In a Vase on Monday: A diversion on a gloomy day

Between the fires that have decimated large sections of Los Angeles County over the past two weeks and the looming changes in the political leadership of the US, it's been hard to avoid feelings of dread and dejection.  My garden has always been a sanctuary but poor air quality has limited the time I've spent outside recently - I can only stand wearing a mask for so long.  Gloomy skies (with no rain) and cold temperatures made rounds of the garden to cut flowers less appealing yesterday but new Echium blooms at least offered a starting point.

Echiums are very drought tolerant plants and most have blue flowers, which make them all the more desirable.  I found my first Echium handiense at our local botanic garden in 2011 and purchased another one in 2016.  It's a native of the Canary Islands threatened with extinction.  As the botanic garden no longer offers sells plants propagated onsite, I've propagated it from my own cuttings in recent years.

Back view: As the Echium has touches of pink in its buds, I usually end up pairing it with pink flowers, as I've done again this time

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Anemone coronaria (probably 'Mr Fokker'), A. c. 'Mount Everest', Antirrhinum majus, and Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura'

Some weather forecasters have projected a real rainstorm for the first day of February.  AccuWeather currently shows a seventy-five percent chance of rain but then predictions that far in advance are notoriously unreliable so I'll try not to obsess about it (yet).  Rain is essential to clearing the fire-related pollutants in our air and could literally put a damper on our fire risk.  Meanwhile, I hope the marine layer will continue to give the firefighters a boost in fully containing the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which currently stand at fifty-six and eighty-one percent containment respectively.  High winds are predicted to pick up again here later this afternoon and may continue throughout the week.

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: A few new blooms

I didn't discover many new flowers during my Bloom Day scavenger hunt but, after a few days of unseasonably warm-hot weather, more flowers made an appearance.  Friday's temperature hit 88F (31C) and Saturday and Sunday were only nominally cooler.  The forecast calls for steadily cooler conditions as the week progresses and there's even a chance of rain next week.  While I remain hopeful, I'm not going to get too invested in the possibility of rain yet as that prospect already appears to be drifting away.

The new floral addition, Senna artemisioides, has wispy foliage and small yellow flowers, which are barely visible here

Back view: I tried copying Amelia, The Shrub Queen, this week by curling Phormium leaves (a trick she performed using bromeliad leaves) but they quickly started uncurling themselves.  Next time, I'll try dampening the leaves and leaving them tightly curled at least overnight.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Phormium 'Ed Carman', Senna artemisioides, Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite', and Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'

The second arrangement has two floral elements that didn't appear in my Bloom Day post.

The new blooms here were provided by Echium handiense and Grevillea sericea.  Both are a couple of weeks ahead of their usual bloom schedules.

Back view: I selected the foliage of Pittosporum 'Silver Magic' as my foliage filler as it has a tinge of pink

Top view

Clockwise from the left: Echium handiense, Grevillea sericea, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Magic'

To be truthful, I'm not enamored with either of this week's arrangements but finding new blooms in the garden cheered me up considerably nonetheless.  Fingers are crossed that this week goes well for our nation.

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

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Tell the Truth Tuesday (Late Edition): An Aster Takes Over

"Tell the Truth Tuesday" was promoted by Alison of Bonney Lassie as an opportunity for garden bloggers to come clean about the less-than-perfect aspects of their gardens.  Like proud parents, we want to show our gardens in the best possible light, hesitating to point out their deficiencies.  Maybe, as in my case, we even manage to ignore these until that's just impossible.

Last year, I noticed that my Pacific Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze') had spread beyond my expectations but I wasn't overly concerned.  When I planted it in 2016, I knew it spread by rhizomes but I understood that in low water gardens like mine it should be manageable, and it was, at least during our drought.  Then during our October 2018-September 2019 rain year, we got almost double our average precipitation.  And, while rain was lighter during our recent rainy season, even that was better than average.  Following the last rainstorm we had in early May, I finally confronted the fact that the aster is completely out of control.

This is the bed's eastern flank and, even here, the aster is pushing into the flagstone path

It now stretches from one side of the bed to the other.  I only have record of putting in one plant but I vaguely recall that I added a second sometime shortly after planting the first one because it seemed to do so well...

It's a pretty enough plant but it's begun choking out plants all around it.

It's supposed to flower from August through October but it's off to an early start this year

Along its western flank it's now choking out the Liriope spicata I foolishly planted on that edge years ago.  I've been planning to take out the Liriope for some time.  Now, I guess I can tackle it and the aster at the same time.

The aster is deciduous but I'm not sure I should wait until late fall to start pulling it out.  It's already trying to march across the flagstone path into the bed on the other side.  I'll probably start by pushing back its eastern offensive before tackling its western flank.

Meanwhile, other plants in the same general area have also become overly "exuberant."  The bush violets (Barleria obtusa) are also trying to squeeze out their neighbors.

The plant to the left of the Echium webii in the center of this shot is a bush violet.  A second bush violet, nearly as large, had swallowed up the space between the Echium and the Lisianthus in the foreground.  I dug it up it last Saturday to give the Echium more space, uncovering a Gazania seedling in the process.

In addition, my "dwarf" Echium handiense doubled in size this year.

It looked great in February, when these photos were taken, although it was already large for the spot

When the first flower spires died back, I pruned it and it flowered again, albeit in a bushier fashion.  In mid-May when this photo was taken, it was covering a good portion of the flagstone path. 

Echiums tolerate tip pruning well but I took things much further than that this past weekend when I cut this one back to clear the pathway and give the surrounding plants breathing space.  I'm afraid it may not recover.

It looks pretty awful at the moment.  I'm half-tempted to pull it out but I may give it a little time to see if it'll recovers from my butcher job.  I wish I'd collected seed while I had the chance.  

Are you dealing with any out-of-control plants?  Do you have any problem areas you try not to see in your garden?  Come on, fess up!  Confession is good for the soul.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Sending you some sunshine!

I know many of you in the Northern Hemisphere have colder temperatures and gloomier skies this time of year than we have in Southern California.  As we enjoyed a stretch of warm weather and blue skies all last week, I thought I'd send you a little sunshine.  The temperature in downtown Los Angeles reached 86F (30C) on Saturday.  It wasn't quite that warm in my location but it was certainly shirtsleeve weather.  Our temperature dropped suddenly Sunday afternoon as a storm front moved through the area to the east of us but it remained sunny here and, as I pondered what to put in a vase this week, I noticed that the Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' in my front garden was glowing.  This particular shrub develops luminous yellow bracts in February every year so it was a natural choice for inclusion in a vase this week.

Last year, I used stems of this Leucadendron to simulate tulips.  This year, the flower-like bracts had already lost their tulip-like shape by the time I noticed them, presumably in response to our unseasonably warm temperatures.

The same noID Narcissus I paired with the Leucadendron last year also made an appearance this week

The feathery foliage and dainty flowers of Euryops virgineus provided the perfect filler

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike', Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', noID small-cupped Narcissus, Euryops virgineus 'Tali', and Prunus laurocerasus

After a week of warmer-than-average weather, the Leucadendron wasn't the only plant putting on a show.  After weeks of flaunting promising buds, Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura' finally flowered, seemingly overnight.

This is the first of the 3 species of Echium to bloom in my garden each year.  Endangered in its native habitat in the Canary Islands, it's also relatively uncommon here.  I got my plant from my local botanic garden, the only place I've ever seen it offered for sale.

The stem of pink Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) was a last minute addition to the arrangement.  I have some misgivings about including it as it competes with other elements in the vase I find more interesting.

I used stems of Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt' to dress up the back of the arrangement.  After nearly 5 years on my back slope, this plant is finally assuming tree-like proportions.

Top view: I added the pink flowers of Grevillea sericea  to play off the pink color of the Echium's buds

Clockwise from the upper left: Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura', Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt', Eustoma grandiflorum, Grevillea sericea, and Westringia 'Morning Light'

While the vase I created using Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' last week fell apart within 2 days, the vase featuring Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' is still going strong.

Over the course of last week, the cones at the center of the Leucadendron's bracts turned brown, echoing the color of the Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' foliage.  I think I like it better now than I did last week.

The two new vases took pride of place in the front entry and on the dining table.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have put together this week.


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

In a Vase On Monday: Variations on a Theme

An alternative title for this post might be: Not all Blues Go Together.  My first Freesias, a blue variety, began blooming 2 weeks ago.  I wanted to use them in a vase and, when I discovered last week that the Ceanothus at the bottom of my back slope was also in bloom that sealed the deal on putting together a blue-themed vase.  The trouble was: I didn't like how the Ceanothus and the Freesia looked alongside one another.  So, I've got 2 vases - surprise!  Yes, I know that's not much of a surprise from me but I'd intended to put together a second vase using red flowers in recognition of Valentine's Day.  That plan was scrapped, at least for the time being.

The first vase, featuring Ceanothus and Echium, bears some similarity to the vase I created 2 weeks ago but this one has its own personality.

I kept to blue and white flowers this time around

In addition to white flowers, I used the variegated foliage of a Westringia to lighten up the arrangement

As white flowers are in limited supply in my garden at the moment, I used Dianthus again too

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratum houstonianum, Dianthus caryophyllus 'Cut Flower White', Globularia x indubia, Osteospermum '4D Silver', Echium handiense, Westringia 'Morning Light', Westringia fruticosa, and, in the middle, Ceanothus arboreus 'Cliff Schmidt'

The Freesia went into a smaller vase, which ended up with a split personality of sorts.

Inclusion of the violet-tinged variegated foliage of a Hebe (now classified as Veronica) shifted the arrangement in a pinker direction

The addition of Moroccan daisies and new Narcissus blooms gave the back view an entirely different look

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Freesia, Veronica 'Neprock' (aka Hebe 'Purple Shamrock'), Limonium perezii, Osteospermum 'Berry White', noID Narcissus, and Pyrethropsis hosmarianse (aka Moroccan daisy)

Last week's vases stood up surprisingly well but I chucked their contents on Sunday anyway.  The new arrangements took over the usual spots.  For more In a Vase on Monday posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Rain showers yield flowers

New flowers are popping up here and there throughout my garden.  Plants don't follow a precise calendar but it seems at least some plants may be responding to the rain we received earlier this month by blooming a couple of weeks ahead of their usual schedule.

I've been watching buds forming on my Echium handiense for a few weeks now and last week noticed that a neighbor's plant was already blooming.  On Saturday morning I noticed mine had begun to bloom too so I knew it was a prospect for In a Vase on Monday.  Other elements of the arrangement, including the vase itself, were a matter of pure serendipity.

I met a friend for a belated birthday celebration on Saturday (her birthday, not mine).  After lunch we toured a couple of secondhand shops and I found the wonderful glass vase shown here.  A great buy for $16!

While checking out my friend's garden later in the afternoon, I discovered she had a beautiful Bush Germander (Teucrium fruticans).  I begged a few flowering stems, as well as a couple of seedlings.  The flower color is a much deeper blue than the cultivar I grew in my former garden.

I added 2 stems of the tall-flowered Dianthus I picked up on a shopping trip last week and a couple of stems of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' to echo the pink color of the Echium's buds

Clockwise from the upper left: Echium handiense, noID Ceanothus, Diathus caryophyllus 'Cut Flower White', Camellia hybrid 'Taylor's Perfection' and Teucrium fruticans (possibly 'Compactum').  The Echium is considered critically endangered in its native habitat in Spain.  I've never seen it in a garden center.  My plant comes from my local botanic garden.

There were a few leftover flowers that didn't fit into my new vase.  I popped these into a tiny vase.  In addition to small stems of Ceanothus and Teucrium, these included several stems of Osteospermum '4D Silver'.

The snapdragons in my cutting garden provided the jumping off point for my second arrangement.  The plants are already showing signs of rust, probably spurred by the warm temperatures that followed the persistent rain we enjoyed the week before last.

I played on the colors in the snapdragon, adding stems of Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', which are currently taking on a reddish tinge, and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

The high winds that blew off and on all last week took out most of my paperwhite Narcissus but I threw a few of the remaining stems in this vase

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Bronze', Myrtus communis, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) with noID Narcissus, Pyrethropsis hosmariense (Moroccan daisy), and, in the center, Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

My vases assumed spots in the front entry and the dining room table as usual.  The tiny vase of leftovers landed on a side table in the living room.

Unfortunately, the Camellias began dropping one by one almost as soon as I cut them and I had to juggle the stems in the first vase to make up for the loss of those blooms

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


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