In a Vase on Monday: Spring prelude

The atmospheric river came through as predicted last week, delivering nearly two inches of rain here.  Our total for the 2025 "water year" (counted from October 1, 2024) now stands at 4.81 inches.  That's not great given that our rainy season usually ends in April but at least it already tops our totals in 2018 and 2021.  After colder-than-usual temperatures last week, it warmed up this past weekend and it's feeling more like spring.  The garden's showing more of what I'd characterize as spring flowers too, which those of you in colder areas of the Northern Hemisphere may appreciate as a prelude to the change of seasons.

The first of the fragrant Freesias opened over the weekend.  The first of the Calendulas I sowed from seed in November also popped up and I tucked a short stem up front.

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Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Calendula officianalis ' Cantaloupe Mix', noID Freesia, Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia, Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Narcissus papyraceus, and Leucospermum 'Sunrise'

Two hellebores also made their initial appearance this week.  Cutting a stem of one of them inspired a second, smaller arrangement.

The Camellia stem was a last minute addition.  It probably won't hold up for long as a cut flower but, as many of the blooms hit the ground during the storm, I wanted a little time to enjoy one up close.

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top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Anemone coronaria 'Bianco Centro Nero', Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold'

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

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Petite Posies

It rained lightly but steadily on Saturday and, as the forecast called for even heavier rain on Sunday and Monday, I clipped flowers in the late afternoon to arrange on Sunday.  As it turned out, Sunday was mostly sunny, which goes to show that even the shortest-term weather projections can be wildly inaccurate.  

My Hemerocallis, including the one I brought inside last week, still aren't blooming so I made do with what I could find to fill two small vases.

I've had a few Anemone coronaria blooms, all blue thus far.  The stems grow longer as the flowers age but these 2 were still relatively short.

Back view:  I also used some very short stems of blue Pericallis, which is largely hidden behind Acacia foliage in this view but somewhat clearer in the earlier front view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Antirrhinum majus, Delphinium grandiflorum 'Diamonds Blue', Anemone coronaria 'Lord Lieutenant', Pericallis x hybrida, Nemesia 'Plus White', and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'

Saturday's rain brought down over a dozen Camellia blooms and, with heavier rain in the forecast, I felt compelled to cut a couple of stems for an arrangement to sit on our kitchen island, where we could enjoy them, if briefly.

The Camellia flowers are beautiful, no matter how long they last

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Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', and Pentas lanceolata

I removed the spent Grevilleas in last week's vase and gave it a simple refresh to fill the spot that was held by the two week old arrangement featuring Aeonium 'Zwartkop' and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'.

The tweaked vase is on the left and the original version is on the right

Monday is still projected to be very wet - as I prepared this post Sunday afternoon, the local forecast gave us a one hundred percent chance of rain.  We got nearly an inch of rain on Saturday and I'm hoping for at least another half inch on Monday.  Since Sunday was dry, I took the time to move the rainwater I captured in plastic trugs to my largest collection tank, which means all three tanks are full once again.  That's a good way to start off the week.

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

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

In a Vase on Monday: Poles apart

I prepared two arrangements this week and they're as dissimilar as they can be.  The first one is soft and very pink.

The early blooms of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' provided the inspiration

Back view: As the Camellia blooms are likely to drop within 2-3 days, I dressed up the back side so I can turn the arrangement around to provide interest when that happens

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky' (recycled from one of last week's arrangements), Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', Antirrhinum majus, Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Plectranthus scutellarioides ' Florida Sun Rose' (aka coleus)

The second arrangement doesn't include any true flowers.  I initially planned to stick with the flower-like bracts of Leucadendrons of various kinds in shades of yellow, pinkish-red, and green but I changed things up a little at the last minute.

 The dark Aeonium rosettes provided a focal point

 

Back view: I added 3 stems of Hibiscus foliage to echo the color of the Aeoniums.  The Hibiscus stems have small buds but I'm not sure they're developed enough to bloom. 

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', and L. 'Wilson's Wonder'

January isn't looking much better than December in terms of rain.  At present, there's a forty-five percent chance of a dribble of rain next weekend.  I'm already drawing down on my stored rainwater.

For more IAVOM creations, 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: Fleeting beauty

I suspect I've used this post title before but it describes both of my arrangements this week.  As at least one reader anticipated, I decided to feature the Hibiscus flowers that surprised me last week for my first vase.  The velvety red blooms were just too pretty to ignore, even if the flowers close in low light and don't usually last more than two days at most. 

My house is quite bright inside but, regardless, the Hibiscus flowers were already closing by mid-afternoon.  It remains to be seen if they'll open again in the morning light, or if any of the buds clustered along the stems will open.

 

I dressed up the back view with a handful of the flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Blush'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', and Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket'

My second arrangement consists of only three elements, with the primary component being the fragile flowers of Camellia sasanqua.  Although we received less than a half inch of rain spread lightly over the course of four days, that was enough to leave many of those flowers shattered.  With wind predicted, I cut three stems from the largest of my shrubs.

Both varieties of Camellia sasanqua were inherited with the garden.  They differ in form but are very similar in color.

Back view: I could've used more filler plants but c'est la vie

Top view

From left to right: Camellia sasanqua, Pentas lanceolata, and Persicaria capitata

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: New arrivals

The rain - or maybe just the progress of time - has brought a few new arrivals to the garden and I've taken advantage of some of them this week.  More rain is on the horizon.  Three more storms, the first set to arrive in Southern California tonight, are stacked up to hit the state.  Northern California is once again expected to get the brunt of it.  However, even my sandy soil is already saturated.

The first foxglove bloom made an appearance in my cutting garden last week.  I accented it with stems of Grevillea sericea, which prior to last week had no flowers at all.

I cut several stems of Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', which I ended up relegating to the back of the arrangement.  'Itsy Bitsy' has decided to behave like a vine, currently winding its way through the Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' above it.

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Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', and Grevillea sericea

 

The Camellia sasanqua that have been blooming for months were pulverized by last week's storms, leaving behind little but petals on the ground below them.  However, Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' has stepped up with a minor flurry of blooms.  The shrub lost a lot of its buds in the fall heatwaves so I don't expect it'll have its best year but I decided to use a few of the blooms before the coming storms knock them out.  I kept the palette very simple so as not to detract attention from the shapely Camellias but I accented them with stems of another recent arrival, Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay'.

I cut 3 stems of the Camellia, sacrificing several buds in the process

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Top view

Clockwise from the left: Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', and Grevillea 'Jubilee Crown', now sporting tiny brown cones in the midst of feathery foliage

 

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

 

I'll close this week's post with some pretty pictures of snow in the mountains to the east of us.

I took this and the next 2 photos Saturday afternoon from my back garden during a sunny pause between rainstorms

I used a telephoto lens

The view was remarkably clear for a change.  The mountains are often hidden behind clouds and smog but the view was relatively unimpaired on this occasion.

 

Best wishes for a pleasant week.

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

In a Vase on Monday: A bright start to the new year

The new year started with a relative deluge of rain.  We got nearly an inch and a half of rain on Saturday before the clock tolled midnight.  People attempting to launch fireworks probably weren't happy but I appreciated the pounding of rain on the roof more than the explosions that usually light up the sky over the harbor and beyond.  New Year celebrations are second only to Independence Day when it comes to fireworks here.  New Year's Day dawned with blue skies but high winds.  That made cutting flowers something of a challenge but I managed.

 

Flowers are still in short supply and I relied on Leucadendrons again fill the breach.  The dwarf Hippeastrum 'Saffron' at the front of the vase, the first to bloom in my garden this season, was beaten up so I cut the one remaining presentable stem.

Back view: I'd saved stems of the Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' I pruned earlier in the week so I had something of a head start pulling this arrangement together on Sunday.  The stems I saved all sported seed pods.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Hippeastrum 'Saffron', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' with seed pods, Prunus ilicifolia, Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', and L. salignum 'Safari Sunset'

 

One of my Christmas presents from my husband was an unusual vase I'd admired online.  I cut some additional flower stems to fill it. 

The new vase is comprised of 2 pieces, constructed to link together.  As the pieces are curved, flowers with more flexible stems than those I chose probably would have worked better.

I'd intended this to be the rear view but in the end I liked this side better.  Given where I placed it, it can be viewed from either side so it doesn't much matter.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Calliandra haematocephala, Grevillea rosmarinifolia 'Dwarf form', Camellia sasanqua, and C. williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection'.  I also used 3 stems of Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite' but I couldn't get either of 2 cameras to focus on its tiny flowers so there's no closeup to share.

I hope you enjoyed the holidays.  Here, we're looking forward to another round of rain starting this evening and running into Tuesday morning before another pause and then more rain on Wednesday and Thursday.  Maybe Mother Nature hasn't abandoned Southern California after all.

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

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