In a Vase on Monday: A new spin on the same old flowers

I'm still trying to make use of my remaining cool season blooms while they're presentable.  Our morning marine layer has been present more often than not over the past two weeks, keeping our afternoon temperatures very pleasant.  On Saturday, it was so thick our roof-top weather station recorded one one-hundredth of an inch of precipitation - during a severe drought even that is appreciated.

My foxgloves have produced another flush of bloom.  Their stems, like those of the snapdragons, are shorter now but I made use of both to stuff my first vase this week.

I crammed more into this vase than I'd planned (as usual)

Back view: My cool season daisies (Argyranthemum frutescens) are also showing signs of fading even though our temperatures haven't crept above the low 70sF for some time now

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Peach' and 'Double Azalea Bronze', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', and Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane'

 

My second arrangement was inspired by the first bloom of self-seeded Daucus carota 'Dara' but the concept I had in mind didn't come together as planned.

'Dara' was relegated to the back of the vase and what may be the last of the pink Alstroemeria took center stage, accompanied by stems of Hebe 'Wiri Blush'

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Daucus carota 'Dara', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', noID Alstroemeria, Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' (she's back!), Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Orlaya grandiflora

 

I cut a stem of a noID pink lily late last week for our kitchen island.  Its scent was so strong I considered putting it outside at first but the scent, like its color, has faded somewhat so it remains.  (However, I decided to pass on using a second stem in another arrangement.)  I embellished the lilies with Lisianthus recycled from one of last week's arrangements, as well as flowers I cut but didn't use in the arrangements shown above.

Arrangements on the kitchen island don't really have a front and back.

Clockwise from the upper left: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), noID Asiatic hybrid Lilium, and Nigella papillosa

 

For more arrangements created from garden foliage and flowers, visit our IAVOM host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

 

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

 

In a Vase on Monday: Chaos reigns

Not a single room of the house feels familiar or comfortable at the moment.  The living and dining rooms are empty and the kitchen is halfway gutted.  Every one of the remaining rooms is now serving multiple purposes.  Despite packing away furniture and boxing up all but essential belongings for storage and doing our best to organize what remains, our remaining living spaces are claustrophobic.  For someone who's tried to convince her spouse that we could be happy in a tiny vacation house (somewhere with cooler summer temperatures!), this is a comedown of sorts but then who takes all their worldly possessions with them on vacation?  I expect we'll adapt, although getting used to the weekday noise and confusion associated with our remodel may be more of a challenge.  Today, I expect to lose the small window on the south side of my office when it's closed in to form part of our kitchen extension.

Pipig has chosen new spots for her naps in the back part of the house.  She's chill when the workers are absent but, as soon as they pull up outside, she's on high alert and, more often than not, she's hiding in the very darkest corner of my closet on top of a hat box until they leave.

There's still plenty in bloom to cut for vases; however, I had to prepare my arrangements in our master bathroom yesterday as the laundry room is already doing double duty for washing dishes.  The new blooms of Dahlia 'Labyrinth' provided the inspiration for my first vase.

I was disappointed last year when the one and only 'Labyrinth' tuber I was able to get rotted but this year I've got 2 plants full of buds

I was able to use the old, partially deconstructed kitchen as a backdrop for most of this week's photos, relying solely on daylight from nearby windows.  (All the light bulbs in kitchen have already been removed.)

I've yet to identify areas that might be suitable for use in photographing future vases but that may be a week-by-week determination as our remodel progresses

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', Leucadendron 'Jester', and Tanacetum parthenium.  This 'Jester' grows in partial shade so its colors are more subdued than the plant I have in full sun.

As Thursday is Independence Day, I also cobbled together a red, white and blue arrangement, or as close as I could come to that by substituting magenta for true red.

The shaggy Shasta daisies were intended as accents but, once again, they dominate the arrangement.  I don't mind as they're looking particularly good this year and remind me of the recently departed friend who gave them to me.

Back view

Top view, highlighting what may be the last of my Delphinium blooms for the season

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink', Delphinium elatum, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus), Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Nigella papillosa 'Starry Night' and, in the middle, Leucanthemum x superbum (aka Shasta daisy)

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

The Dahlias ended up on the card table in our bedroom we're currently using as a dining table (left).  The red, white and blue arrangement sits alongside the PC in my office (right).

For those of you in the US celebrating the 4th of July this week, I hope you have a safe and sane holiday!


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

In a Vase On Monday: In Remembrance

My first vase was originally inspired by the flowers of a Hebe I've been admiring for weeks.

Yet Pelargonium 'Rembrandt' and Cistus 'Sunset' took over the front of the vase

And Digitalis purpurea grabbed attention in the back

With the ruffled Shasta daisy, a gift from my friend Daria following the death of my mother years ago, rising to the top

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisy), noID Alstroemeria, Cistus 'Sunset', Digitalis purpurea, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Helleborus 'Anna's Red' (with Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher'), and Pelargonium 'Rembrandt'

My second vase was prepared to take advantage of the blue Delphiniums and larkspur in bloom in my cutting garden before the summer heat diminishes their beauty.

Two stems of Delphinium elatum stretch heavenward

The wispy white stems of Coriandrum sativum provide light

Larkspur and love-in-the-mist round things out

Clockwise from the upper left: Delphinium elatum 'Pacific Giants', Consolida ajacis (larkspur) in various hues, Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro/coriander), Lathyrus odoratus 'Blue Celeste', and Nigella papillosa 'Starry Night Mix' (love-in-the-mist)

The third vase contains peonies I picked up tightly in bud at a local market last Wednesday because the two plants in my garden refused to bloom again this year.

The buds have been opening ever so slowly since Wednesday

All my vases this week are offered in remembrance.

In memory of: Daria, dear friend
Nothing will be the same without you

For more Monday vases, 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: A tad simpler

I tried to stop my vase stuffing ways this week by being more selective about what I cut during my stroll through the garden in pursuit of plants for "In a Vase on Monday."  That's hard to do with spring in full swing!  I'd nothing specific in mind when I headed out with my clippers and, somewhat to my own surprise, the first plant I focused on was Festuca californica, a native California bunch grass.  It's been in my garden for almost 4 years but I don't remember ever seeing it in bloom prior to this year, another side-effect of ample winter rain perhaps.  In any case, use of the delicate grass required that I stick to the plan to allow my plant materials space to breathe in their vase so the grass wouldn't be lost.

While I limited the types of flowers for this vase, I think I should have used fewer stems of each

or trimmed the foliage a bit more

The grass didn't photograph well from above

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Phlomis fruticosa, noID Alstroemeria, Festuca californica, Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', and Prunus laurocerasus

The inspiration for the second vase was one of my favorite Pelargoniums, 'Oldbury Duet', which made its appearance in the front garden several weeks ago.  I've been wanting to do something with it ever since.

Front view, showing the rippled side of the small crystal vase

Back view, showing the vase's clear side

Top view with the sweet peas hogging the scene

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Lathyrus odoratus, Pelargonium 'Oldbury Duet', and Stachys 'Lilac Falls'

There are more flowering plants in the wings.  My Gaura lindheimeri began to open the moment my Bloom Day post was in the can and it appears that Centaurea 'Silver Feather' may bloom for the first time this year.  The pleasures of spring continue to unfold but warmer weather is in the offing so it remains to be seen which plants will realize their potential.  You'll probably see whichever do in future vases but here are this week's efforts in their places:

The first vase sits on the dining room table and the second in the front entry

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other bloggers have "In a Vase on Monday."


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

Bloom Day - October 2015

It's been hot and, despite unexpected rain in July and September, after 4 years of drought and watering restrictions, the garden is also very dry.  However, after looking back on my October Bloom Day posts for 2013 and 2014, I find I'm not doing as badly in the bloom department as I thought I was.  There are some no-shows but these are counter-balanced by blooms on plants like the Grevilleas and the Gazanias, which weren't introduced to my garden until last year.

The star of this month's garden is Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior', which did have a prominent place in my garden in prior years.  I brought cuttings of this plant with me from my former garden.  I now have it in 2 areas of my current garden and plan to try it in other areas as well.

Plectranthus can handle a little sun but does best here with shade during the hottest part of the day

In terms of plant combinations, 3 areas are looking good, at least relative to the rest of the garden.

Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' could use some dead-heading to neaten it up and Agastache 'Sunset' is getting a bit ragged but both are still looking pretty

Hebe 'Wiri Blush' is surrounded here by Pentas 'Nova' and Celosia 'Intenz'

New-ish plantings of Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly' and Euphorbia 'Breathless White' are combining nicely with older plantings of Tulbaghia violacea (aka Society Garlic) and Eustoma 'Echo Blue', returning for another round of bloom (I hope)

Selected genera are also putting on a good show at the moment.

Eustoma grandiflorum 'Mariachi Pink' (right) and 'Echo Pink' (not shown) have been blooming heavily for 2 months after an earlier spring flush; 'Echo Blue' (left) and 'Borealis Yellow' (middle) have been less floriferous but have still put on impressive performances

Despite becoming the newest salad bar for the resident squirrels, Gazanias 'New Day Yellow', 'White Flame' and 'Golden Flame' still have some unmolested blooms

Grevilleas 'Ned Kelly', 'Pink Midget' and 'Superb' have flowered continuously for a good part of the summer. G. 'Peaches & Cream' (not shown) has produced flowers sporadically but seems camera shy whenever Bloom Day comes around.

Pennisetum 'Fireworks' (left) is smaller than Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' (right) but no less impressive in bloom this summer. (Yes, I know it's officially fall but apparently Mother Nature's local representative hasn't gotten the message.)

During the past month, roses have appeared here and there, although not in significant numbers.  'Californa Dreamin' (left) and 'Pink Meidiland' (right) are currently making appearances in the front garden.

The Salvias soldier on, with the exception of 'Amistad' which appears to have given up the ghost.  From left, Salvia discolor, S. 'Mesa Azure' and S. 'Mystic Spires'.

And here are the best of the rest, organized by color groupings.

Orange, yellow and white flowers include, clockwise from upper left: Portulaca 'Carrot', Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Clematis terniflora, Coreopsis 'Redshift', Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain', Hemerocallis 'Double Impact', Lantana 'Lucky White' and Leonotis leonurus

Pink and magenta flowers include, clockwise from left: Bauhinia x blakeana, Angelonia 'Archangel Raspbery', Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', Nerium oleander, and Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom'

Also my noID Hoya carnosa with what I thought was a bee making a casual visit (left).  She turned out to be the prisoner of an unidentified white and black spider which is still on hand waiting for its next victim (right).

The blue flower group includes, from the left: Aster frikartii 'Monch', Duranta 'Sapphire Showers', Felicia aethiopica "Tight & Tidy', and prostrate rosemary

That's it for my Bloom Day post this month.  I'm hoping that summer, which is apparently loathe to let go of Southern California, will come to an end this month and cooler weather will bring the "second spring" we usually enjoy during the autumn months.  Some rain would also be nice.  (Do you hear me El Niño?)

For other Bloom Day posts, please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the esteemed host of the monthly event that is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party