In a Vase on Monday: Ensemble Casts

My garden's floral display is in the process of transitioning from spring to summer.  The spring bloomers are either fading or have been used too often already in my weekly vases.  Most of the summer bloomers are either just getting started, still in bud, or unable to serve starring roles on their own.  So my vases this week consist of ensemble casts, with each element collaborating with the others and no one plant playing a starring role.

My first arrangement is all about the blues in my garden.

The Agapanthus throughout the garden, most of which I inherited, already have bloom stalks and the first buds have begun to unfurl.  They started me off with blue flowers joining in from other corners of the garden.

Back view: Other contributors included stems of Ceanothus, Consolida ajacis (aka larkspur), Salvia, Billardiera (aka Australian blue creeper, formerly classified as Sollya heterophylla), and various sweet peas, finally making an appearance 

Overhead view: I added Nigella papillosa to add a touch of white

Top row: noID Agapanthus, Billardiera heterophylla, and noID Ceanothus
Middle: Consolida ajacis, Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Salvia 'Mystic Spires'
Bottom: I sowed seeds of 5 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus, including 'April in Paris', 'Lord Nelson', and 'Royal Wedding' but I can't definitively account for the one on the far right

My second arrangement started out as a hodge-podge but, in the end, I found I liked it more than I'd expected to.

I started the second arrangement by harvesting the remaining sturdy stems of a pink Alstroemeria I inherited with the garden and the white snapdragons not yet too blemished by rust, then threw in several stems of ivy geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Back view: I added stems of Nigella and Calendula just because I'll be pulling out both in the near future to free space in my cutting garden

Overhead view: I added 2 stems of immature Daucus carota to see if the flowers would open when cut at this stage.  The Daucus self-seeded once again this year.

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance', Antirrhinum majus, Callendula officianalis, noID Alstroemeria, Daucus carota 'Dara', Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Pelargonium peltatum (which is more dark pink than red as it appears in my photographs)

My sweet peas got a late start this year and, with one significant heatwave already registered, followed by a shorter, more moderate heatwave less than two weeks later, I don't expect them to hold up long so I've been cutting them almost as quickly as the flowers appear.  It also appears that birds are beheading a lot of the blooms even before I can cut them.  For those reasons, I popped a lot of shorter stems into a third vase for the kitchen island.

Their scent is of course wonderful with Lathyrus odoratus 'April in Paris' contributing the strongest note

The past weekend's weather couldn't have been better (except perhaps if we'd received a miraculous overnight rain shower).  It looks as though that trend may continue through next week.  I'm hoping that'll be the case anyway.  For those of you in the US, best wishes for a pleasant Memorial Day!

For more IAVOM creations, visit the leader of our merry band, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Nose dive

One of the plants in my back border took a nose dive a few days ago.  Although the gardeners trimmed the hedge behind it before we noticed it had toppled, I don't think anyone was responsible for knocking it down.  The plant in question was an artichoke with three very heavy chokes.  I think its sheer weight caused its nose dive.  Dry soil may have been a contributing factor as we've been dealing with our first heatwave of the year since Friday.  In any case, rather than tossing the entire thing in the compost bin, I decided to use part of it in an arrangement.

The 'Purple Romagna' artichoke has exceptionally sharp spines that glint like gold in the sun.  Unfortunately, I couldn't capture their color properly with my camera.

Back view: I added a few stems of the bronzy-colored flowers of the Aeonium haworthii to play off the choke's gold spines and white and purple flowers of Nigella papillosa to echo the choke's flesh.  In retrospect, it may have been better to stick with one or the other.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Nigella papillosa 'African Bride', and Cynara cadunculus var. scoolymus 'Purple Romagna'

My second arrangement is more conventional.  Many of its components didn't appreciate the sudden surge in our temperatures over the weekend, peaking at 95F (35C) on Saturday, so I treated my selection process as a rescue operation, saving some flowers from a third day of high temperatures.  We're expecting a dramatic drop in temperatures today.

While I started off with a few stems of pink Alstroemeria, Centranthus and 2 varieties of snapdragons took over

I dressed up the back view with stems of 'April in Paris' sweet peas, which have suddenly burst into bloom

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Antirrhinum majus in dark pink and white, Argyranthemum frutescens 'Mount Everest', noID pink Alstroemeria, Centranthus ruber, Fuchsia 'Dollar Princess', and Lathyrus odoratus 'April in Paris'

I've a lot of work to do in the garden this week (as well as the foreseeable future) so I'm looking forward to temperatures in the pleasant range of the mid-to-upper 60sF (17-20C) at least through next Sunday.

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Excess Flora

Although temperatures remain on the cool side thanks to our morning marine layer, I can already see signs of the shift toward summer.  The first Agapanthus flowers have already opened, lily flower stalks are up, and several of my dahlia tubers have sprouted.  Space for the latter is limited until the current contents of my cutting garden are cleared.  I've given flowers away now and then since the start of spring but Mother's Day seemed a good opportunity to step up my game.

I relied solely on the sweet peas, larkspur and love-in-a-mist flowers dominating the raised planters in my cutting garden to fill a dozen plastic bottles.  I left them on the curb with a note wishing passers-by a happy Mother's Day late Saturday afternoon and all of them were gone by 10am Sunday morning.

I made up a floral arrangement for a neighbor last week and liked it enough to create something similar for our own dining table this week.

The ever-blooming Grevillea 'Superb' has been working overtime on flower production, leaving even its sturdy stems dragging on the ground in some cases

Back view: The peach foxgloves have also been producing stalk-after-stalk of flowers.  Even the Aeoniums are obstructing paths with dense sprays of flowers.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Grevillea 'Superb', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', and Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi'

I swung to the other side of the color wheel for my second arrangement, taking advantage of the first blooms of the Echium gentianoides I planted in the fall of 2022.  I'd almost forgotten about it and, when I saw the foliage, I momentarily mistook it for a Euphorbia.

This Echium has the brightest blue flowers of any plants I've grown in the genus.  It's foliage has narrow white stripes and leaves unlike any other Echiums I've seen.

Back view: The Echium's buds start out pink so I considered pairing it with pink flowers but settled instead for white accents

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Centranthus ruber 'Albus', Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix', noID white Lathyrus odoratus, Echium gentianoides 'Tajinaste', and Nigella papillosa

I recycled leftovers from last week's arrangements and combined them with some of the material I cut for this week's vases for a third arrangement.

The "leftovers" included Alstroemeria 'Claire' and Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink'.  The newer ingredients included Nigella papillosa and Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy canary clover)

I've still got more flowers than I know what to do with.  I'm planning to clear out the raised beds of the cutting garden within the next three to four weeks so, absent an early heatwave, I anticipate giving away more flowers before the month is out.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

 

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Opposites

Surprise!  I have two arrangements this week.  (Just kidding - I know regular readers would be more surprised if I had just one, especially during the spring season.)  They could't be more different.  The first is unusual in terms of its color mix.  The second can best be described as frothy.

The first arrangement was inspired by Dutch Iris 'Lion King'.  Although the blue Dutch Irises are almost done blooming, 'Lion King' always seems to lag behind.

It's not easy to find companion plants to enhance the colors of this Iris's petals and I wondered if the choices I made duplicated those I've made in the past.  However, I looked back at the photos of other arrangements using this Iris and was somewhat surprised that, with the exception of the yellow Leucospermum flowers, I haven't used any of the other elements before.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Aristea inaequalis seedpods, Iris hollandica 'Lion King', Leucospermum 'High Gold', Phlomis fruticosa, and Salvia africana-lutea

I didn't have great expectations for the second arrangement but I liked the way it turned out, even though it strikes me as very girly. The inspiration was the Polygala myrtifolia (sweet pea bush) that's growing all over my garden.  Although I've pulled what seems like hundreds of its seedlings this year, it's still abundant.  It makes a decent groundcover so I've left more of it in place than perhaps I should.

The frilly bits are flowering stems of Prostanthera ovalifolia (aka mint bush) and sweet peas.  Sweet pea petals seem to drop within 3-4 days and I have suspicions that the flowers on the mint bush may not last long in a vase either but I'll enjoy it while I can.

Back view: It has a heavenly scent!

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea, Lathyrys odoratus 'April in Paris', a noID purple sweet pea, Nigella papillosa, Polygala myrtifolia, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' 

Last week's arrangement featuring peach foxgloves held up well and, as I couldn't bring myself to toss all the contents in my compost bin, I cut it down to a smaller size and gave it a place on the kitchen island.

I've always recognized that Alstroemeria and Leucosperum flowers have long vase lives but I don't recall foxgloves holding up as well

It's looking as though our rainy season is probably over but at least cooler-than-usual temperatures may persist for another month or more.  For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Everything everywhere all at once

I never thought I'd say that I have too many flowers available to cut in my garden but that's how I felt on Sunday morning.  I usually fixate on a few flowers and create an arrangement (or two or three) but, with temperatures rising, the spring flowers that prefer cool temperatures are rushing to the finish line while the summer flowers are already getting ready to move in.  Lilies are developing stalks; Agapanthus are sporting buds; and daylilies are already blooming here and there.  I've started potting up my dahlia tubers to get them sprouted so I can move them into my cutting garden when the cool season flowers are ready to clear out.  With mildew and rust already afflicting their foliage, I focused on making use of them while they're presentable.

My first vase made use of some of the peach foxgloves that shot up all at once.

I wasn't sure how I felt about mixing the pale peach foxgloves with the bright orange Leucospermums at first but I think Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' helped to tie the whole thing together.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Digitalis purpurea 'Peach Dalmatian', Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', noID Ranunculus, and Xylosma congestum

The second arrangement made use of the sweet peas and larkspur, as well as a few of the remaining blue Dutch Iris.

The larkspur grew especially tall this year yet only recently started blooming, at which point its stems started to topple over.  The first variety of the sweet peas began blooming in mid-February.  Another variety joined the display in March but I didn't see any evidence of others until late last week.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: white Anthirrhinum majus (snapdragons); Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix' (larkspur) in various colors; Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty'; and a mix of Lathyrus odoratus, most recently including 'April in Paris'

And yes, there's a third vase this week.  The stems of Alstroemeria 'Claire' included in one of last week's arrangements was still in good shape so I added two of the last anemones, as well as stems of the dark pink snapdragons (after removing their rust-covered foliage).

Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato' put on a good show but she doesn't appreciate the rising temperatures

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Allium neopolitatum, Antirrhinum majus, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Alstroemeria 'Claire', and Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato'

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party