In a Vase on Monday: Fragile Flowers

The flowers available for cutting are in shorter supply now and the blooms I do have generally don't have long vase-lives.  In recognition of the season, the first arrangement is a mix of red and green with a few splashes of white.  I emphasized a variety of foliage so that it may retain some interest even when the flowers collapse.  

Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' wasn't meant to be the floral focus of this arrangement but I couldn't resist.  'Ned' is far less generous with its blooms than my other large-flowered Grevilleas, 'Superb' and 'Peaches & Cream' so I don't use it often in arrangements.

My original inspiration for the arrangement, the flowers of pink powder-puff (Calliandra haematocephala), ended up in what I've designated the back of the arrangement, although it can be viewed from all angles where it sits.  The powder puffs only last a couple of days at most and I doubt the brownish-red buds will open on cut stems but they offer their own kind of interest.

Top view

The vase contains: Top row - Calliandra haematocephala, Coloenema pulchella 'Sunset Gold', and Dianthus 'Dash White'
Middle row - Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', and L. 'Winter Red'
Bottom row - Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells' and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

The second, smaller arrangement made use of the current abundance of Camellia sasanqua.  As our humidity levels have been low more often than not recently, the Camellia blooms wither quickly, even in their protected spot under the roof eave on the north side of the house.  There are lots of flowers but finding a few in pristine condition with stems of a decent length was a little bit of a challenge.

At best, these Camillia flowers will last 2-3 days

The uninteresting back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Angelic Giant Pink', two unidentified forms of Camellia sasanqua, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'

For more IAVOM, most created in colder areas than mine, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Welcoming the new year!

I've got just one vase to offer this week.  The holidays have been busy and floral material is also in short supply.  My Grevilleas are still the main source of flowers so it's no surprise that another of these set the color scheme for this week's arrangement.

The big, bold flowers of Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' kicked things off this week and last week's featherhead (Phylica pubescens) came along for the ride

The flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' took over the stage on the other side of the vase

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Bronze', berries of Heteromeles arbutifolia, Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', Phylica pubescens, Russelia equisetiformis 'Flamingo Park', and, in the center, Grevillea 'Ned Kelly'

It's been cold and, of late, exceptionally dry here and, after running our heater virtually non-stop most of the month, our Christmas tree dried out in record time so I stripped the interior of the house of its Christmas decorations this past weekend, leaving a lone snow globe sitting in the front entry as a nod to the winter season.

This snow globe formerly belonged to my mother-in-law, an avid birder.  Mrs. Cardinal seems to have faded over the years.

The new arrangement occupies the usual place of honor on the dining room table.

For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Best wishes for a beautiful, floriferous new year!


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Springing toward summer

I'm already looking at my cutting garden with an eye toward what I can remove to make room for summer bloomers.  I've cleared out some of the Ranunculus and I think the peach foxgloves and the Calendula will be the next to go as both were badly burned by the brief heatwave we experienced in early April.  However, despite their ugly foliage, the foxgloves and Calendula have continued to produce bloom spikes so I cut several of each as the starting point for this week's first vase.

The garden provided plenty of other blooms to add zing to the soft peach flowers

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Calendula 'Bronzed Beauty', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', and Lantana camara 'Irene'

The bearded Iris on the back of the slope I'd hoped to use last week bloomed last Monday afternoon.

The blooms are violet, not the deep purple I'd expected based on the color of the buds.  I don't know the variety as the bulbs were planted by a prior owner.  I believe this is the first time in the 7 years we've lived here that they've bloomed.

Fortunately, our weather turned a bit cooler again last week (upper 60s to low-70sF) so there were still viable blooms available to cut this week.

There are 2 more bloom stalks still in bud on the back slope but, with warmer temperatures expected to return this week, I thought this might be my only chance to feature the Iris in an arrangement.  Thus far, none of the other bearded Iris in my garden shown any indication that they're preparing to bloom this year.

The back view is remarkably similar to the front view this week

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: noID Iris germanica, Lathyrus odoratus, Coriandrum sativum, Cerinthe major purpurascens, and Polgala myrtifolia 'Mariposa'

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find more "In a Vase on Monday" posts.

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Spring has arrived!

Two weeks of periodic rainstorms may not have made up for the overall dryness of our winter rainy season or lifted us back out of drought but it's re-energized both the garden and the gardener, at least for now.  Suddenly, the problem in preparing arrangements for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular weekly exercise hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, isn't what to pick but how to cram everything I've picked into the vase I've selected.  The Ranunculus in the cutting garden got me started this week as they all seem to be blooming at once.

I wasn't sure what I was going to pair with the vivid red Ranunculus when I cut those first stems but in no time I'd gathered more than I needed.

The red Ranunculus were supposed to be purple but I must admit they proved useful as vase material this week

The orange-red Freesia were supposed to be blue and, although they're messing with the color composition of 2 of my borders, they also came in handy in preparing this arrangement

Grevilleas and a stem of early-blooming Alstromeria added extra pizzazz 

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', red and yellow Freesia, Ranunculus californicus (aka California buttercup), red Ranunculus (open form), Xylosma congestum, another red Ranunculus (rose form), Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', and, in the center, Grevillea 'Ned Kelly'

My second vase also started out with Ranunculus and Freesia.

I cut the first bloom of Digitalis 'Dalmatian White' in my cutting garden to give this arrangement more height

This is the back view but, when I reviewed my photos, I liked it better than the view I selected as the front of the arrangement

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Coleonema album; Cuphea hybrid 'Starfire Pink'; Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'; pink and white Freesia; white, pink and picotee Ranunculus; Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl'; and, in the center, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White'

For more vases from IaVoM contributors, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

Last week I discovered a new book on flower arranging that captures my own approach, Color Me Floral by Kiana Underwood.  It offers recipes for monochromatic arrangements, albeit based on a wider range of floral and foliage materials than most of us are able to forage from our gardens.  You can find more information about the book here if you're interested.*

Image from Amazon.com

*I found this book on my own and wasn't offered anything to include mention of it in my post.


All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Red and Blue

When I asked my husband what he thought of today's vases, he said, neutrally, "red and blue."  Not much of a comment, is it?  But as he's severely red-green color blind, perhaps he was just pleased that he recognized that one vase contained red flowers.  The red "flowers" are actually bracts but that's besides the point.  Red color does indeed dominate the first vase.

And the red bracts of Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and 'Blush' do a good job of imitating rose buds

The rear view shows off Leucadendron 'Blush'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', L. salignum 'Blush', L. salignum 'Chief', flowers of Arbutus 'Marina', Coprosma repens 'Fireburst', and Correa 'Wyn's Wonder'

The second vase made use of the bush violets I currently have in abundance.

I didn't even make a dent in the mass of Barleria obtusa currently in bloom

I'd have liked to add more white to this vase but I'm short on white flowers at the moment and the gray foliage of Artemisia ludoviciana, which I've just hacked back to prevent it from self-seeding everywhere, works almost as well

Top view

The vase contains: Barleria obtusa (top row), Artemisia ludoviciana (bottom, left), Solanum valerianum 'Navidad, Jalisco' and Eustoma grandiflorum (both bottom, right).  The last 2 are stray blooms.

I couldn't bring myself to toss or plant the Graptoveria cutting I used in one of last week's vases so I bent its wire stem and shoved it into a small stone vase without water.

Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' will keep me company at my desk a while longer until I replant it in one of my succulent beds

The other 2 vases ended up in the usual places.  For more vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

I wrote this post before I heard the news of yet another mass shooting in the US.  Now the red of the first vase makes me think of the innocent blood shed yet again because US politicians are afraid to stand up for reasonable controls on gun purchases.  The blue reflects my mood as I fear there will never be an end to the routine of these shootings in my lifetime.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Zinnias steal the show

I'd planned to showcase one of my large-flowered Grevilleas, 'Ned Kelly', accenting it with Dahlia 'Terracotta', but the latter's blooms were looking shabby so I cut Zinnias instead.  As it turned out, the Zinnias stole the limelight.

Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' was subordinated to a supporting role

Even Leucadendron 'Chief', used as a foliage filler, seems to overshadow 'Ned Kelly' in this rear view

Top view highlighting the coral Zinnias

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Tanacetum pathenium, and several varieties of Zinnia elegans

As I've been spending lots of time in the garden on new projects, I'd intended to stop at just one vase this week but I couldn't bring myself to leave the front entry table unadorned.  I immediately thought of the Oncidium orchid I recently found blooming in a shady corner of my garden.  A brief stop at my local botanic garden's orchid show and sale on Saturday had finally provided me with a name for the cultivar, Oncidium 'Wildcat' (although an on-line search suggests a more complicated lineage).  I cut one stem and began hunting for suitable companions.

As you can see, Dahlia 'Loverboy' managed to insinuate itself in yet another arrangement.  While all the other Dahlias are either bloom-less or looking shabby, 'Loverboy' continues to produce one perfect bloom after another.

The rear view shows off the flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'

I'd intended to give the orchid star billing but, looking at it from above, it's hard to claim that the orchid outshines either 'Loverboy' or 'Safari Sunset'

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Loverboy'; Oncidium 'Wildcat'; Leucadenron salignum 'Chief'; Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'; berries of a noID, self-planted Cotoneaster; and Alternanthera 'Little Ruby'

The color palette used for this week's vases, like our cooler weather, has a distinctly autumnal feel.  As fall officially arrives on Friday, perhaps that's appropriate.

It'll be interesting to see if other "In a Vase on Monday" participants are also feeling the seasonal shift.  Visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, to see.


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