In a Vase on Monday: Not much to choose from

Overall, it's been a very dry start to our so-called rainy season.  Although Tropical Storm Hilary gave the garden an unexpected boost in September, we've had less than half an inch of rain since our "water year" started on October 1st.  While the garden in general is doing fine, thanks in part to the rainwater Hilary delivered, flower production isn't impressive.  I managed one floral arrangement this week but, with Christmas decorations now covering many of the surfaces often used to display flowers, one arrangement is just fine.

The bright pink Pelargonium flowers in one of the barrels in my cutting garden provided the inspiration

Back view: Foliage for use as filler material is never in short supply

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: noID pink Alstroemeria, self-seeded Persicaria capitata, Pelargonium hortatum 'Dynamo Hot Pink', white Pentas lanceolata, Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Salsa Verde' (aka coleus), Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and pink Pentas lanceolata

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

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Fleeting beauty

I suspect I've used this post title before but it describes both of my arrangements this week.  As at least one reader anticipated, I decided to feature the Hibiscus flowers that surprised me last week for my first vase.  The velvety red blooms were just too pretty to ignore, even if the flowers close in low light and don't usually last more than two days at most. 

My house is quite bright inside but, regardless, the Hibiscus flowers were already closing by mid-afternoon.  It remains to be seen if they'll open again in the morning light, or if any of the buds clustered along the stems will open.

 

I dressed up the back view with a handful of the flower-like bracts of Leucadendron 'Blush'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', and Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket'

My second arrangement consists of only three elements, with the primary component being the fragile flowers of Camellia sasanqua.  Although we received less than a half inch of rain spread lightly over the course of four days, that was enough to leave many of those flowers shattered.  With wind predicted, I cut three stems from the largest of my shrubs.

Both varieties of Camellia sasanqua were inherited with the garden.  They differ in form but are very similar in color.

Back view: I could've used more filler plants but c'est la vie

Top view

From left to right: Camellia sasanqua, Pentas lanceolata, and Persicaria capitata

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

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The new arrivals

Two of my long-awaited dahlias finally bloomed last week.  Although the supply of dahlias available for cutting is still very small, there was no question about what I'd use in my vases this week.  The only issue was what I had available to pair with them.

Dahlia 'Sellwood Glory', front and center here, was the first to produce buds and the first to bloom in my cutting garden.  It was described as purple but it reads on the pink end of the purple spectrum rather than the blue end, which made it harder for me to find suitable companions.

Back view: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' is trying to steal the show in this vase I think.  The plant literally blooms year-round but I'm not sure I've used it much, if at all, this year so it may be making up for lost time.

Top view: Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', selected as a filler, shows up best in this overhead view 

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Sellwood Glory', Cosmos bipinnatus, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Pelargonium peltatum in burgundy and lavender, and Pentas lanceolata

'Sellwood Glory' (which always sounds to me like it should be the name of a thoroughbred race horse) beat out 'Mr Optimist' by less than a day.  Finding a companion for 'Mr Optimist' was easier as my first gladiolas arrived on its heels.

'Mr Optimist' was meant to be the star of this arrangement but Gladiolus 'Green Star' may be eclipsing it 

Back view: I'm disappointed by this view.  The small red Penstemon stems can't hold their own here.  I probably should have added another gladiola stem or maybe more Coreopsis.

Top view: I was pleased with how well the foliage of Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' balanced the gladiolas, however

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Mr Optimist', Coreopsis 'Redshift', Gladiolus 'Green Star', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', and Penstemon mexicali 'Mini-Bells Red'

Last week's vases held up well.  I tossed the contents of last week's first vase on Sunday but the second vase consisting primarily of foliage looks almost as fresh as it did last Sunday so it moved to the kitchen island.

The two new vases took pride of place in the front entry and dining room table respectively.

Six more dahlias have buds, including a second 'Mr Optimist'.  Seven other dahlias sprouted and continue to grow but have yet to produce buds.  Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that one of the purple gladiolas was blooming and that a few of my seed-grown zinnias have produced flowers.  While things in my cutting garden are looking up, I'd say it's still running a month or more behind last year's garden.  Cooler summer conditions may be a factor but most of the delay lays squarely on my shoulders.  I planted most of my dahlia tubers between late April and early May this year instead of early March.  I sowed zinnia seeds even later, and I've pinched back both the developing dahlias and zinnias on a more routine basis than I've done in the past.  Hopefully, I've just pushed my peak flower season forward rather than reducing its duration but we'll see.

To see more vases created from materials contributors have on hand in their own gardens, visit Cathy in Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - December 2018

The explosion of blooms I'd hoped for following a couple of good rainstorms haven't materialized, at least not yet.  Perhaps it's too cold and the days are too short for that; however, I still have an ample supply of flowers by comparison to many other areas within the Northern Hemisphere.  The dominant color at the moment seems to be pink.

The Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) was hit hard by our horrific July heatwave.  It was showing tentative signs of recovery last month but it's back to its old self this month.  Unfortunately, it's also on the list for a "light" trimming today when my tree service pays its annual visit.  Hopefully, they'll take care of the dead twiggy bits without costing me all its flowers.

The no ID Camellia sasanquas are in full bloom too.  There are 2 varieties in this sheltered area next to the house but both are the same pink color.  The taller variety (shown) is doing particularly well this year.

After more than 2 months of bloom, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is beginning to wane but it hasn't halted flower production altogether.  It should produce a fresh cycle of bloom in the spring too.

Pentas lanceolata 'Nova' is also showing off

While pink flowers abound, blooms in other colors can also be found.

The flowers of Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' may be tiny but they're certainly plentiful, even though I cut both plants in this bed back by half less than 2 months ago

I love Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' so much I've planted 5 more in the front garden

The Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa' here in the back garden seem to bloom on a slightly different schedule than P. fruitcosa 'Petite Butterfly' in the front garden

Not the most dramatic specimen in my garden but I'm very happy with this hybrid Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'.  It's proven to be tougher than the native California woolly blue curls in my garden.

All my Australian fuchsias are blooming but Correa 'Ivory Bells' is my favorite this month.  It looks as good in a vase as it does in the garden.

The rain did seem to jolt the African daisies awake.

This is the first Arctotis 'Pink Sugar' flower, beginning what I hope will be months of blooms

The Gazanias are providing bright spots of color throughout the back garden.  However, most of the hybrid varieties I originally planted are being replaced by simpler self-seeded varieties.

Many of the Osteospermums are also reverting.  The first 2 plants on the left are O. 'Berry White' and 'Summertime Sweet Kardinal' but the next 2 are self-seeded offspring of named varieties.  These plants get leggy and I've been cutting them all back in the hope that the next rounds of rain I pray are coming will provide an even better floral display.

Some plants have been offering color for months now.

Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset' and its noID neighbor continue to provide flower facsimiles 

The Pennisetums ('Rubrum' on the left and 'Fireworks' on the right) still have feathery plumes

Other flowers are only just beginning to make an appearance.

The snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus) are off to a slow start in my cutting garden

I think of Scabiosa caucasica 'Fama Blue' as a summer bloomer but it's produced a lot of buds as we move toward what passes for winter here, all of which have opened one at a time thus far

Blooms on this Abelia 'Chiapas', planted on my sad back slope were a surprise, largely as I'd completely forgotten it was there.  As it's done well in a tough area with almost no attention, I think I need to try propagating it for use elsewhere.

And, not to be forgotten, there are other plants that either bloom year-round here, like the large-flowered Grevilleas, or maintain a lower profile in the garden.  I'm presenting these in my usual collection of Bloom Day collages.

Top row: Lavandula multifida, noID lavender, and Ocimum hybrid 'African Blue Basil'
Bottom row: Plectranthus neochilus, Pyrethropsis hosmariense, and Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust'

Top row: Arbutus 'Marina' (also scheduled for a trim today), Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', and Grevillea 'Ned Kelly'
Bottom row: Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Hemizygia 'Candy Kisses', and Persicaria capitata

Top row: Achillea 'Moonshine' (with shorter stems than its summer blooms), Aloe 'Rooikappie', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'
Middle row: Grevillea 'Superb', Phylica pubescens, and Rosa 'Joseph's Coat'
Bottom row: Russelia equisetiformis 'Flamingo Park', Senna artemisioides, and Tagetes lemmonii

For more December blooms, visit our host, Carol of May Dreams Gardens.  In recognition of the season, I'll close with a fresh spin on a traditional holiday plant.

Poinsettia 'Ice Punch' (Euphorbia pulcherrima 'Ice Punch') in my shade house

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Another Bloom Day/In a Vase on Monday Mash-up

Two great memes, Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day and In a Vase on Monday, coincide once again this month so rather than creating two separate posts I've combined them.  But first the most exciting news: we got rain this weekend!  After a prior rain forecast touted as a virtual certainty failed to materialize, most people I know turned a deaf ear to talk of a slight chance of rain on Friday.  When rain started to fall early Friday evening, my husband chided me for thinking it'd amount to anything.  However, once it got started, it came down steadily well into Saturday morning, accompanied by the best lightning show I can remember - it went on for hours!  All told, we got a little over half an inch of rain, which is very good for us.  It was our first real rain since late March and just about everyone here is giddy about it.

However, the rain came too late to give us a Bloom Day boost.  My traditional fall bloomers have been slow to develop.  The bush violet, Barleria obtusa, has a few tiny blooms but it's far from ready for prime time exposure.  Even my beloved Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' has been light on blooms thus far.

While the clump of 'Zulu Wonder' I have in the back garden has more flowers, this one in a relatively shady area of the front garden has experienced less insect damage so it's more presentable

Senna bicapsularis (aka Winter Cassia) opened its first flowers this week.

I didn't cut the Senna back as hard as I should have after last year's bloom.  Not only is the plant very leggy this year but the  flowers are largely out of reach. 

As the Senna flowers were hard to see in the photo above, I cut 2 stems to make up an arrangement for In a Vase on Monday to show them off.

This photo shows the arrangement from both the front and the back.  In addition to Senna bicapsularis, it includes white Eustoma grandiflorum, Gaillardia 'Fanfare Citronella', Lantana 'Samantha', Leucanthemum x superbum, and Zinnia elegans.

The Japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis var. japonica) surprised me by producing a smattering of blooms this fall despite our very dry year.

Both noID cultivars came with the garden

The ornamental grasses still look great of course and a few other plants are putting on a pretty good show.

Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum' is on the left and Pennisetum 'Sky Rocket' is on the right

All 4 of my Arbutus 'Marina' are loaded with flowers this month, although mature fruit is also forming

The Erigeron glaucus 'Wayne Roderick' I planted in the front garden in early September are already blooming.  The older plants in the back garden are lagging behind a bit.

I picked up 3 Celosia argentea 'Intenz' several weeks ago to provide a blast of color in the backyard border

I was thrilled to find this Helichrysum argyrophyllum groundcover I planted in early March blooming in a sunny corner behind my lath (shade) house.  The silver foliage is accented with papery yellow flowers.

Feathery Phylica pubescens makes the most of the light in the back garden

A few plants rebounded as the temperatures cooled to produce a second season of bloom.

Lotus jacobaeus dropped all its flowers when the horrible heatwave hit in early July.  Those tiny, deep burgundy, almost black, flowers are back this month.

The Pentas are making the most of our cooler temperatures too (Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom, left, and P. lanceolata 'Nova, right)

I cut Wahlenbergia 'Blue Cloud' back following the worst of the summer heatwaves but they're back in bloom in one of the driest areas of my garden.  The plants are slowly spreading themselves around but they're very well-mannered about it.

Much of what was blooming last month is still blooming, albeit in lesser quantities.

The dahlia blooms are getting smaller but narrowing stems still can't hold up their heavy heads, especially after a good rainstorm.  Clockwise from the upper left, we have 'Terracotta', 'Punkin Spice', 'Loverboy', and 'Otto's Thrill'.  The pink and white flower in the last photo is a mutant form of 'Otto's Thrill'.

The dahlias didn't look great following our rainstorm but I still managed to cut enough blooms for 2 more arrangements on Sunday morning.

This arrangement was designed around Dahlia 'Terracotta'.  In addition to the dahlia, the vase contains Coprosma 'Plum Hussey' (foliage), Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' (aka Australian fuchsia), and Grevillea 'Superb'.

Despite all the flowers I cut last week, Dahlia 'Punkin Spice' had more to offer this week.  In addition to the dahlia, the vase contains Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' (foliage), Auranticarpa rhombifolium (berries), Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (foliage), Pennisetum 'Rubrum' (feathery plumes), and red-orange Zinnia elegans.

The large-flowered Grevilleas bloom year-round here.  Grevillea 'Superb' (left) is the most floriferous.  On the right, top to bottom are close-ups of 'Superb', 'Peaches & Cream', and 'Ned Kelly'.

The Lantanas are also long-blooming, although they need to be cut back regularly to prevent them from getting twiggy.  Clockwise from the upper left are 'Samantha', 'Lucky White', a noID pink-orange variety', 'Irene', and another noID pink variety.

This is the third Bloom Day in a row featuring Zephyranthes candida!

The Zinnias are starting to mildew and the raccoons got an early start in pulling them out last week.  I expect to yank the rest of them and dig up the dahlia tubers by the end of the month to make way for winter-blooming plants in my cutting garden.

I'll end my Bloom Day report as I usually do with collages showing the best of the remaining bits and pieces flowering in various areas of the garden.

Top row: Duranta 'Sapphire Skies', Lavandula multifida, and Leucophyllum laevigatum
Middle row: Melaleuca thymifolia, Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', and Rosmarinus 'Gold Dust'
Bottom row: Symphyotrichum chilense, Tibouchina urvilleana, and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic'

Top: Artemisia ludoviciana
Bottom row: Osteospermum '4D Silver', Leucanthemum x superbum, and Eustoma grandiflorum (aka lisianthus)

Top row: Achillea 'Moonshine' (back for round 2), Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid', and Brugmansia 'Charles Grimaldi' (at last)
Middle row: Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Euryops 'Sonnenschien', and Hunnemannia fumariifolia
Bottom row: Leonotis leonurus, Oncostele 'Wildcat', and Wilsonara 'Wildcat Harmony'

Top row: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder' and Cuphea 'Starfire Pink'
Middle row: Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy', G. 'Pinball Snowtip Lavender', and Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl'
Bottom row: flower-like Leucadendron "Safari Sunset' and burgundy-flowered Pelargonium peltatum

For more Bloom Day posts, visit Carol at May Dream Gardens, and for more arrangements made from materials at hand in the garden, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

This week's vases in their final places

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party