In a Vase on Monday: Picking flowers in the rain

It rained on Sunday morning.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know I get very excited about rain.  We get a lot less of it than many of you do, and rain in summer is particularly surprising.  I saw the forecast that said we had a 30% chance of precipitation but, unless I see predictions of 80% or higher, I don't put much stock in them so I was delighted.  Our rooftop weather system registered 0.07/inch, not a lot by any means but enough to fill my empty 50-gallon rain tank.  It drizzled as I rounded the garden picking flowers.  It was wonderful!  It provided a much nicer start to the day than walking out the back door straight into the path of a coyote as I did last Tuesday.

This week I had in mind exactly what I wanted to cut for today's vases and I actually stuck to my plan, more or less.  The flower-like bracts of the Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' in my back garden was the inspiration for my first vase.

There are actually two Leucadendron here.  The cones and bracts of 'Safari Sunset' on the right are larger than those of 'Devil's Blush' on the left but about the same color.

I was happier with this mix of plants when they were in the jar I used while collecting the stems than I am with the finished product shown here.  Do you ever have that experience?

Back view: I cut the glossy green foliage of the cherry laurels (Prunis ilicifolia) grown as a hedge along one property line as I felt I needed a sharp contrast with the deep red of the Leucadendron.  The cherry laurels are in the process of developing their fruit but it's still green.  Stems with red fruit would've made a nice color echo.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Ammi majus 'Dara', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', shaggy Leucanthemum x superbum, Prunus ilicifolia, and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink' 

My blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) are full of flowers at the moment but I was challenged to find something different to pair with them until I decided to cut stems of Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink'.  I'm not sure I've cut any of the latter this year even though I have ten of these shrubs in full bloom at the moment.  Hummingbirds and bees adore these shrubs.

It's hard to compete with Lisianthus but Monarda 'Peter's Purple' is giving it a good try.  This Monarda is the only one I've ever managed to grow in my garden.

Back view: The white Pandorea jasminoides (aka bower vine) was a last minute addition.  I had the stems arranged at the front of the vase at first but they didn't complement the Lisanthus as well as they do the Cuphea so I moved them to the back, where they look a little like the flounce on a skirt.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum, Pandorea jasminoides, Monarda 'Peter's Purple', Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink', and Salvia leucophylla x clevelandii 'Pozo Blue'

As I had leftover stems, I threw together a third vase, which may be my personal favorite this week.  It's not as fussy as the other two arrangements, which makes it perfect for the kitchen island.

I used the extra stems of Abelia, Ammi majus, and Scabiosa here and tucked a few stems on Origanum 'Monterey Bay' in the back

The other arrangements took their places on the dining and front entry tables respectively.

For more arrangements created from floral and foliage materials found in the creators' own gardens, visit our IAVOM host, 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: Oops, I did it again

Regular readers probably won't believe me when I state that I rarely plan on preparing more than one arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.  When I step out into my garden to look for material, I feel lucky if I have just one idea as to what to pick as a floral focus.  On Sunday, when I ventured out following a storm that brought us just 0.04/inch of rain overnight, I headed straight for an orchid stem I'd discovered in a corner of the property the day before when I was cleaning up after the tree trimmers we'd had on-site that morning.  The unusual color combination in the orchid had me combing the rest of the garden looking for burgundy accents.

This is the second flush of flowers on the noID Oncidium orchid I picked up at an orchid show hosted by my local botanic garden in September

The acid yellow foliage of Duranta erecta provided a nice echo of the orchid's yellow color

The yellow and burgundy color echoes show up best in this top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: noID Oncidium; shiny Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'; yellow/green Duranta erecta NOT 'Gold Mound'; Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', included to fill in some empty space upfront; Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', which is beginning to take on its beautiful red winter color; and Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'.  The yellow in the Gaillardia bothered me here but I didn't have a good substitute.

As I was rounding the opposite end of our property, I noticed that the first bud of Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' had bloomed.  More rain is expected on Thursday and the Camellia blooms don't like rain so I decided to clip that flower to enjoy it in the house.  One thing led to another and soon I had more than enough material for a second vase.  Oops!

Second vase featuring one flower of Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' front and center.  This Camellia is a hybrid of C. japonica and C. saluenensis.

Back view: I picked the snapdragons after discovering 2 plants infected with rust.  The rust is particularly frustrating as I've been careful to avoid overhead watering and have given the plants ample space to ensure air flow around the foliage; however, 2 rainy weekends and the return of fog associated with the marine layer probably tipped the scales.

Top view, showing off the variegated leaves of Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile', a gift from Denise of "A Growing Obsession" last year.  I'm more excited about the Pelargonium leaves than any other elements of this vase.

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', noID Camellia sasanqua, noID orange/pink Antirrhinum majus, Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile'.  Also included, but not highlighted, are stems of variegated Correa 'Wyn's Wonder'.  Correa flowers often "hide" mid-stem, making them harder to show off in arrangements.

Spending time outside collecting plant material was particularly enjoyable as the air was cool and fresh.  We played peek-a-boo with rain clouds all day but received no further precipitation; however, I remain hopeful that we'll get another good soaking later this week.  At present, our seasonal rainfall total (since October 1st) stands at a paltry 1.72 inches.

This week's vases are in place.

With Christmas decorations popping up throughout the house, vase space is becoming harder to come by

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


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

June Favorites: Looking at the Positives

If you read my last post, you know I was upset by the impact our start-of-summer heatwave had on my garden.  It's worse in some areas than others but it's hard to walk through the garden without fixating on dead and maimed plants.  Loree's monthly favorite plants post at danger garden forced me to take a closer look at what's looking good despite the impact of what I've been thinking of as the "heat apocalypse."  On the good side, most of the plants I installed in May and early June, including the 5 Xylosma congestum shrubs planted along the street, survived.  The dry garden doesn't even appear to have registered the event.  The backyard bed I featured in my May favorites post still shines and the garden beds alongside the front walk look good.

So here are a few of the plants that lightened my heart as I roamed my garden yesterday:

This Oscularia deltoides, planted in October 2012 from a 4-inch pot, seems to love growing along the stack-stoned wall at the bottom of the front slope.  The succulent foliage is attractive but the flowers, which blanket the plant when it blooms, are spectacular.  I plan to add cuttings of this plant elsewhere along the wall.

Phormium 'Maori Queen' makes the most of the late afternoon sun.  This Phormium handled the recent heat much better than the darker-leaved varieties in my garden, which generally look sad.  There are 6 'Maori Queen' in the front garden, none of which were damaged by Monday's 105F high temperature.

Sitting next to Phormium 'Maori Queen' is Correa 'Wyn's Wonder'.  It's not in bloom at the moment but its variegated foliage makes a refreshing splash in one of the beds that lines the front walkway.  Because it's done so well here, I've added 2 more of these plants to this bed, one of which replaced a group of Arctotis 'Pink Sugar'.  I love the latter plant too but it gets grubby looking in summer so I'm relegating those plants to areas with less traffic.

Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' is finally gaining size in the backyard border.  It's backed up here by Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) and a coral-flowered Russelia equisetiformis, which may be the only plant that actually seemed to get a boost from the intense heat earlier in the week.

The red tones of Aloe dorotheae (shown in close-up on the right) and Crassula pubescens ssp. radicans have brightened the succulent bed in the southeast side garden.  Unlike some of the agaves, the Aloes show no signs of sun scorch or the scars of edema.  I can't quite decide whether I like the yellow flowers of the Crassula but I've let them stay for now.

While I've lost a section of thyme in the from garden on the southwest side, the Thymus minus planted from flats last fall in the backyard has done a good job of filling in.  Blooms are appearing here and there too.

My thanks to Loree for nudging me out of my funk.  Visit her to find her favorite plant selections this month and links to posts on the same theme by other gardeners.

All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party