In a Vase on Monday: Eustoma grandiflorum keeps on giving

For a couple of weeks it seemed as though fall had arrived, ahead of schedule no less.  But a high pressure system moved in over the weekend, bringing the notorious Santa Ana winds in tow, and our temperatures zoomed back up to summertime levels.  Even though summer is intent to go out kicking and screaming, there are still signs that fall has arrived.  Nighttime temperatures are significantly cooler and the cruise ships are back in the harbor.

While cruise ships operate year-round out of Long Beach (visible in the distance), the ships visit nearby San Pedro only during the fall and winter months

However, as the high temperatures are expected to extend through the early part of the week, cutting flowers for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy of Rambling in the Garden, became something of a rescue operation.  This week I'm more likely to regret what I didn't cut to fill a vase than anything I did cut.  The flowers of Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus), which has been mounting a come-back, were among the first to get snipped.

I picked this as the front view but either side of this vase could serve as the focal point

The back view has its own personality

Top view

There are a few stems of the blue-flowered Eustoma in bloom but I thought they would overpower this vase so I left them in the garden and will hope for the best.  I stuck with softer colors:

Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: pale yellow Eustoma grandiflorum, Achillea 'Moon Dust', Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick', Hebe 'Purple Shamrock', Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Magic', Verbena bonariensis, and white Zinnia 'Profusion'

The last Eustoma I planted in June are finally coming on.  Sold as Lisianthus 'Cherry Sorbet', they're a dark, moody pink.

I think the flowers of Eustoma grandiflorum 'Cherry Sorbet' look more like roses than any other variety of Lisianthus

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum 'Cherry Sorbet', Abelia x grandiflora, Gomphrena globosa 'Fireworks', Hebe 'Wiri Blush', flowers of a noID ivy (which the bees LOVE), Pennisetum 'Fireworks', and Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom'

A few stems of the pale pink Eustoma also made a comeback but, after clipping them, I decided they didn't do anything for my second arrangement so I put them in a small vase on the bedroom mantle.

Pale pink Eustoma grandiflorum 'Mariachi Pink' with dark pink Zinnias

The first vase landed on the dining room table.

And the dark pink arrangement sits on the table in the front entry.

For more Monday vases, pay Cathy a visit.


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

May Favorites

On the last Friday of the month, Loree of danger garden hosts a meme focusing on favorite plants.  In preparation, I took photos of all sorts of plants but my attention kept coming back to one bed.  I call it the "spa bed" because at one time it contained a "snorkel spa" we inherited with the house.  The spa was heated by firewood and very inconvenient to use so, after living with it for a few years and using it only a few times, we took it out and used the spa's top to build a patio table.  (I'm using the royal "we" here as my husband really did all the work.)  I planted the spa bed in March 2014 and have modified my plant choices several times since.  I feel it's finally coming together now and, although the plants are still immature, I love the combination already so I'm featuring the occupants of this bed as my May favorites.

Wide shot of the bed formerly occupied by the snorkel spa

Another view of the same bed

The tree on the left, an Arbutus 'Marina', was in place when we moved in, as was the clump of Agapanthus on the right and the hedge behind.  Everything else is a more recent introduction.  After a brief flirtation with some other plants, I took my color cues from the Arbutus with its red trunk and its coral pink flowers.  Here's a closer look at the present bed.

The bed echoes some of the colors in the dry garden beyond

Melianthus major, Leucadendron 'Jester' and Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' started the ball rolling.

A current photo showing the chandelier-like flowers of Arbutus 'Marina' dangling above Melianthus major, mirroring the colors of Leucadendron 'Jester' below and Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' on the right

A broader view picks up the red of Pennisetum 'Fireworks', Lantana camara 'Irene' and Leucadendron 'Blush'

Pennisetum 'Fireworks', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', a yellow Anigozanthos and a host of smaller plants were later introductions.  Most recently, I've added  Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin', Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' and Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi'.  I love each of these plants individually but it's their synthesis that makes them my favorite selection this month.

Top row, from left: Agastache 'Kudos Mandarin', noID yellow Anigozanthos, and Arbutus 'Marina'
Middle row: Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Leucadendron 'Jester' and Leucadendron salignum 'Blush'
Bottom row: Pennisetum 'Fireworks', Origanum 'Monterey Bay', and the two newest additions, Leucadendron 'Jubilee Crown' and Leucospermum 'Brandi' (still babies)

Visit Loree at danger garden to see the plants she and other gardeners are most excited about this month.


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

Bloom Day - November 2014

One of the great things about Bloom Day is that it provides a record against which to compare current events in the garden.  As I've been blogging less than 2 years, I have only last year's posts to look at but, by and large, 2014 has closely paralleled 2013 in terms of what's blooming in any given month.  That isn't true for November, however.  Last November, I had early blooms of Agapanthus, Alstroemeria, and Iceland poppies, none of which are blooming yet this November.  In addition, some plants that were still blooming last November, like Grevillea 'Superb' and Plectranthus ciliatus, have already thrown in the towel for the season this year.  Still, here in coastal Southern California, I know I'm lucky not to face the frost and snow already hitting many areas of the country.

Yellow flowers are making the biggest splash this month, as they light things up under gloomy skies.

When Senna (Cassia) bicapsularis 'Worley's Butter Cream' blooms, I wonder why I don't have more of these shrubs in my garden

Like the larger variety, this Tagetes lemmonii 'Compacta' tends to flop but I love the flowers for their color and their scent

All it took was a little rain to send Euryops 'Sonnenschein' into a paroxysm of flowers 

Gazinia 'New Day Yellow' produces large blooms for the size of the plant

Even the succulent Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' is getting into the action, producing a large flower stalk

There are also flashes of orange and red here and there.

Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid' is a relatively new acquisition - I wish I'd bought more  (It looks especially nice with the Alternanthera tenella, doesn't it?)

This unidentified Aloe (maybe A. 'Pink Blush'?) is a vigorous bloomer with stalks that stand straight

Senecio fulgens (photobombed here by a flowering Echeveria) is producing another round of blooms

This Bougainvillea provides a dash of red in the front yard

The Gomphrena haageana blooms keep coming

Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' keeps on blooming, albeit usually producing only one flower at a time

The recent heat took a toll on Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy's' foliage but the flowers keep coming

Adding more red and orange, berries are popping up everywhere.

Heteromeles arbutifolia, named the official native plant of Los Angeles a couple years ago, is starting to produce a mass of red berries

Berry production on Nandina domestica has been in process for some time

Even the chlorotic Pittosporum (Auranticarpa) rhombifolia is producing berries

Although the yellows, oranges and reds draw the eye, pink flowers are making a stand in the garden as well, outnumbering their splashier and flashier companions.

After struggling with the heat in early fall, Camellia sasanqua is now hitting its stride

Close-up of Camellia sasanqua bloom

Flowers are usually present almost year-round on the Arbutus 'Marina' but, after being pruned early this year, they're only now returning in force

As you can see here, my Arbutus are making up for lost time, making the hummingbirds very happy - the flowers look coral here but they're really more pink

Bauhinia x blakeana has begun another bloom cycle since the temperatures cooled

A Geranium sanguineum I have no record of planting has begun blooming

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' has pumped out more flowers since the weather cooled too

This Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) has decided that it wants to climb

The Pennisetum 'Fireworks' have settled in comfortably despite regular digging around their base by raccoons and skunks

All the Pentas lanceolata are blooming - this one is 'Nova'

Even the 'Pink Meidiland' roses, shown here with Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink,' have produced a few blooms despite a sorry performance earlier this year

There is a scattering of blue and purple blooms too.

Ageratum houstonianum 'Blue Horizon' looks better now than when I planted it in spring but I don't know if I'll grow it next year

Aster x frikartii 'Monch' is taking its own sweet time to get established but I love it anyway

Barleria obtusa has a sprawling habit, which makes it hard to photograph

The beautiful Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue' is back in bloom

Lobelia erinus may not be exciting but it self-seeds freely here and, after disappearing during the peak of the heat, it's reappearing all over (shown here coming up in a pot underneath a blueberry shrub)

This new Osteospermum ecklonis is 'Berry White' - I like it just as much as '3D Silver,' which has been a mainstay in my garden

Salvia leucantha is coming to the end of its bloom cycle

Solanum xantii, a California native, is one of my latest finds - the purple color is even brighter than it looks here

There are only a few white flowers, making me wonder why I haven't added any Argyranthemum to my garden this year.

Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo White' isn't quite as double or as vigorous as the blue form but it's still pretty with its bright green throat

Hibiscus trionum (aka flower of an hour), sold to me by my local botanic garden, turns out to be a weed in parts of the country but it has been well-behaved here thus far

All my Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta daisies) were hit hard by the heat this year but they're slowly making a comeback

That's it for my November Bloom Day round-up.  Please visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of the world-wide gardening event that is Bloom Day, and you'll find photos of what is lighting up gardens elsewhere this November.


All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party