In a Vase on Monday: Goodbye Emanuelle and hello Itsy Bitsy

It's getting harder to pull together arrangements using what's blooming in the garden but I managed to do so again this week. My first arrangement was created around the last of the Amarines to flower.

I think the pale pink Amarine was upstaged once again, this time by a coleus rather than a dahlia.  Amarines are hybrids of Amaryllis belladonna and Nerines.

Back view: I used a second stem of Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' (aka coleus) to dress up the back.  The coleus stem in the front view is the one I used 3 weeks ago.  It's developed roots and I hope to overwinter the cutting in my shade house.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Prostanthera ovatifolia 'Variegata', Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna', Amarine belladiva 'Emanuelle', Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose'

The second arrangement features some flowering plants emerging from their summer dormancy.  Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' has also returned with a mass of tiny blooms.  I cut the shrub down to the ground months ago.  The foliage bounced back quickly but the flowers took their time.

Stems of Polygala myrifolia (aka sweet pea bush) provided the base of this arrangement but it's really an ensemble cast

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Antirrhinum majus, Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', self-seeded Osteospemum, Digitalis purpurea, Gomphrena decumbens 'Isty Bitsy', Polygala myrtifolia, and Vitex trifolia

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

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

Off the see the - Trolls?

The weather has felt very unlike fall this week.  The morning hours have been foggy and the afternoon hours have been hot.

Sometimes, at sunrise, the fog/marine layer sits just below our elevation, hiding the Port of Los Angeles from view before the fog rises and encompasses us prior to dissipating 

More often, it wraps us in an embrace well before sunrise

I'm waiting out the current heat spell before I do any serious planting.  Instead of putting my most recent mail order plants in the ground, I simply upgraded them to one-gallon pots pending the return of cooler temperatures.  Earlier this week, tired of taking spins around the neighborhood for exercise, I decided to drive six miles to South Coast Botanic Garden to see the garden's Trolls exhibit.  The Trolls were created using salvaged wood pallets by Thomas Dambo, described as a "recycled art activist" based in Denmark. (A biography on Dambo can be found here.) There are over a hundred of these Trolls scattered around the world.  SCBG has six spread across its 87-acre garden.  Their stated mission is the "save the humans" by helping them reconnect to nature.  The exhibit, billed as the first one on the west coast, will remain in place through January 14, 2024.

I met all six Trolls on my walk through the garden.  A map was provided but most were located fairly close to the main tram road so they weren't hard to find.  I started the tour at the butterfly pavilion, which was retooled to serve as the home of Ibbi Pip, the birdhouse troll.

Ibbi may be the tallest of the 6 at SCBG.  The bag tossed over his shoulder contains birdhouses.  These birdhouses serve as signals to keep visitors on the right path to find other Trolls.

They all introduce themselves through signs like this.  There are also signs asking visitors not to climb on the Trolls.

The inside of the butterfly pavilion, currently empty of butterflies, is full of colorful birdhouses

2 "nests" and a bench are provided to allow visitors to sit awhile.  The pavilion has also been replanted with flowers and other plants echoing the colors of the birdhouses.

My route took me to the other Trolls in the following order:

Basse Buller, also called the painting troll, uses rocks to create art

Softus Lotus, also called the listening troll, is 24 feet long and over 7 feet high.  I heard some children speculate that he was sleeping but others pointed out that he has one eye open.

Kamma Can is the trash troll, who uses the colorful plastics and other trash disposed of by humans to create jewelry.  She is reported to be the second largest troll in the exhibit at over 14 feet tall.

Here's Kamma's introduction and a closeup of her necklace.

Ronja Redeye, the speaking troll, appears to be the smallest one.  The sign on the flag, resembling a birdhouse, represents the troll's logo for their "save the humans" campaign.

Rosa Sunfinger, the botanical troll, is 11 feet tall, and likes to grow plants in places like "the smelly metal boxes humans run around in"

As might be expected, the exhibit attracted lots of parents with children.  The children didn't seem at all intimidated or frightened by the Trolls so that was good.  SCBG is offering a variety of Troll-themed classes as a supplement, as well as selling a book describing the campaign to save the humans.  The classes include making jewelry out of trash, crafting flower crowns, and building birdhouses.

I didn't spend a lot of time gawking at plants on this visit but I did take photos of some.

The photos in the top row feature what I believe is Ceiba chodatii, the yellow-flowered silk floss tree.  Pink-flowered Ceiba speciosa are shown in the 2 bottom photos.

Plants in the Senna species are in full bloom now.  There were cloudless sulphur butterflies all over this one but I didn't manage to catch a single photo. 

In concluding this post, I'll throw in two plants that stood out in my own garden this week as well.

On the left are the unusual flowers of Pelargonium schizopetalum.  On the right is a particularly colorful coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) labeled as 'Florida Sun Rose').  The latter looked sickly and unimpressive in a pot by the front door for months but now looks better than any photos in advertisements I've seen. 

Best wishes for a peaceful weekend communing with nature.  Everyone could use a touch of beauty in their lives in the midst of the world's current turmoil and misery.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Flowers are in short supply

My flower supply is greatly diminished but I resisted falling back on my Grevilleas this week.  The Camellias are still plentiful but they shatter easily, especially when the air is as dry as it's been of late.  As I wandered my garden, I focused on foliage plants and looked for the odd flowers that might serve as accents.  One arrangement turned out better than I'd expected but the second was so disappointing I was tempted to throw the whole thing in the trash.

The first arrangement started with Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', which has colorful bracts that look almost like flowers.

Although the Leucadendron stems were my starting point, I think the single orchid stem placed in front did a lot to pull the whole arrangement together.  That Phalaenopsis has been blooming in my lath (shade) house for about 2 months now.

Back view: The coleus (now classified as Plectranthus scutellarioides) also pulled colors together

Top view:  The chartreuse color of the coleus led to the selection of the flowering bloom spikes produced by Mangave 'Bloodspot'

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Mangave 'Bloodspot' bloom spikes, Phalaenopsis 'Balden's Kaleidoscope', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Pineapple', and Prunus caroliniana

While I like each of the individual components of the second arrangement, they just didn't come together well.

Clockwise from the upper left are flowers of Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy', Cyclamen 'Djix', and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', shown with foliage of Centaurea 'Silver Feather'

Front view: The Centaurea foliage I've been in the process of cutting back was the starting point but I think it's better paired with larger flowers.  Even after I'd thinned the foliage and cut it down in size, it overwhelmed these flowers.

Back view: I should have picked longer stems of the Bauhinia and scrapped the short-stemmed Pelargonium and Cyclamen flowers

Sometimes the overhead view looks better than the other views of my arrangements but this wasn't one of those times

The Anemones in my cutting garden have sprouted foliage and the Ranunculus are just beginning to follow suit.  I planted plugs of foxgloves and snapdragons a month ago too.  However, nothing is anywhere near bloom stage yet.   In the void, succulents may make an appearance in my December IAVOM posts - or perhaps my arrangements will shrink to tiny dimensions for a time.  We'll see.

For a look at what other IAVOM contributors have come up with this week, visit our host, Cathy in Rambling in the Garden.

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

Barrels of Fun

A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me what I'd like for my birthday.  He reminded me that I'd mentioned a new set of everyday dishes following our 2019 home renovation but I had zero interest in shopping for china.  I told him what I'd really like was three more half-barrels for the garden and, two days before my birthday that's what I received, along with some bags of top soil to fill them.

Two of the barrels joined the three I already had in the front garden under the magnolia tree.  I've made minor attempts to plant directly into the ground under the tree but tree roots have prevented me from getting very far.  When we moved in, there was lawn there but it struggled too and required too much water.  So we put in a bench around the tree and covered the soil with bark mulch.  Planting in barrels has provided the color I wanted.

So, lets look at what I've got in the barrels, starting with the two newest ones in the foreground of the above photo.

This is the first of the new barrels, which I planted using mostly plants considered annuals here

The photo on the left provides an overhead view of the contents shown on the right, plugs of Cosmos bipinnatus, a white-flowering Delphinium (moved from my cutting garden to make room for a dahlia), and plugs of Salvia lyrata

This is the second of the new barrels, containing a mix of plants, at least two of which I hope will last more than a season

Clockwise from the upper left, this barrel contains: a white Bacopa, a single Cosmos plug, Dahlia 'Kogane Fubuki', hybrid Digitalis 'Pink Panther', Pimelea ferruginea 'Magenta Mist', and Salvia 'Danielle's Dream'

The third barrel, one of those I received for my birthday last year, had been filled with Iceland poppies which for some reason never took off and, with summer coming, I pulled them and replanted from scratch.

I included Dahlia 'Iceberg', which gets big.  The tomato cage was added to provide support, assuming that the tuber takes off.  This one is a division taken from the plant I grew last year.

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view of the barrel, Dahlia 'Iceberg' (with lavender alyssum), Penstemon 'Rock Candy Blue', Nepeta 'Blue Prelude', Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Deep Blue', Angelonia 'Archangel White' and, in the center, Calibrachoa 'Ice Blue'.  I'm hoping the Nepeta won't be eaten to the ground by the neighbor's cat, which has been the fate of every other Nepeta I've tried to grow.

I didn't touch the next barrel.  It contains the same plants I installed last year.

The pink Scabiosa bloomed lightly last year but took off this year.  The new blue Scabiosa is part of the same 'Flutter' series so I'm hoping it'll also thrive.

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view, Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush), Pelargonium peltatum 'Burgundy' and 'Lavender', and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink'.  There's a Penstemon mexicali in there somewhere but it seems to have been swamped by its companions.

I replanted the last barrel earlier this year.

I had herbs, principally basil, in this tub last year

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view, Dichondra 'Silver Falls', noID Hedera, Hemerocallis 'Space Coast Behavior Pattern', and Nemesia 'Banana Swirl'

The third barrel my husband bought me was intended for a shady corner near the street.  I'd had a barrel there for years but it literally disintegrated over time.

This barrel was intended for a spot in the background on the right

The wood slats of the barrels pulled away easily but it took a good deal of work to wrangle out the metal bands and dig up the Salvia and Abelia that had rooted into the ground below the barrel

Cleared area

With the area cleared, I moved in the new barrel, balancing it atop several concrete bricks in the hope of providing this one a longer useful life.  As this area behind the front hedge and directly below a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa) is very shady, I selected plants that tolerate those conditions.

It gets a little sun in the late afternoon

Clockwise from the upper left: overhead view; Calathea 'Medallion'; Fuchsia 'Miss California'; and three varieties of  Plectranthus scuttellariodes (aka coleus) 'Flame Thrower Salsa Verde', 'Sea Monkey Purple', and 'Vino' 

All things considered, even given the hassle of pulling out the disintegrated barrel and its contents, this was a fun project.  Now, fingers are crossed that all new plants will do as well as that fourth one I showed you.

Best wishes with whatever new projects you have in store for the weekend.

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