In a Vase on Monday: Under gray skies

As much of the northeastern and mid-Atlantic areas of the US experienced scorching heat this weekend, coastal Southern California was comfortably cool, thanks to our seasonal "June Gloom."  The gray clouds usually move out by early afternoon but that morning cloud cover keeps our afternoon temperatures down.  Today's expected to be especially gloomy, even offering the opportunity of light drizzle.  I'm not holding my breath over the prospect of real rain but even the high humidity that accompanies our June Gloom often causes the roof to shed some moisture into my rain barrels, which is always welcome.

View looking toward Angel's Gate, the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles, from my backyard late Sunday afternoon

My garden is slowly shifting from its cool season mode to its warm-hot season mode in anticipation of summer.  My cool season annuals are dying off quickly while many of my summer-flowering plants have been slow to get started but there's still plenty of color to be found.  The inspiration for my first vase this week was three gladiola stalks that surprised me with blooms in my cutting garden.  I thought I'd dug all the gladiola corms out of my raised planters last fall but apparently I missed a few.

I recently planted a package of orange gladiola corms and I have another collection yet to plant but the early arrivals of the dramatic purple Gladiolus 'Vuvuzela' were appreciated

Back view: As usual, I picked more than I actually needed to fill my vase, much of which got stuffed to the rear of the arrangement 

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga Lily), Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro/coriander, which is popping up all over my garden), Gladilous 'Vuvuzela', white and lavender Consolida ajacis (aka larkspur), Penstemon digitalis 'Onyx & Pearls', and Nigella 'African Bride'

My second arrangement was inspired by the first flush of blooms on the tree-sized Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' in my back border.

The appearance of a few short stems of Digitalis 'Dalmatian Peach' in my cutting garden sealed the peachy-orange color scheme.  I couldn't help myself from cutting one stem of Leucospermum 'Brandi' as it's nearing the end of its season and as the squirrels polished off the majority of Leucospermum 'Goldie'. 

Back view: The foliage of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' picked up the raspberry undertones evident in some of the flowers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Peach', Grevillia 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Leucospermum 'Brandi'

With the usual touch of sadness, on Saturday I tore out the sweet peas that occupied most of one raised planting bed in my cutting garden.  It always seems that they forever to grow from seed to flowering plants, only to be gone all too soon.  I met three friends for lunch (at a restaurant!) last Friday and I'd hoped to bring each one a small bouquet of sweet peas but there weren't enough presentable flowers left to do that.

I managed a small vase for the kitchen island and my office from what was left.  The very short stems came from Lathyrus odoratus 'Sir Jimmy Shand','Blue Shift', and 'High Scent'.

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

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Garden Gems

At this time of year, it's uncommon for me to step into the garden on a Sunday morning without some notion of what I'm going to cut for "In a Vase on Monday," the weekly challenge posed by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to uncover something in one's garden to use in a flower and/or foliage arrangement.  However, yesterday I had nothing in mind, other than a desire not to repeat myself.  When I scanned my back border for plants I haven't featured in a vase this year, I immediately lighted on two suitable prospects.

The first was Penstemon digitalis 'Onyx & Pearls'.  I put in three plants last July after purchasing them on a whim.  I usually avoid planting anything other than succulents during the summer months as doing otherwise is generally a self-defeating exercise.  To make matters worse, last July I was still engaged in an ongoing battle with gophers.  But the label on the Penstemon claimed that it required only occasional water, which differentiated it from most other Penstemons I've tried to grow here.  The foliage color was also unusual so I threw caution to the wind and went ahead.  I did plant all three with their roots inside gopher cages, though!

I took this photo about ten days ago when the plant was just starting to bloom but, as the "onyx" color of the foliage is mostly hidden in my arrangement I wanted you to see it.  Not only is the foliage a dark blackish-purple in color, it feels leathery to the touch.

The Penstemons were flowering heavily on tall stems on Sunday so I cut three and went in search of appropriate companions.

I've used the purple foxglove before but there were two new spikes begging to be cut in my cutting garden.  The flower front and center is the first of the seed-sown Daucus carota 'Dara' to open fully.

Back view: Salvia canariensis and the sweet peas are making return appearances

Top view: I used one of my tallest crystal vases for this arrangement and had to stand on a chair to photograph it overhead

Top view: Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Consolida ajacis 'Splish Splash', and Daucus carota 'Dara'
Middle row: Digitalis purpurea, Lathyrus odoratus 'Sir Jimmy Shand' (with 'High Scent'), and Nigella papillosa 'African Bride'
Bottom row: Penstemon digitalis 'Onyx & Pearls' and Salvia canariensis var candidissima

The second plant that caught my eye on the initial scan of my back border was a coral gladiola.  It stuck out in part because its color is completely out of keeping with the surrounding plants.  According to my records, I planted a dozen Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph' bulbs on May 2018.  The flowers were supposed to be white with pink markings but those that survived to bloom in 2019 and 2020 are coral-pink with hot-pink markings.

It was surprisingly difficult to find flowers to complement the unusual color mix in the gladiola

Back view: I used some of the remaining snapdragons with rust-encrusted foliage.  I think I'll be pulling all the remaining snapdragons this week.

Top view

Top view: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', and noID Antirrhinum majus
Middle row: Clarkia 'Salmon Princess'* and Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph' (or a relative)
Bottom row: Melinus nerviglumis and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland'
*The Clarkia was sold as C. unguiculata but it looks to be C. amoena

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

All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party