'Springfire', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. 'Peaches & Cream', Lantana camara 'Irene', 'Joseph's Coat' rose, and, in the middle, Fuchsia 'Gartenmeister Bonstedt'

Hunnemannia fumariifolia (aka Mexican tulip poppy) is new to my garden this year but doing well despite my sandy soil

Clockwise from the upper left, other yellow blooms include: noID Argyranthemum frutescens, Bulbine frutescens, noID Carpobrotos, Gazania 'Gold Flame', Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow', E. 'Deans Hybrid', E. rigida, Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschien' Euryops virgineus, Nemesia fruticans 'Sunshine', Osteospermum 'Spring Day', Phlomis fruticosa. and, in the middle, Leucospermum 'Goldie'

When I checked last April's Bloom Day post, I discovered that most everything is blooming on schedule, despite the stretch of higher-than-average temperatures we've had recently.  However, many of the flowers on my April bloomers are less profuse this year than they were last year, which I attribute to the substantially lower rain levels this past winter.  Our "normal" annual rain total is about 14 inches, most if not all of which falls during the winter months.  During the 2016-2017 rain year (calculated from October 1st 2016 through September 30th 2017), our rain totaled just over 24 inches and the garden celebrated the bounty.  This past winter (since October 1st 2017), our roof-top weather station recorded 3.59 inches, just 26% of "normal" and 15% of the prior year's total.  I can only hope that the summer will be punctuated by some tropical rainstorms.

Visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, our Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day host, to see what's blooming elsewhere this April.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Spring before summer

Our temperature is expected to soar to a summer-like level today, reaching 80F (26C).  I know that may sound like heaven to those of you still shivering under winter's icy fingers; however, we don't like to see summer arrive this early.  Summer usually overstays its welcome as it is.  In addition, it stresses all the early spring blooms, some of which are only now making an appearance, prompted by the rainstorms that belatedly showed up in March.  I'm making the most of the spring blooms now while I can still enjoy them.

The pink Alstroemerias are sparser than usual this spring but, with a plentiful supply of pink flowers elsewhere in the garden, I picked what I had to tie my other choices together

The Centranthus ruber (aka Jupiter's Beard) that colors up my drab back slope in spring is blooming right on schedule

I stood on a chair to take this top view photo and still couldn't entirely capture it

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: noID Alstroemeria, Antirrhinum majus, Centranthus ruber, Coleonema album, Freesia, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Ranunculus

My perennial flossflower (Ageratum corymbosum) is now in full bloom, stretching into one of the main pathways in the back garden, so it was a natural choice for cutting this week, although I was challenged to avoid duplicating the vase I created two weeks ago.

In addition to the Ageratum, I used the same Osteospermum I paired with it 2 weeks ago

but the other elements are new

I also had a problem photographing this vase from above

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Osteospermum '3D Berry White', Ageratum corymbosum, Coleonema album, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', Limonium perezii, Ocimum hybrid 'African Blue Basil', and Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa'

Here's a side-by-side comparison of today's vase and the one I created two weeks ago:

Oops, I duplicated the Coleonema too.  Still, I think the 2 arrangements have their own personalities.

The new vases landed on the dining room table and in the front entry as usual.  Last week's vases held up surprisingly well but I tossed most of the contents anyway.

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  For those of you still suffering winter's chill, I hope some of Southern California's warmth blows your way.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: It had to be orange

Saturday, 800+ cities in the US and around the world joined a massive group in Washington D.C. led by students from Parkland, Florida to protest gun violence and call for sensible gun control.  A friend and I were among the 55,000 or so that participated in the march in downtown Los Angeles.

The tone of this march was very different than the Women's March in January 2017

While there was a great deal of energy on the part of those who participated, it was in many ways more somber and emotional, at least in my opinion

After all, whatever some talking heads say, the central issue here isn't political but truly a matter of life and death and there has already been much too much of the latter

The color of the day was orange, selected in 2015 to recognize and honor previous victims of gun violence.  As the march and its purpose were still very much on my mind on Sunday when I prepared my arrangements for "In a Vase on Monday," I gravitated to that color in my garden.

I'm not sure when so much orange crept into my garden but I certainly have no shortage of it

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Argyranthemum 'Mega White', Calendula 'Bronzed Beauty', Digitalis 'Dalmatian Peach', red-orange Freesia, Sparaxis tricolor, Lotus berthelotii (gold form), Narcissus 'Geranium', and, in the center, Grevillea 'Superb'

Refreshed by last week's rain, the heaviest we've had all season (and possibly our last until next winter), my garden is in its early spring glory so of course I also have a second vase.

Osteospermum hybrid 'Berry White' was the starting point for this arrangement

but it meshes well with Ageratum corymbosum, a perennial with "ever-purple" leaves, that just started its annual bloom cycle

Top view showing off the Ageratum's dark leaves

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Ageratum corymbosum, Coleonema album, Pyrethropsis hosmariense 'Casablanca' (formerly Rhodanthemum), Osteospermum 'Berry White', and white and blue Freesia

For more vases, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

For more on the Los Angeles March for Our Lives click here.  For more on the Washington March and other supportive US marches click here.  For information on marches outside the US click here.  I fully expect that change is going to take time in a country with a gun-culture as entrenched as ours but I think the young people leading the charge have shown themselves up to the task.

This is just a handful of the signs I photographed during the march

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party