In a Vase on Monday: Finding peace in arranging flowers

Officially, Californians (and residents of New York and a few other states) have been under orders to shelter at home since Friday but, from a practical standpoint, our movements came to an abrupt halt a week ago as group events and activities were cancelled right and left in response to new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.  Under the current order governing California residents and a second order governing Los Angeles County residents, "non-essential businesses" have been shut down and those of us not performing "essential services" (health care services, grocery and pharmacy operations, delivery services, garbage pick-up, and the like) have been asked to remain at home except to shop for groceries, obtain medical care, and perform functions in a similar vein.  It feels weird but at a time like this having a garden to work in is a very real sanity-saver.

It was a special pleasure to putter about my garden yesterday, selecting flowers and foliage to fill my vases, because the rhythm of that activity felt so normal.  You probably won't be at all surprised to see I've created more than one vase this week.

A rose was meant to occupy the front of this vase but it somehow got jockeyed to the side

Back view: Instead of cutting new Leucospermums to fill this vase as I'd intended to do, I chose to recycle the one I cut last week to serve a second term

Top view: I think the calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) ended up stealing center stage in this vase

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Freesia, Leucospermum 'Goldie', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Rosa 'Joseph's Coat', Xylosma congestum, Grevillea 'Superb' and, in the middle, Zantedeschia aethiopica

My second vase was constructed around the Hippeastrum papilio (aka Butterfly Amaryllis) I discovered mostly by accident.  I grew 3 of these bulbs in a basket 2 years ago, then planted them in a bed outside our living room window in the hope they'd naturalize.  They didn't bloom last year and I wasn't expecting them to do anything this year when one bulb produced a single short stalk with a flower this past week.

Once again, I had less trouble than I'd anticipated finding suitable companions for the floral centerpiece

Back view: I reused 2 stems of Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' (as well as 2 freshly cut stems of the same plant), an Alstroemeria I'd entirely forgotten I'd planted years ago and some humble clover flowers as accents

Top view: There's a stem of Corokia in there too and, if you look closely, you'll see it has a scattering of tiny yellow daisies

Clockwise from the upper left: Hippeastrum papilio, Alstroemeria 'Inca Husky', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Trifolium repens (white clover), Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', and Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

My third vase is a variation on the one I created last week using Dutch Irises as a centerpiece.

I selected different companions for the Irises this week, including 3 stems of Narcissus 'White Lion' and 2 stems of flowering Dianella I tripped across during my spin around the garden

Back view: I used Limonium perezii (sea lavender) as a filler

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty', Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred', yellow Freesia, blue Freesia with Campanula portenschlagiana, Limonium perezii, and Narcissus 'White Lion'

I count myself very lucky that my husband and I are in reasonably good shape to manage through the challenges that face us with COVID-19, at least for now.  Wherever you are, I hope you're taking care of yourself and your loved ones as best you can during this trying time in world history.

For more pretty diversions, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our "In a Vase on Monday" host.

I had some leftover daisies (Argyranthemum 'Everest') that ended up in my small cactus vase behind the kitchen sink

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

Spring Blooms to the Rescue!

It's been a surreal and very turbulent week.  Trying to fill gaps in the pantry as grocery store shelves go bare.  One activity after another abruptly cancelled.  Limited to talking to friends by phone or text rather than seeing them in person.  Required to sit a the parking lot while my cat is unloaded from my car and taken inside the veterinary clinic for chemotherapy.  Then, last night, receiving notice from California State and Los Angeles County government officials directing the majority of residents to stay home, leaving only for essential tasks like grocery shopping and medical services.

My garden provides the only real sense of normalcy at the moment.  I collected another round of photos to share with those of you who are also seeking distraction.  I'll start with the blooms I missed when I put together my mid-month Bloom Day post less than a week ago.

How did I forget to show you a view of my California poppies?

The bed adjacent to the small patio on the south side of our house contains not only orange California poppies (Eschscholzia californica, top row), but also Leucospermum 'Goldie' and Sparaxis tricolor (bottom row).  Hard pruning the  Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' shrubs that had dominated this bed provided the space and the sun that allowed the poppies to bloom here.

Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow' echoes the colors of the in Yucca 'Bright Star' behind it

Narcissus tazetta 'Geranium' is making a statement in the front garden

Pelargonium hybrid 'White Lady' gets around on the back slope

Clockwise from the upper left, other flowers that were left out of my Bloom Day post include: Cuphea hybrid 'Starfire Pink', white and pink Ranunculus, a noID Antirrhinum majus, a noID spoon-petaled Osteospermum, Ajuga 'Mint Chip', and Veronica 'Waterperry Blue'.  I pruned most of my Cuphea back hard 2 months ago but I left one mostly intact because I didn't want to disappoint the hummingbirds.  The Ranunculus, planted as tubers in late November, have been disappointing thus far but perhaps conditions have been too cool and water too limited to allow them to do their best.

All sorts of flowers made their first appearance this week.

Iris douglasiana 'Santa Lucia' unfolds new blooms daily

Two more Leucospermums, 'Brandi' (left) and 'Spider' (right) are on their way

My first rose of the season bloomed!  It came with the garden and has a beautiful scent but I've no ID for it.

Clockwise from the upper left, the other new arrivals include: Alyogyne huegelii (aka blue hibiscus), Hyacinthoides hispanica (Spanish bluebells), Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', Linum grandiflorum (red flax), and Centranthus ruber.  I sowed red and blue flax seeds in November and this is the very first flower.

I even had a couple of pleasant surprises.

I purchased this plant by mail order in 2012.  It was simply labeled Abelia species.  The seller no longer grows it and I've never found a species name for it.  The shape of the flowers is like that of other Abelias I grow but but it doesn't have the glossy foliage common to the Abelias commonly sold by garden centers.  It blooms every year but is partially hidden under an unruly trailing Lantana on the back slope.

I planted 3 Hippeastrum papilio in a mostly shade bed next to our living room window a couple of years ago after they completed their first bloom cycle in a basket.  They didn't bloom last year and I was afraid they weren't going to do so this year but one plant has produced a flower now, albeit on a very short stem.  I'll probably move all 3 bulbs in late spring to a spot where they can get more light in an effort to encourage more blooms next year.

Our shelter-in-place order remains in effect until at least April 19th so I guess I'll have time to tackle the variety of garden projects, big and small, that I've been putting off.  If you've found yourself suddenly at loose ends, I hope you're finding positive ways to occupy yourself too.  I'll close with another shot of the Scilla peruviana in my back garden, not because you didn't see it in my Bloom Day post, but only because I think it's very pretty.

Best wishes for a stress-free weekend.


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

Bloom Day - May 2014

May is usually one of the very best months in the garden here.  This year, we're sitting through our second major heatwave.  The Santa Ana winds are blowing and the risk of wildfire is high.  These are conditions we generally face in September and October, not in spring.  The heat, dry air, and lack of rain has had impact on the garden.  Plants that were in full bloom last year at this time, like the Alstroemeria and the Argyranthemum, have already bloomed out.  Others, like the Iris germanica and Digitalis purpurea, have produced only sporadic bloom thus far.  I've lost a few plants and expect to lose more.  However, some plants are thriving, most notably the Agapanthus.

On May 20th last year, I posted about the arrival of masses of Agapanthus buds.  But, on this Bloom Day, the Agapanthus are already in full bloom throughout the garden.

Clumps of Agapanthus below the mimosa tree

More clumps below the California pepper trees

Clumps in the front yard

Other standouts in the backyard include:

Achillea 'Moonshine' and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'

Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum'

Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

Hebe 'Patty's Purple'

Leucanthemum x superbum 'Snow Lady'

Some smaller plants showing their resilience in the backyard include:

Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin' - flowers close until the sun shines on them

Bulbine frutescens has been blooming continuously since it was planted in early March

Cotula lineariloba 'Big Yellow Moon' forms a mat from which petal-less, disk-shaped flowers spring

Hibiscus trionum, aka flower of an hour, is an annual that produces flowers that survive only a few hours

I love Nigella damascena 'African Bride' but find it hard to place because the white petals can look dingy next to bright whites

The flowers of Scorzonera hispanica smell like chocolate!

I wish I'd bought more of this cherry skullcap (Scutellaria suffrutescens)

The southeast side garden has taken a beating.  In addition to repeated onslaughts by raccoons, there are signs that a gopher is tunneling about there.  The sun and wind also poses challenges in that area.  Still, some plants are holding up well.

Both Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' and Arthropodium cirratum would prefer a less sunny setting but they're troupers

While I was disappointed by the dwarf yellow Anigozanthos, I can't fault this red variety, which has bloomed non-stop since January

Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver' doesn't care for the heat but the Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' planted from 6-packs only weeks prior to the 1st heatwave are taking the temperatures in stride

Cuphea micropetala 'Candy Corn' is supposed to grow 1-3 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide but this plant is nearly prostrate and is spreading far further than expected

Self-seeded Gaillardia (probably 'Goblin')

Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta' doesn't mind the heat

In the front yard, the 'Joseph's Coat' rose which was covered with flowers last May, has already produced 2 flushes of bloom and has little to show for itself this May.  The 'Pink Meidiland' shrub roses are blooming, although not as heavily as they did last year.

Other plants are undaunted by the weather conditions.

The indefatigable Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink' may swamp the roses in the front beds

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' has produced its first flush of blooms

Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' continues to pump out new blooms each day

Pelargonium x domesticum 'Georgia Peach' is a reliable bloomer

I caught the final blooms on the pineapple guava in the bed bordering the street.

Feijoa sellowiana grows just inside of the hedge

The vines covering the arbor between the vegetable garden and the dry garden are in full bloom.

Distictis laxiflora interwoven with Trachelospermum jasminoides

The biggest floral splashes in the dry garden are provided by the daylilies.

Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake' surrounded by the "weed" Geranium incanum

But a few other plants add subtle interest.

Bright pink Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset'

Dorycinium hirsutum, aka Hairy Canary Clover

Globularia x indubia

Groundcovers Thymus praecox 'Pink Chintz' and Teucrium chamaedrys

Finally, there's the slope, which has held up surprisingly well despite limited irrigation.

Centranthus ruber, Oenothera speciosa and Euphorbia 'Dean'Hybrid'

Those are the highlights for this exceptionally hot May Bloom Day in Southern California.  Please visit Carol of May Dreams Gardens, the host of the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, to see what's blooming in her garden and to find links to the posts of more than a hundred other contributors.