In a Vase on Monday: Side A or Side B?

So this week I got out a pair of surgical gloves and cut some of the Primula obconica that gave me a rash when I planted it.  It has very pretty flowers, if also short stems, which necessitated use of my relatively short cut glass vase.

Side A

Side B

The way this vase is arranged, there is no obvious front or back so, like the vinyl records of old, I've labeled one Side A and the other Side B.  Which would you select to face visitors entering the front door?

Here's what's included in the vase:

• Anemone coronaria 'Mona Lisa Deep Blue' (visible on both sides)
• Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum' (visible on both sides)
• Hebe 'Patty's Purple' (visible mainly on Side B)
• Primula obconica - lavender and purple varieties (lavender visible on Side A, purple on Side B)
• Salvia clevelandii 'Allen Chickering' (visible mainly on Side B)
• Solanum xanti 'Mountain Pride' (visible only on Side A)

The beautiful blue Anemone coronaria

Erysimum linifolium, just coming into bloom

Hebe 'Patty's Purple,' with its first blooms of the new year

The lavender and white form of Primula obconica with Solanum xanti peeking overhead

The purple form of Primula obconica with Salvia clevelandii on the right

So what do you say?  The vase is currently sitting in the entry way with Side A facing out.  Should I turn it around?

A few additional flowers went into a still smaller "experimental" vase (as Julie at gardeningjules has called my arrangements of leftover flowers).  The colors and flower shapes didn't quite fit in with the main vase.

This vase contains:

• Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon'
• Cyclamen (unidentified white variety)
• Globularia x indubia

The Globularia is an acquired taste - at least it was for me.  I bought it for the foliage and wasn't at all sure I liked the flowers when the plant first bloomed.  They start out looking rather like blue eyeballs, but I've grown to appreciate them.

Globularia x indubia, aka Globe Daisy

This vase ended up in the guest bathroom.

And, last but not least, this week I have a third vase, courtesy of my sister-in-law, who brought me a dozen beautiful roses in my favorite color when she stayed with us at the end of last week.  They didn't come from my own garden but they certainly deserve notice.  Thanks P!

This is my contribution to Cathy's weekly meme at Rambling in the Garden.  If you have a vase to share, join the fun and post a link on Cathy's blog.


All material © 2012-2015 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.

Bloom Day - February 2014

Our weather in southern California couldn't be more different than the winter conditions affecting so much of the US this year.  After a couple of long-awaited rain events last week, our temperatures soared back up into the low 80s this week.  Northern California received more rain than we did and the mountain areas got some snow but, even with that, the state remains firmly entrenched in a serious drought.  In fact, one speaker on a news program last night said that a study of tree rings indicates that 2013 was California's driest in 400 years.

I've previously commented on the impact our unseasonably warm weather has had on my garden.  A number of plants, most notably the Agapanthus, are blooming considerably ahead of schedule.  Most of what was blooming in January is still blooming so, rather than publish pictures of all the same flowers, I thought I'd focus on the heaviest bloomers this month, as well as some of my newer acquisitions.

If I was to recognize one genus as the most floriferous this February, that award would go to Osteospermum.  Right now, every single member of this genus in my garden is blooming, and blooming heavily.

Osteospermum ecklonis '3D Silver'

Osteospermum 'Lemonade,' a new acquisition

Osteospermum 'Serenity Purple'

Osteospermum (no ID), white with a blue eye - some of these originally had spoon-shaped petals but they seem to have reverted to a more conventional form, which my Sunset Garden Book says is common in cooler weather.  I guess I'll have to wait until the temperature reaches 90F for the petals to snap into proper shape...

This trailing variety of Osteospermum, here when we moved in, seems happy in partial shade

Osteospermum 'Zion Copper Amethyst' - during the warmer portion of the year, all of the flowers tend to bloom a purplish color but, during cooler periods, we see this nice range of color in the blooms on the same plant

Other plants deserving recognition for heavy bloom include the following:

Alstroemeria (no ID), which comes back every year after a period of summer dormancy

A sun-saturated photo of the white Argyranthemum - all the Argyranthemum are in full bloom now too

This Bauhinia x blakeana (Hong Kong Orchid Tree) currently has more flowers than leaves

Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' - its performance is so impressive in an out of bloom that I've added 2 more to the front border

Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink,' which blooms continuously until I hack it back

Erysimum  linifolium 'Variegatum,' one of my favorites for the sunshine glow it adds to garden beds

Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' - those flowers make up for their tiny size in sheer number

Hebe 'Patty's Purple' - this is the 1st year it has pumped out a steady supply of blooms

Papaver nudicaule (Iceland Poppy) - the bees and I love them

Limonium perezii (aka Statice or Sea Lavender) - ordinary, perhaps, but the bright purple is welcome in my dry garden

Lavandula multifida (Fernleaf Lavender) - its photos never do it justice

Some relatively recent additions to the garden are also adding color:

Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' - how can you not love that color combination?

Geranium x cantabrigiense "Biokovo' - these created a blanket groundcover in my former garden but I've had a harder time getting them to establish here

Nemesia 'Berries & Cream' - I'm as much a sucker for these blooms as I am for pansies

Penstemon heterophyllus 'Margarita BOP,' planted in the dry garden - it died out in my backyard border in 2 years.  I'm hoping it'll be happier with drier feet.

Pericallis hybrid (aka Florist's Cineraria) - I used to grow the taller varieties of Cineraria but they're hard to find now

Pretty purple viola (no ID)

As the blooms from bulbs are so temporary, I guess I should include a few photos of those as well.  The Anemones and Freesia are among my favorites.

While I've grown quite a few of these from tubers, those pictured here were purchased in 4-inch pots last month

However, these Anemone 'Dr. Fokker' were grown from tubers

As was this pink variety

I wish I'd planted more Freesia bulbs this year - this purple one was planted last year or the year before

As was this white Freesia

Ming kept me company as I photographed blooms for this post.  It tuckered him out.

Ming relaxing during our picture-taking exercise

That's it for my February bloom report.  Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, our gracious host for the monthly Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day event, to see what's blooming in her garden and find links for other contributing gardeners.