In a Vase on Monday: Lurid or lovely?

Dutch Iris 'Eye of the Tiger' burst into bloom last week.  Last year, when the blooms first appeared, I considered pulling up the bulbs but the color of the flowers grew on me so I left them in place.  I used the flowers in one arrangement last year but I didn't want to duplicate the mix this time around.  However, the colors I combined this time were much the same even if the accent materials I used were different (with one exception).

The falls of Iris 'Eye of the Tiger' open in a bronze color, gradually transitioning to maroon, while the standards are a dark purple

Back view: Like last year I played off the gold "eyes" in the Iris falls using yellow flowers, this time choosing the Dr Seuss-like flowers of Phlomis fruticosa

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jerusalem sage), Xylosma congestum, Iris hollandica 'Eye of the Tiger', and Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender)

 

The inspiration for my second arrangement was the 'Cynthia' species tulips.  As in prior years, 'Cynthia' lagged her cousin 'Lady Jane' by several weeks.  The Ixia bulb blooms and Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance' showed up just in time to join in.

The partially open buds of Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance' mirror the appearance of the 'Cynthia' species tulips.  The flowers of 'Inca Sundance' should open fully within a day or so.  The tulips should open fully with mid-day sun exposure in our front entry.

Back view: I've got a noID pink Alstroemeria that leans to the yellow end of the color spectrum and another that leans blue.  I used the former to fill in the back of the arrangement.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Ixia (aka African corn lilies and wand flowers), Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', noID pink Alstroemeria, A. 'Inca Sundance', Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia', and Xylosma congestum

 

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: Flowers aplenty

As I ran around my garden taking photos for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day this coming Tuesday, it's overwhelming how much is in bloom.  In dry years like this one, I wonder if every flowering plant is rushing for the finish line before the heat settles in for an extended stay and soil conditions get even drier.  I know it's not spring yet in most of the Northern Hemisphere but it's well underway here.  Meanwhile, the latest projections don't hold out much hope for rain in Southern California in March or April so I'll take advantage of the flowers I've got while I can.

The Dutch Iris are still building on their flower power but the Scilla peruviana, which only just started its bloom cycle at the end of February, are already fading after a couple of stretches of warm weather.

More blue and yellow to express solidarity with Ukraine.  There are 2 varieties of Dutch Iris in this arrangement but they're very similar in color.

Back view

Top view

Top row: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Freesia, and self-seeded Lavandula stoechas
Middle row: Iris hollandica 'Mystic Beauty' and 'Sapphire Beauty'
Bottom row: Phlomis fruticosa and Scilla peruviana

Every time our daytime temperatures soar the Anemones fade, only to slowly recover when temperatures come down again, but I've got to wonder how many flip-flops they can handle.

A couple of months ago, I planted plugs of ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea) with the idea of using it to complement Anemone coronaria 'Admiral' but it never bulked up much and now it's preparing to bolt so I thought I'd use it before it fades away

Back view: The vase is the thrift store find I picked up years ago featuring a lady's well-manicured hands clasped to hold flowers but those hands are mostly hidden in this arrangement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Anemone coronaria 'Admiral' and 'Mount Everest', Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Brassica oleracea var acephala, Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven), and Scabiosa columnaria 'Flutter Rose Pink'

I had a few leftovers I couldn't cram into the first vase so I popped them into a small vase rather than tossing out the stems.

The cactus-shaped vase of leftovers is sitting in the kitchen window (where it's impossible to photograph)

The other two arrangements found spaces in the usual places.

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

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The usual suspects

Pickings in my garden are still sparse as Mother Nature insists on following her own schedule, regardless of my efforts to hurry her along.  Every January I find myself clipping the same flowers - and flower substitutes - to fill a vase and this year is no different, although I did throw in one element this week in an effort to elevate my first arrangement.

A rosette of succulent Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' was added as an afterthought and positioned front and center

Grevillea and Leucadendron stems dominate the back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', Leucadendron 'Summer Red', Graptoveria 'Fred Ives', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'

As I stripped the house of most of its Christmas finery over the weekend, I wanted a second arrangement to add color to the front entry.  We got a healthy amount of rain here last week and, although we're drying out now, it's remained cold (by our standards).  I chose a yellow and white color palette in an effort to create the illusion of warmth.

Short stems required a squat vase

Back view: Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' is one of the few "flowers" (actually colorful bracts) in ample supply this month

Top view: Narcissi are making their first appearance of the season

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly' and 'Yellow Butterfly' (aka Marguerite daisies),  Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', 2 noID Narcissi, Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jerusalem sage)

Last week's rain was welcome, although it looks as though at least a few of my smaller succulents drowned (!) despite my sandy soil.  There's no real chance of any more rain in the next 10-day forecast, giving us a chance to dry out.  Meanwhile, the local mountains are flaunting lots of snow.

This is a view of the San Gabriel Mountains east of us from our back garden.  The tallest peak in the range, Mount Baldy, rises over 10,000 feet (3069 meters) above sea level.

The mountains are approximately 70 miles away, a 90-minute drive on a good day (probably existing only in the imagination of someone promoting ski resorts)

The Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California, which are more important to the state's water supply, got even more snow.  Unfortunately, my sister-in-law and her husband have been snowed in without power for the past week in Nevada County in the northeast part of the state.  They've been told their power might be back tonight.  Despite our unusually cold and wet December, California is still considered to be in a persistent state of drought.  Current projections suggest we're heading into another extended warm, dry period during what's supposed to be our rainy season.

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

All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Splashes of color

There are still flowers here and there in my garden but their numbers have dwindled and the dahlias haven't yet filled the breach, although the first buds are in the process of opening.  I can't entirely explain why the dahlias have been so slow to develop this year but I'm glad to see that at least my "crop" isn't going to be a complete bust.  If I'm lucky, maybe some will bloom well into October.  In the meantime, I took advantage of some of the most recent arrivals in my back garden borders to fill two vases this week.

New flower stalks of Amaryllis belladonna continue to appear.  They look gawky where their leaf-less stalks aren't hidden by other plants so I've little reluctance to cut them, especially as the blooms have a relatively long vase life.

I kept the to a relatively simple color mix of pink, burgundy and white

Back view: Daucus carota 'Dara' is gradually finishing up it's long bloom season

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Centranthus ruber, Coleonema album, Amaryllis belladonna, pink and white Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Plectanthus scutellarioides 'Vino' (aka coleus), and Daucus carota 'Dara'

After a few years of well-mannered behavior, my native California aster, Symphyotrichum chilense, spread throughout one entire bed following the comparatively heavy rainfall we had during our 2018-2019 "water year."  This year, despite very low rainfall, flower stems have popped up all over again; however, many are rapidly turning a crispy brown without flowering but, even with the die-off, there are enough stems with blooms to cut.  I'm considering digging out as much of the aster as I can this fall when it finishes its bloom period to replace it with something more manageable but I intend to enjoy the flowers I have this year.

The yellow Phlomis fruitcosa (aka Jeruselem sage) was a surprise find.  This shrub normally blooms in spring.  While I discovered a few stray blooms on it once before, this is the latest in the year I've had blooms yet.

Back view: I added the last presentable Agapanthus bloom I had to the mix, as well as the last of the ruffled Shasta daisies

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', noID Agapanthus. Eustoma grandiflorum, Leucanthemum x superbum (aka Shasta daisy), Phlomis fruticosa, and Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze'

Maybe next week I'll have a dahlia bloom or two to share.  For other IAVOM creations, visit Cathy in Rambling in the Garden.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Sun, Blue Sky & Fluffy White Clouds

We got a teeny tiny amount of rain Saturday night and awoke on Sunday (late due to the start of Daylight Savings Time) to clear blue skies, scrubbed clean of their usual dingy brown layer of smog, a few lingering fluffy white clouds, and bright sunlight.

View looking southeast at the Port of Los Angeles from our back door after we received 0.06/inch of rain overnight.  If you look closely at the left side of the shot you can see the Royal Princess cruise ship sitting in port, probably being scrubbed from stem to stern.  It pulled out past Angel's Gate headed to Mexico just after 5:30pm yesterday.  I belatedly learned that the cruise was cancelled due to a link to the Grand Princess.  The Royal Princess sailed out of port but I'm not sure where it went.

View from our back patio looking northeast.  The Port is disturbingly quiet at the moment as the volume of transport ships has dropped dramatically over the past few weeks.

The sunny scene inspired the contents for my first vase.

Although the blue tips of the Dutch Iris are just beginning to emerge, none were ready to be cut yet so I sought out other flowers in shades of true blue, including the first flowering stem of Portuguese squill (Scilla peruviana) for the front of the vase

and Pericallis, Salvia, lavender and Aristea inaequalis, a South African Iris relative, for the back

Top view: Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) and Freesias provided the yellow notes and marguerite daisies (Argyranthemum frutescens) provided fresh white

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens, Aristea inaequalis, Freesia, Lavandula multifida, Pericallis, Phlomis fruticosa, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' and, in the middle, Scilla peruviana

My second vase is very different in terms of color and contains a mix I'm fairly certain I've used before; however, it shares a connection to the first arrangement in that both vases provide examples of nyctinasty.  Nyctinasty describes the natural phenomenon which causes leaves and/or flowers of certain plants to close in response to diminished light levels.  Interesting as that is, it's a bit irritating when it comes to creating flower arrangements.  I usually avoid using flowers with this characteristic but I'd utterly forgotten that the South African Iris relative, Aristea inaequalis, did that when I cut two stems for my first vase.  I remembered it when I found myself struggling to find open flowers to photograph.  In the case of the second vase, it wasn't the flowers that presented an issue but rather the foliage.  

The new red-tinged foliage of the pink powder puff bush (Calliandra haematocephala) folds when the light level is reduced, although the flowers and mature foliage are unaffected

The powder puff flowers don't last long in a vase.  I included a few flowers still tightly in bud to help dress up the back of the vase.

Top view

From left to right: Calliandra haematocephala, Freesia, and Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola'

Finally, as I've grown accustomed to eating breakfast with flowers on the kitchen island, I cut a few florets from the florescent yellow bloom stalks of the succulent Aeonium arboreum to fill a small cactus-shaped vase.  Much as I love flowers, I'm not particularly fond of these flower stalks, which give the succulents a misshapen appearance.  In February, I had a dozen or more of them and, as new ones continue to appear, I've started cutting the older, scruffier stalks down so I decided to use a few of the florets before they all end up in our green waste bin.

Aeonium arboreum bloom stalk in garden and individual florets in the cactus vase

For more In a Vase on Monday creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

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