In a Vase on Monday: Recent Acquisitions

I've whined about the shortage of flowers in my garden quite a bit of late.  Last week, thinking ahead about what I could use to create a vase for the Monday meme sponsored by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, I was at a loss.   Although some plants in my garden have begun a second bloom cycle, there was nothing that I hadn't used more than once already this summer.  Then I visited my local garden center, looking for Sedum, and came home with a dozen 4-inch pots of Rudbeckia.  On a second tour of another nursery with a friend, I picked up 3 more Rudbeckia.  So, this week's vase features - you guessed it - Rudbeckia.

This particular Rudbeckia was labeled R. 'Zahara' but I believe it's actually Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara.'  The 3 plants I brought home went into a pot, filling in a hole in the border around our fountain.  The semi-double flowers range in color from pink to burgundy to caramel.

Here's what went into the vase:

• 1 stem of Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty' (reused from last week's vase)
• 5 stems of Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara' in a range of colors
• 2 stems of Solenostemon scuttellarioides 'Fire Fingers Coleus'
• 2 stems of Solenostemon scuttellarioides 'Honey Crisp Coleus' (reused from last week's vase)
• 3 sprigs of Thymus serpyllum

The beautiful Rudbeckias, photographed from above

Close-up of Coleus 'Fire Fingers'

Photo of the back of the vase, highlighting the leftover Coleus 'Honey Crisp'

Close-up of thyme

The colors in this vase, which echo those I used last week, have an autumn feel.  I know many gardeners are still holding onto summer, so here's a second vase with a more summer-like disposition, although it also features one of my new Rudbeckias, R. hirta 'Prairie Sun':

Broken stem of R. 'Prairie Sun' in a bud vase with Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' and more leftover Coleus 'Honey Crisp'

Close-up of R. 'Prairie Sun'

And here are the vases in their final positions:

Back in the foyer yet again

Adding sunshine to the living room

What have you brought inside to brighten your household space?  Please visit Cathy, the sponsor of the "In a Vase on Monday" meme to see what she's created.  You'll also find links to other gardeners' creations.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Floral Accents

There REALLY isn't a lot of floral color in my garden right now.  Yes, there are a few - mostly short - flowers here and there but, with the exception of the Coreopsis 'Redshift,' there's nothing much available in sufficient quantity to make an impact in a vase.  Most of the flowers also don't coordinate well with one another.  I considered constructing a vase solely with foliage material but, after cutting a mass of colorful coleus 'Honey Crisp,' I was able to find a few flowers that provided a nice floral accent to the variegated foliage of the coleus (Solenstemon scuttellarioides).

Close-up of Coleus 'Honey Crisp' showing the peach, yellow and green upper surface and its pink and purple undersides

The first floral accent I hit on was Gaillardia grandiflora 'Goblin,' which is very short.  The taller look-alike Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' hasn't reappeared this year, which is unfortunate.  After a couple rounds of our property, I also picked up:

• Gaillardia 'Mesa Peach' (2 stems) - short and barely visible in the photo at the top of the post 
• Helianthus annuus 'Lemon Queen' (1 stem) - planted late from seed in the vegetable garden, this appears to be the only 'Lemon Queen' to show her pretty face
• Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty' (1 stem)
• Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum' (2 stems) 
• Zinnia (2 stems) - planted from seed, I have no record of the small flowered variety that has survived our water limitations

Close-up of Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' and Pennisetum 'Purple Majesty'

Close-up of the 2 small Zinnia flowers, surrounded by Gallardia 'Goblin' in flower and in bud

Once again, the bouquet landed in the front foyer to greet everyone who comes through the door.

Please check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see her floral creation and to find links to photos of bouquets created by other participating gardeners.


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

Favorite Foliage Affiliations

Pam of Digging hosts a monthly discussion of foliage to emphasize its importance to the overall appeal of our gardens and as a counterpoint to what is sometimes an excessive emphasis on a garden's floral elements.  This month I thought I'd focus on a few of my favorite foliage combinations.

Some of these combinations came with the house, most notably the selection of the now mature trees that frame our backyard view.  What's interesting about the following 2 pictures is that both feature pairs of the same tree; however, there heights are staggered.  Did the gardener who planted them place them at different times or start with trees of different size, or did they simply grown at different rates?  I don't know the answer but it adds another dimension to the view.

Agonis flexuosa (aka peppermint willow) trees overlooking the harbor

2 Arbutus 'Marina' that partially screen a neighbor's home on the northwest side of the house

I also inherited the mature Calliandra haematocephala that stands roughly in the middle of a bed that runs along our living and dining room windows but the rest of the plants there, all grown mainly for their foliage, are my own additions.

Calliandra haematocephala, grown mainly for its foliage, also screens the exterior view of the TV placed along the windows in the living room

Looking southeast, this narrow border includes Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior,' Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star,' Arthropodium cirratum, Ageratum corymbosum, Persicaria 'Red Dragon,' and the afore-mentioned Calliandra

This plant and 2 others were labeled as Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

However, this one, which appears to be the same plant, was labeled as Strobilanthes purpurea but, as best I've been able to determine, that's an erroneous classification

This section of the same bed, looking from the other direction toward the Calliandra, includes Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' (in a pot), Plectranthus zuluensis, Liriope muscari, and another Arthropodium cirratum

I included a number of foliage plants in the border created in the southeast side yard last fall as well.  The 2 plants with the most impact are Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' and Phormium 'Amazing Red.'  There are 3 of each here.

View of the southeast side border looking toward the patio

View of the same border looking in the direction of the street - the reddish burgundy of Phormium 'Amazing Red' echos the foliage color of Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' and the trunk of the Arbutus 'Marina' in the background

A few of my other foliage combinations are still works in progress.

I like how the red stems and new growth of Leucandendron salignum 'Chief' in the dry garden picks up the red tips of the Leucadendron 'Ebony' in front of it and the foliage color of Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' behind it but the overall area is a mish-mash and needs both a clean-up and some reorganization to reach its potential

I like the bright green of the Pelargonium tomentosum with the green-flecked mostly red foliage of the Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' here but one of the 3 Coprosma is seriously stunted and I can't make up my mind how I feel about the mass of grey Helichrysum petiolare behind the Coprosma

Combinations in pots are much easier to control.  I'm pleased by all of my summer-time foliage compositions.

3 varieties of coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) 

Pennisetum 'Puple Majesty' paired with lime green Alternanthera

Larger view of the same combination

Coleus 'Chocolate Splash' paired with Dichondra 'Emerald Falls'

For more foliage highlights, please visit Pam at Digging.