I could never have been a high school drama teacher. Not only do I have none of the acting or directing skills probably required for the job but I'd also find it impossible to ignore all those eager faces hoping to be chosen for roles in the school play. I'd be adding bit parts the play didn't call for until the play ran twice as long as was intended or the stage itself broke under the weight of the players. At this time of year I have a similar problem when I walk into the garden to pick flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden. Unlike late summer when searching for suitable plant material is akin to a scavenger hunt, there's no shortage of prospects in Spring, when one flower after another waves in the wind beckoning me closer.
I initially focused on two of my more unusual flowering plants,
Salvia lanceolata and
Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', both of which produce flowers in rust-toned shades. The
Salvia is a South African native and the
Aeonium is a succulent that's produced an unexpectedly large crop of flowers this year. Before I was done, they were joined by some unlikely companions.
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| Fading stems of Helleborus 'Phoebe, ' and the delicate blooms of Alstroemeria 'Claire' grabbed center stage from the Salvia and Aeonium |
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| Aeonium 'Kiwi Verde' took over the rear of the arrangement. Unlike the variegated Aeonium 'Kiwi' which generally produces only a flower here and there, a third or more of the 'Kiwi Verde' I planted over the past 2 years are blooming this Spring. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Helleborus 'Phoebe', Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Claire' noID self-planted Cotoneaster, and Salvia lanceolata |
The pleated vase I used for the first arrangement has a relatively small throat that couldn't swallow all the stems I'd cut so I popped some of the
Aeonium's slenderer stems into a small vase.
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| The waxy succulent flowers seem to fit this cactus-shaped vase |
Frothy pink blooms currently fill two areas in my garden so I felt the time was right to use some of those before our temperatures rise and put an end to them. We've enjoyed an amazingly cool and comfortable Spring thus far but prior experience suggests that we could get hit with a blast of hot weather at any time. However, weather pundits are currently suggesting that we may continue to benefit from the "
Great Puny El Niño of 2018-19" throughout the summer and possibly into the fall. We actually got drizzle last Monday and little more last night. That's remarkable for May here.
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| While Leptospermum 'Pink Pearl' grounds the arrangement, Centranthus ruber in 3 colors plays the starring role |
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| The 2 large shrubs of Leptospermum in my garden peaked a week or 2 ago and are already beginning to fade, although I can usually expect a second flush of bloom in the fall |
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| The pink variety of Centranthus is by far the most common in my garden but I usually get some red blooms too. I've been actively encouraging the spread of the white form for a few years now. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: pink, white and red Centranthus ruber, Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover), Orlaya grandiflora (aka Minoan lace), variegated Pelargonium hybrid 'Lady Plymouth' and, in the center, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' |
And who can ignore sweet peas? Even though the plants in one raised planter are still stubbornly refusing to bloom, those I sowed in a half-barrel in the cutting garden are pumping out blooms faster than I can cut them.
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| Most of the flowers in this Lathyrus odoratus 'Pastel Sunset' mix are shades of pink but there are some cream and lavender-blue blooms too. According to the seller's on-line information, the mix contains seeds of 'Sylvia More', 'Jilly' and 'Chatsworth'. |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to discover what she and other IAVOM contributors have picked this week.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
