In a Vase on Monday: From Big & Bold to Dainty & Demure

The weekly "In a Vase on Monday" meme is hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  As this is the meme's twelfth anniversary, Cathy threw out a challenge for this week's post, asking participants to includeboth  a pun and a prop in their posts.  When I come up with a pun it's usually by accident and I found myself unable to produce one intentionally on this occasion.  I briefly considered punting the task to AI (hey, does that statement count?).  But that felt like a cheat and I'm also a bit creeped out by the extent to which our society is becoming reliant on AI.  So I gave up on a pun and went with alliteration with my post title, which is another variety of word play.  I did include a couple of props, though.

Here's my "big and bold" arrangement:

The inspiration came from the Protea 'Claire' in my front garden.  Most of the plant's flowers are still in bud so I cut only 2 of them, one of which was already in decline.  I considered cutting a bud or 2 but I surmised, and online sources confirmed, that those buds won't open fully if cut too early (i.e., before the petals open enough to reveal the sepals).

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma 'Eclipse', Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', a newly opened Protea 'Claire', and another Protea flower in decline

The second, "dainty and demure" arrangement, was inspired by a Chrysanthemum I purchased on the fly a couple of weeks ago.  Chrysanthemums are commonly flash-in-a-pan offers at local garden centers here, sold as sad little potted plants in the lead up to the late-November US Thanksgiving holiday.  I've never seen any of the really fancy Chrysanthemums sold here but this year I discovered some prettier-than-usual selections in larger pots, one of which I brought home to fill an outdoor container.

I had a bit of trouble finding suitable companions for the purple Chrysanthemum 'Fairbank Purple Spoon' but I found a few short stems, all of which worked in this small cut crystal vase

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Chrysanthemum 'Fairbank Purple Spoon', Cosmos bipinnatus in pink and magenta, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and scented Matthiola incana (aka stock)

I had to dig around for props too.  Working on the "big" and "dainty" references, I initially considered polished black stones in various sizes before selecting two sizes of cat figurines (mainly because I have some on hand).

The 2 arrangements in place with their props on hand

The props are different in both size and quality.  Meeko jumped on the dining room table to check out the china piece (and no, she's not supposed to do that).

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  My my personal thanks to Cathy for pulling together this friendly meme, maintaining its currency for twelve years (!!!), and offering ongoing support to her many contributors. 

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

Bloom Day - October 2023

I'm two days early for Bloom Day but hopefully you don't mind.  Weather conditions here have been so variable, I've no idea what to expect from my garden the rest of this month but there are still a lot of flowers at the moment.  The biggest show is in the cutting garden, where the dahlias continue to reign supreme.  This may be my most prolific dahlia season yet, even if they took their time getting started.

Clockwise from the upper left, this group includes: Dahlias 'Breakout', 'Calin', 'La Luna', the noID variety that was sold as 'French Can Can' but isn't that, 'Romantique', and 'Summer's End'

Top row: Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera' and 'Lady Darlene'
Bottom row: Mutant and normal forms of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' and D. 'Labyrinth'

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlias 'Enchantress', 'Iceberg', 'Lavender Ruffles', and 'Mikayla Miranda'

Helianthus 'Sunbelievable Brown-Eyed Girl' deserves its name.  My seed-grown sunflowers are already gone. 

Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset' has bountiful blooms too

 

Cosmos and zinnias share space in the raised planters of the cutting garden with the dahlias but they're fading fast.  Like the dahlias, their foliage is afflicted with powdery mildew, which is common this time of year when our morning marine layer often combines with wind and higher afternoon temperatures.

Cosmos bipinnatus in a range of colors

Top row: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple' and pink and yellow varieties from 'Candy Mix'
Middle: noID varieties in gold, orange, and pink
Bottom: Zinnias 'Queen Orange Lime' and 'Mazurkia' 

 

Outside the cutting garden there were some welcome surprises.

This Malayasian orchid (Medinilla myriantha) started blooming well over a month ago.  It was a pale pink that gradually turned this delicious purple color with hot pink stems.

Top row: I had to scour my records to identify Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle' (left) and Lycoris springeri (right)
Bottom: Hebe 'Grace Kelly' and Hippeastrum 'Luna' blooming off-schedule

 

A few other plants are beginning their seasonal appearances.

Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone)

noID Liriope muscari

The Osteospermums are gradually reawakening, although I've recently cut much of their scruffy summer foliage back.  The plant on the left is a self-seeded variety that reminds me a little of O. 'Berry White' except that the undersides of the petals aren't pink.  I think the plant on the right is O. '4D Violet Ice'.

 

I can always rely on certain regulars.

Clockwise from the upper left: Gazanias 'Gold Flame', noID orange variety, 'Otomi', and 'White Flame'

The unsinkable Grevillea 'Superb', which blooms all year long

 

I've sorted the best of the rest into color-themed collages.

Top row: noID Angelonia, Pelargonium peltatum 'Blizzard Blue', and Polygala myrtifolia
Middle: Calibrachoa 'Superbells Double Blue', Duranta repens 'Sapphire Showers', and Nemesia 'Sun Glow Bi-color'
Bottom: Leucophyllum laevigatum, Salvia 'Mystic Spires', and Symphyotrichum chilense

Clockwise from the upper left:  Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Achillea ptarmica, Angelonia 'Archangel White'. noID Dipladenia, Eustoma grandiflorum, noID Pentas, and Phyla nodiflora

Top row: 2 pink-toned Catharanthus roseus and Cuphea 'Honeybells'
Middle: Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', noID coral Dipladenia, and Fuchsia 'Windchimes White'
Bottom: Gaillardia 'Spintop Copper Sun', Leucadendron 'Summer Red', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy' 

Top row: noID orange and yellow Calibrachoa and Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam'
Middle: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Faucaria tigrina, and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'
Bottom: Lantana camara 'Irene', Melinus nerviglumis, and Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

 

That's my flower show for this month!  For more Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens on October 15th, its traditional day of observation.  In the meantime, best wishes for a pleasant weekend.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Magnificent Mutants

Last week I complained that I thought I was in a rut with my dahlia-based flower arrangements.  In response, my friend HB of Piece of Eden suggested that maybe I could try a minimalist or Ikebana-style arrangement if I felt stuck.  I'm not good at minimalism when it comes to flowers, seemingly compelled to stuff everything I can find into most of my vases.  The last of my dahlias have yet to bloom, although 'Breakout' is close; however, it occurred to me that maybe I could do something with my mutant 'Fairway Spur' Dahlias.  I have two clumps of 'Fairway Spur' in my cutting garden, one of which is producing a large number of deformed - but interesting - blooms.  So I used them for my first arrangement, which was also created as a nod to the early days of autumn.

The form of the mutant dahlias vary somewhat but, in all cases, the inner petals fail to fully develop, and sometimes fail to develop at all.  However, the bees seem to like them as the mutated form allows them to reach the nectar at the flower's central disk more easily.  Thrip damage seems the most likely explanation for the deformities.

Back view: Hibiscus 'Haight Ashbury' provided the autumn flair 

Top view: As I was arranging the flowers a tiny green grasshopper, perhaps 1/2 inch in size, hopped out of a flower.  I tried to catch it but it got away and I couldn't find it.  My husband wasn't amused.

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Sutera cordata (aka Bacopa), malformed Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End'. Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Orange' and 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'

 

Last week I also swore I'd finally put together an arrangement centered around Dahlia 'Enchantress', which has been blooming for well over a month now without being included in an IAVOM lineup.  Here it is:

Dahlia 'Enchantress' usually grows taller than it has this year but I think it's stems have been held down (literally) by its neighbors 

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: bi-color and white Cosmos bipinnatus, an oddly formed Cosmos specimen that has formed on only one plant (look carefully at its center), Dahlia 'Enchantress', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple'

It's feeling very fall-like here at the moment, or at least our version of fall with daytime temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70sF (20-23C).  Working in the garden is downright comfortable, although I've earned some aches and pains in the process.  We filled three jumbo-sized green bins last week (and I topped off two of a neighbor's bins as well).  We've already stuffed two of the bins again this week and I fully expect the third to be full by the next waste recycling pickup date on Thursday as well.  In addition, current predictions suggest that the El Niño climate pattern is likely to bring us significant rain again in the 2024 "water year" starting October 1st, perhaps not this fall, but in late winter and spring as was the case in the 2023 water year.  The latest Weather West summary makes interesting reading about changes in the weather in California and the Pacific Northwest.

 

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

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

Bloom Day - September 2023

In mid-August I whined over the sad state of affairs in my cutting garden, especially the significant delay in getting my dahlias to bloom.  I won't run through the reasons for this again.  Suffice it to say that the situation is much improved this month with dahlias playing the starring role on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

View of my cutting garden.  The biggest problem with it this month are that many of the larger dahlias are flopping over one another because they weren't all properly supported early in their development, which was entirely my fault.

Top row: Dahlias 'Belle of Barmera', 'Fairway Spur', and 'Labyrinth'
Middle: 'Summer's End' and a noID variety that was supposed to be 'French Can Can' but isn't
Bottom: 'Mikaya Miranda' and 'Lavender Ruffles'

Two views of Dahlia 'La Luna', a tuber that never bloomed last year and was mistakenly left in its raised bed, only to appear this year with a vigorous crop of flowers

 

Dahlia 'Catching Fire' (not shown) bloomed profusely in August.  It has a few buds so I may see it again before the end of the season.  Meanwhile, five other late bloomers have buds but have not yet bloomed: Dahlias 'Break Out', 'Calin', 'Iceberg', Lady Darlene', and 'Romantique'.  I'm trying to remain patient.

Instead of sowing seeds of Cosmos bipinnatus once I cleared the raised planters in in early June, I planted plugs.  They're all blooming now.

I've had a good experience with the seed-grown sunflower, Helianthus annuus 'Joker', shown on the left and upper right at its peak this month.  I bought Helianthus 'Sunbelievable Brown-Eyed Girl' as a potted plant in May and gave it more room to grow in a half-barrel (lower right).  It's rewarded me with continuous blooms ever since.

I've been very pleased with Rudbeckia this year.  The hybrid Rudbeckia 'August Sun' shown at the top is a new acquisition purchased in a pot but Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset' (shown bottom row) were planted as plugs.

The annual zinnias are flowering less vigorously this month than last.  A lot of them have been crowded out by the flopping dahlias.  Clockwise from the upper left, those still putting on a good showing include: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Purple', 'Candy Mix', Mazurkia', and 'Queen Lime Orange'.

 

There have been several small surprises elsewhere in the garden this month.

I planted 5 bulbs of Hymenocallis festalis 'Zwanenburg' (aka Peruvian daffodil) last year and got the first blooms this year following Tropical Storm Hilary.  They stagger their blooms, one showing up after another finishes.  Hopefully, they'll naturalize and I'll get a more abundant display in future years.

This noID Plumeria is blooming for the first time.  The bulb was given to me years ago by a neighbor who retrieved it from a trash can, which I planted in a large terracotta pot.

I planted a single Stachys 'Lilac Falls' in a back garden border in February 2016.  It soon disappeared and I hadn't seen it again until this month.  I assume that it was brought back from the dead by our unusual summer rainstorm.  According to online sources it's a hybrid of Lamium and Stachys.  The flowers are tiny but pretty.

Stapelia grandiflora (aka starfish flower) blooms erratically on its own schedule

The Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze' I intentionally removed in 2021 is back!  It's a native California aster that spreads by rhizomes and, although I appreciate the flowers, it's more aggressive than I'd like when it gets a lot of water.

Tillandsia ionantha bloomed inside my lath house but it has a pup so I hope it'll stay with me awhile yet

 

Many of my garden stalwarts produced a flush of blooms following the rare tropical storm that passed through our area in late August, delivering two glorious inches of rain.

Clematis terniflora (aka sweet autumn clematis) is the only member of this genus I've managed to keep alive.  This year, in addition to climbing up an arbor, it's creeping through my Cistus shrubs.

Cupheas respond well to rain!  Clockwise from the upper left are Cupheas 'Honeybells', 'Starfire Pink', and 'Vermillionaire' (shown in closeup and in context).

The coral and white Dipladenias, relatives of Mandevilla, do well in heat with sufficient water

Many of the Gazanias in my garden are self-seeded.  The only named variety in this group is Gazania 'Otomi', shown on the upper right.

Globularia x indubia (aka globe daisy) has been productive this year

Grevillea 'Superb' is productive year-round every year

Lantana are beloved by butterflies and hummingbirds,  I have a variety of them in my garden, most of which are probably the shrubby Lantana camara.  The exception is the one in the middle of the top row, which is Lantana montevidensis (aka trailing Lantana).

I'd been disappointed by Salvia 'Mystic Spires' this year but it sprang to life after Tropical Storm Hilary's visit

Tulbaghia violacea (aka society garlic) is blooming more heavily now than it did this spring

 

 

Two plants that provided abundant color earlier in the year are now poised to exit the stage until next year.

The pale blue and white Agapanthus are done for the season but this dark-flowered cultivar, 'Elaine', is still producing new flowers.  I need more of these!

The majority of the pink-flowered Amaryllis belladonna are gone but I found a few slackers hiding out in shadier parts of my garden.  As usual, the white-flowered variety comes along at the tail end of the season.

 

I'll end as I usually do with the best of the rest, collected in collages organized by color.

Clockwise from the upper left: Sutera cordata (syn Bacopa cordata), Euryops chrysanthemoides, Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Crassula falcata, Daucus carota 'Dara', and Leucadendron salignum 'Blush'

Clockwise from the upper left: noID Angelonia, Eustoma grandiflorum, Fuchsia 'Wind Chimes White', Catharanthus roseus, Osteospermum 'Berry White', and Pelargonium hortorum 'Dynamo Purple'

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Achillea ptarmica, noID Angelonia, Pandorea jasminoidies, and Scabiosa columbaria

Clockwise from the upper left: Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers', Monarda 'Peter's Purple', Nemesia 'Sun Glow Yellow Bicolor', Echinops ritro ruthenicus, and Medinilla myriantha

 

For more posts celebrating September's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, visit our host, Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  Enjoy your weekend!

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