In a Vase on Monday: One side or another

I almost always show the arrangements I create for "In a Vase on Monday" from various angles.  While the front and back views are sometimes very different, the front view is usually the splashier of the two.  This week, I'm not so sure that either side can claim that honor.

New blooms on the beloved Plectranthus I brought here as a cutting from my former garden provided the jumping off point for my first arrangement.

I grow Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' for its textured foliage but I do love the lavender flowers that appear in early fall each year

The back side of the arrangement is equally pretty.  It also shows off the mug I used as a vase this week.  I bought this mug expressly for the purpose of using it as a vase 2+ years ago and I don't think I've done so prior to this.  It was just the right size for the flowers I'd cut and there are even touches of lavender in the glaze.

Eustoma grandiflorum in various colors accent the Plectranthus

Counterclockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', 5 different cultivars of Eustoma grandiflorum (only the first of which I can identify, 'Rosanne Black Pearl'), and Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder'

A flush of blooms on Dahlia 'Terracotta' provided the impetus for the second arrangement, even though the starring roles went to other blooms.

While Dahlia 'Terracotta' is still producing a lot of blooms, the flowers are steadily getting smaller, but late bloomer, Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', produced one good-sized flower.  The color difference between the two is more apparent now.

I added guavas to this arrangement; however, they're almost hidden behind the flowers.  The guavas are still green but, most years, not many survive to ripen as the squirrels seem to confuse them with nuts and bury them.

In contrast to some of my prior vases, the flowers of the Grevillea hold their own in this arrangement

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Dahlia 'Terracotta', Grevillea 'Superb', and noID guava

The vases assumed their usual places, under the oversight of my feline "consultant."

Pipig plunked herself down next to the first vase on the table in the front entry and gave me a questioning look.  I think she continues to be amazed that flowers can hold my attention when she's around.

Visit Cathy, our "In a Vase on Monday" host, at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other bloggers have put together this week.


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Full moon over the Los Angeles Harbor

Last week, on September 5th, I caught sight of the full moon hanging low over the Los Angeles Harbor just after twilight's end.  Usually, any photos I take of the harbor at night are blurry at best.  But I thought this photo put the harbor in a particularly nice light.  (Pun intended.)  I'm presenting this as my Wednesday Vignette.  Visit Anna of Flutter & Hum to see what her camera caught this week and to find images shared by others.

I also took a couple shots of my cat this week that made me laugh, although the source of my amusement requires explanation.

Has Pipig been given a "time out" for some transgression?

Or is this simply an example of the usual feline narcolepsy?

Neither of those theories explain Pipig's behavior.  As it turns out, she was intently focused on a very narrow space at the bottom of the door, a spot about a quarter of an inch wide and less than an inch tall, where the weather-stripping running the length of the door stopped short of the threshold.  For over a week, my husband and I'd been perplexed about how teeny-tiny baby lizards were getting into the house.  Pipig is usually my husband's favorite scapegoat when something goes awry in the house but even he didn't think she was bringing in the tiny lizards.  Her behavior at the door provided the final clue.  As my husband searched for a temporary solution to stop the small lizards from entering through the gap, Pipig stood watch.  However, she eventually got bored and left her station, leaving us to chase down one more baby lizard before the hole was patched.

Frustrated house-loving lizards continue to hang out by the front door.

This is an adult lizard, approximately 3 or 4 times the size of the invading baby lizards.  Of course, the larger lizards do have another way into the house.  It they're foolish and enter Pipig's screened porch, she'll catch them and bring them in to lay at my feet, as she did yesterday.  Catching that one took my husband and I a good half hour and required moving several pieces of furniture.  He was relocated to the back slope, far from Pipig and her porch.

All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Cat vs Flowers

Like most cats, my cat, Pipig (the name is Swedish for "squeaky"), is generally self-sufficient but, when she wants my attention, she can be very demanding.  If she's ignored, she tends to act out.  When I'm working at my computer, that may involve repeatedly sitting or walking in front of my monitor, or putting her paws on my shoulder and attempting to lick my face.  A few days ago, when I continued to ignore her, she took out her annoyance on the flowers sitting on my desk.

The stems of these blue and green Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) snapped in the wind so they ended up in a tiny vase next to my PC monitor.  This photo was taken after I'd already rebuked Pipig twice for nibbling on the flower.

She stopped nibbling but didn't move away

After a few more repetitions of "NO", she tried to stare me down.  I picked her up off the desk and put her on the floor.

She was back in a flash to retaliate against the flower

After another talking to, she pulled away and gave me the stink eye before curling up behind the monitor

We've had repetitions of the same behavior since; however, there's no sign that she's gone after the flowers when I'm not sitting right there.  Is she simply trying to draw my attention by whatever means possible, or is she actually jealous of the flowers?  If you're a cat behaviorist, let me know what you think.

Visit Anna, our Wednesday Vignette host, at Flutter & Hum to find what captured the attention of other bloggers this week.

All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Lisianthus, at last

I don't know if you've wondered what in heck happened to the blooms of my Eustoma grandiflorum (commonly known as Lisianthus), but I have.  However, looking back into my photographic record from last year, I found that I featured these flowers in vases for the first time in mid-June almost exactly one year ago.  So, it appears they're not actually late at all (even if they did bloom earlier in 2015).  I've just been impatient.  And I'm still impatient, as there was only one bud in full bloom on Sunday.  Under most circumstances, I'd have waited until there were more flowers before cutting any but we're in the middle of an extended heatwave and I'm going to be out of town from mid-week through the weekend so I thought I might as well enjoy the bloom while I can.  My husband is assigned to water the garden should the heat start to shrivel everything in my absence but, if the heat is severe, that may be of little help.

Despite my focus on the Eustoma, my first vase is an ensemble cast.

The white Eustoma flower is surrounded by both new blooms, like the ornamental oregano, and others on the wane, like the Arthropodium

Back view, highlighting foxglove stems that have hung on longer than I expected, especially given the rise in temperature

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum, Arthropodium cirratum, Ocimum 'African Blue Basil', Digitalis purpurea, Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick', Origanum 'Monterey Bay', and Tanacetum nivium

As I wandered through my garden in search of flowers, I passed the artichoke plant on the back slope.  I'd no idea what to do with the 2 long-stemmed chokes left on the plant but they were already too old to make good eating so I went ahead and cut them for a second vase.  I cut some Centranthus ruber as well while I was down there but didn't like the combination of the 2 elements so took a different tack when I assembled the arrangement.

Front view

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: 2 artichokes, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Artemisia ludoviciana, and Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'

The unused Centranthus flowers went into a tiny vase with one of the Zinnias just now coming into bloom.

The tiny vase sits at the kitchen sink but was impossible to photograph there due to window glare

The larger vases took their usual places in the front entry and on the dining table.

Although, there were signs that the first vase might need to be moved to a safer location when it garnered unwanted attention.

Maybe Pipig is jealous of Lisianthus?

But Pipig was soon diverted.  A foolhardy lizard ventured into her screened porch.  She brought it through the cat door into the house, prompting an on-and-off again effort on the part of all members of the household to recapture it after she dropped it - twice.  My husband and I moved various pieces of furniture and tried to motivate the lizard to leave the sanctuary it eventually found behind the bookcase bolted to the living room wall.  Meanwhile, Pipig lost interest and gave up the chase.

She looks annoyed, doesn't she?  Whether that's because she blames us for taking away her catch, or because we didn't appreciate her gift, is hard to say.

I kept up reconnaissance efforts while she took a nap.

Pipig displays her signature signal that she's done with exercise for the time being

The lizard eventually turned up in the kitchen.  After a few more failed attempts to trap it, including one that involved moving the refrigerator, it was safely captured and released back into the great outdoors (while the cat continued to sleep).

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other bloggers have going on for "In a Vase on Monday."



All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

The garden through a cat's eyes

I've been feeling guilty about not giving my cat, Pipig, any time to roam outside.  Concern about her ambushing an unsuspecting bird is part of that, although she's never shown herself to be a huntress, but the bigger concern is the risk of a run-in with a coyote as these animals have become far more aggressive of late.  They used to confine their hunting to the night hours but now they're often seen during the day.  Just a couple of months ago, our next door neighbor's Pomeranian was carried off from a fenced backyard.  I was also told that a local woman and her Mastiff were recently surrounded by a pack of 3 coyotes while walking in a nearby park during daylight hours.  Under the circumstances, I keep Pipig close.  In addition to full run of the house, she has a porch of her own with a climbing tree and catwalks but she still runs for the door every time I enter to clean her box.  This week I gave her a treat and accompanied her on a supervised stroll through the garden.

Pipig exiting her screened porch

She climbed up on this pot and spent several minutes staring at the garden through the metal screen for unknown reasons

I don't know why she was so fascinated by the view through the metal screen.  She didn't have any interest in the plants that drew my eye.

She ignored Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset'

She couldn't have cared less about the blooms of Bulbine frutescens

or how nice the pink Freesia look growing up through and around Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'

She continued on her way toward the backyard patio

For a moment, it looked as though the Ageratum corymbosum had caught her interest but my guess is that she may have sighted a lizard.

If she saw a lizard, she apparently decided it wasn't worth chasing

Ageratum corymbosum is full of buds but has no blooms yet

She moved on and checked out the Aeonium arboreum.

I thought maybe she was after another lizard, or worse yet a bird

But I guess she was drawn to the Pennisetum 'Fireworks'.  Recently cut back, it's already producing bright new foliage.

After allowing her to munch on ornamental grass for a few minutes, I moved her back to the main walkway to keep her a safe distance from the bird feeder.  She wasn't pleased.

She looks irritated, doesn't she?

I let her stroll a bit further, nipping at her heels but then noise from across the canyon made her nervous.  She doesn't like loud noises.

At first, I thought the source of the noise was this house remodel across the canyon - remodeling is continuous in these parts

But no, the loudest noise is coming from a house a little further east.  This house has been undergoing renovations of one sort or another at intervals for years and it now it appears the owners are replacing their very long concrete driveway.  It's amazing how sound carries here...

So I cut Pipig's stroll short, set her back in her porch, and closed the door.  Back on her cat tree perch, loud noise forgotten, she gave me the stink-eye.

All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: A different palette

With the holidays in full spin, time was at a premium this weekend so I didn't dilly-dally over the selection of flowers for "In a Vase on Monday" this week.  A little tired of the color palettes I've used the last few weeks, I focused on flowers in the violet-purple range and started snipping.  When I assembled everything in the kitchen, I decided that the materials I'd cut looked best separated into 2 separate groups so, once again, I have 2 vases.

Here's the first one:

Erigeron glacus 'Wayne Roderick' was meant to be the star of this arrangement but I think it's more of an ensemble cast

The back, featuring Rhodanthemum hosmariense, has a different feel

The top view highlights the Limonium perezii.  I may have erred in cutting this flower while still in bud - it remains to be seen whether the tiny flowers will open fully on a cut stem.

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' (aka seaside daisy), Hebe 'Purple Shamrock', noID lavender, Limonium perezii (aka statice or sea lavender), Matthiola incana (aka stock), Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', and Rhodanthemum hosmariensis (aka Moroccan daisy, formerly classified as Chrysanthemum hosmariense and which I vaguely recall may have been reclassified again)

And here's what went into the second, smaller vase:

This vase is about 6 inches tall but less than 1/2 inch wide so it doesn't hold much and the back and top views aren't particularly interesting

Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: Osteospermum '4D Violet Ice', another of the new breed of Osteospermums that remain open in low light; Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea' (aka Arabian lilac), which has leaves that are olive green on top and velvety purple below; silver seed heads of Catananche caerulea; and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy'

The first vase landed on the bedroom mantle.

The second sits on my desk, where it received some unsolicited attention.

Pipig appeared on my desk to protest my husband's decision to turn off the little space heater she'd been sleeping in front of.  Attacking the springy stems of the Gomphrena was a way to express annoyance at her mistreatment.  (Those of you who have read my complaints about the cold weather here in SoCal may note that even SoCal cats are wusses when the temperature drops below 60F.)

In any case, Pipig eventually got her heater back.

Best wishes to all of you gearing up for the holidays.  For more vases, visit our IaVoM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party