In a Vase on Monday: Valentine's Day Blooms

There's a healthy supply of red and pink flowers in my garden at the moment and, in celebration of Valentine's Day tomorrow, I took advantage of them to create today's arrangements for "In a Vase on Monday."  (Yes, there are two.)  I was particularly happy with the first arrangement.

It's hard to believe that I avoided red in my former tiny garden, feeling that it overwhelmed the space.  There are plenty of flowers and foliage in that color in my current garden.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola', Calliandra haematocephala (bloom), Calliandra (flower buds), Coprosma repens 'Fireburst', and red and white Ranunculus asiaticus.  The blooms of the Calliandra (aka Pink Powder Puff) don't last long either in a vase on on the plant but the tight flower buds are also attractive.

I used another new vase.  You may note that it looks similar to the one I used a couple of weeks ago.  The garden center at which I purchased the earlier vase had 3 versions with the same shape but complementary designs.  Well, as I had lunch planned with a friend and as he lives in Orange County, I offered to meet him down that way and, having a little free time prior to our appointment, I paid another visit to the garden center, leaving with the other 2 vases.  Serendipity!

This version of the urn-shaped vase has more ivory color in its surface design

My second vase is simpler.

The narrow throat of this vase limits how much I can stuff into it, which in my case is a good thing

Top view

Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star', Argyranthemum frutescens, Coriandrum sativum, noID Dianthus, and the first Lathyrus odoratus (sweet peas), blooming in pink for the holiday

The house no longer feels right without a vase on the dining table and another in the front entry and that's where this week's vases landed.

After snapping my photo of the arrangement on the left, I noticed that the Anthurium on the credenza behind the arrangement is sporting heart-shaped leaves - how appropriate!

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for more vases.  Happy Valentine's Day to all my favorite amateur florists and IaVoM participants!


All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: The Eustoma Makes a Comeback

When the nighttime temperatures began to cool, I was delighted to notice signs that my Eustoma grandiflorum was preparing to make a comeback.  The white form, planted from a 6-pack, never really got off the ground before the heat struck, causing blooms to shrivel before they were ready to open.  The blue forms, E. 'Borealis Blue' and E. 'Echo Blue,' got an earlier start so I was able to savor their blooms for several weeks before they too hunkered down to wait out the hot weather.  I tucked an unopened bud of E. 'Echo White' in last week's vase.  This week's vase, prepared in connection with the meme "In a Vase on Monday," hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, contains both white and blue forms of the beautiful double-flowered varieties.

I think this one is 'Borealis Blue' but its flowers and those of 'Echo Blue' look more alike now than they did earlier in the season

With one exception, everything I've included in this week's arrangement has appeared in one or another of my earlier arrangements.  The exception is Barleria obtusa, also known as Bush Violet.  I vaguely remember growing this plant in my former garden but I haven't seen it in years.  I came across it at the local botanic garden's fall plant sale the weekend before this past one and scooped up 2 pots.  The plant sale had been dramatically scaled back in comparison to prior years' events but finding this plant made the visit worthwhile.

Barleria obtusa is a drought tolerant evergreen shrub from the Acanthus family that blooms in fall through winter

In addition to the Eustoma grandiflorum and Barleria obtusa, here's what I included in my vase:

• Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink,' scheduled to be pruned back hard later this fall
• Lobularia maritima (aka Sweet Alyssum), a self-seeder enjoying its own comeback
• Pentas lanceolata 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom,' which recently began another flush of bloom
• Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior,' which is just about to end its annual bloom cycle
• Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star,' also on the pruning "to do" list
• Tanacetum parthenium, represented by the last fresh stem left in my garden

The Cuphea 'Starfire Pink' in the front yard gets a temporary reprieve on pruning until my other plants recover from their shearing - I can't leave the hummingbirds without their favorite food source

Plectranthus 'Zulu Warrior' is shown here with Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom'

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-Star' flowers sporadically but its real beauty is in its foliage

This vase is sitting on the dining room table where I can enjoy it while eating my breakfast.

Although I do need to find a more autumnal table runner

Please visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see her vase this week, which marks the 52nd week she has hosted this meme featuring flowers collected from her garden in the United Kingdom.  In addition to her vase, you'll find links to the creations of other participants in this popular weekly event.


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

In a Vase on Monday: The Old and the New

The seasonal change is in the air.  After a miserable heatwave, temperatures here in Southern California have returned to more normal levels.  It's possible to work outside without melting and to sleep at night without feeling as though you're roasting on a slow spit.  Days are becoming noticeably shorter.  Fall arrives in Los Angeles at 7:29pm PDT this evening.  The garden is responding.  Even the most robust of my summer flowers are tiring out while the first of my fall flowers are making an appearance.  It seemed appropriate to note the change with this week's floral arrangement, created in connection with the weekly meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

Summer is represented by Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue,' which has bloomed off and on since early June.  Fall is represented by Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior,' which has just begun to bloom.

The Eustoma blooms are smaller now but just as pretty as they were at the start of the season

The delicate lavender-pink blooms of the Plectranthus are coming on in a rush now that the heat has abated

I added bits and pieces of other plants to add fullness to the arrangement, including:

• Angelonia augustfolia (aka summer snapdragon)
• Leucadendron 'Pisa'
• Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'
• Salvia leucantha (aka Mexican bush sage), also just beginning to flower
• Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum,' which bloomed all summer

An Angelonia stem is seen here poking out to the right of the Eustoma

The silvery Leucadendron is beautiful even without flowers

A Salvia stem can be seen above the variegated foliage of the Pseuderanthemum

Pipig resented the time I spent fussing over flowers, feeling that my time should be devoted to her.  She watched me reproachfully during the photographic process until the vase was in place and she had my full attention.

She doesn't value plants unless she can chew them

Do you feel the change in the air?  Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have put together to usher in the autumnal equinox.


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

In a Vase on Monday: Summer Reruns

Today is Labor Day, officially a date to observe the advances made by workers or, more specifically, the achievements of labor unions on behalf of workers.  For most people here in the US, the date is more closely associated with the end of summer than with the labor union movement, which I personally find sad.  But that's not a topic for this blog or this post, which celebrates bouquets assembled from what's available in the garden.  In my garden, some of the flowers that bloomed earlier this summer have produced a fresh flush of blooms, including the beautiful Eustoma grandiflorum 'Borealis Blue,' which I've used as the centerpiece of this week's vase.

I've combined the Eustoma (aka Lisianthus) with other summer reruns, some of which are also enjoying a new flush of blooms:

• 4 stems of Angelonia augustifolia
• 3 stems of Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold'
• 2 stems of Hebe 'Wiri Blush'
• 2 stems of Pelargonium peltatum (ivy geranium)
• 5 stems of Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum'
• 3 stems of Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

White Angelonia, from a mix purchased as part of a 6-pack in June

Variegated foliage of Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' in close-up, accompanied by Coleonema and Pennisetum plumes

Vase photographed from the back

Hebe 'Wiri Blush' is still flowering, although the blooms are fewer and smaller than those produced earlier this summer

I brought this trailing ivy geranium from our former house but have no ID on the variety

The vase I selected this week didn't keep the blooms in place, even after an inordinate amount of fussing, so I used a rubber band to tie the heavier stems together.  I placed the Pelargonium and Angelonia stems in separately so I can remove them easily when they tucker out.  I've previously discovered that the Pelargonium petals fall apart after a few days in a vase.

As usual, I ended up with a vase of leftover elements.  The stems of these materials were either too stiff or too short to work in the larger vase.

The leftovers include Cuphea 'Starfire Pink,' a bee and hummingbird magnet, Pentas 'Nova,' Salvia 'Mystic Spires,' and Plectranthus zuluensis

The vases are in position.

The larger vase sits on the dining room table

and the smaller vase ended up in the guest bathroom

I hope you have a great day, however you're spending this Monday.  Please visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see her vase and to find links to the creations of other gardeners.

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

My favorite plant this week: Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star'

My favorite plant this week is a relatively demure variegated plant I've featured in a number of Foliage Follow-up posts, including the most recent one.  It's saddled with a convoluted name that can be both difficult to spell and remember: Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star.'  There's minimal information available about it on-line so most of what I know about this plant comes from personal experience, although I did find a brief mention of the genus in an old edition of "The Wise Garden Encyclopedia," which describes it simply as a "genus of shrubby tropical plants belonging to the Acanthaceae (Acanthus) Family."

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' situated below Calliandra haematocephala

New growth is green with irregular cream-colored variegation.  As the leaves age, they turn a reddish burgundy with pink variegation.  The narrow leaves grow to between 2 and 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length.  Left to their own devices, mine have grown into narrow plants about 2 feet (61 cm) tall, taking on a vase-like shape and becoming bare at the base.  My most recent acquisition, found in a 1-gallon pot and mislabeled as Strobilanthes 'Purpurea,' is shorter and wider, about 1 foot (31 cm) tall and wide, which suggests that pinching and pruning would be useful in creating a denser plant.  Still, my older, unpruned plants have knitted in well with the surrounding foliage.

P. 'Texas Tri-star' poking up through the leaves of Arthropodium cirratum

This P. Texas Tri-star' is mingling with Plectranthus ciliatus

The plants I've shown here all grow in a bed that receives morning sun and afternoon shade.  The plants receive regular water on a drip irrigation system.  I've tried P. 'Texas Tri-star' in beds getting morning shade and afternoon sun but they were stressed and didn't hold up well in the summer heat even when they received extra water.  Those that survived were moved to the more hospitable bed outside our living room.

The plants remain evergreen in my USDA zone 10b garden.  They didn't show any sign of die-back during our cooler months but then our winter temperatures haven't dipped below 35F (1.67C) during the 3 years we've lived here.  The plants recently surprised me by producing a few lavender-pink flowers, which may be a response to the bout of humid air we've recently experienced.

The plant isn't particularly easy to find.  They pop up in 4-inch pots here occasionally.  In researching the plant on-line, I discovered that it has some interesting relatives, including a dark-leaved variety called 'Black Varnish,' which I'm now on a search to find locally.

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' is my contribution to Loree's favorite plant meme at danger garden.  Visit her blog to see her current favorite and to find links to other gardeners' selections.

In a Vase on Monday: Before and After

After one week of cooler weather, temperatures are climbing once again in southern California and the Santa Ana winds are blowing.  The winds, called "devil winds" during California's Spanish colonial period, are the source of as many problems as the heat, increasing the danger of wildfires and drying up soil, plants, and the gardener's skin.  The Santa Anas have a place in popular mythology too.  They featured prominently in Raymond Chandler's 1938 story, "Red Wind," in which Chandler described the hot, dry winds as those "that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch."

This is a long-winded (no pun intended) way to explain how I chose the centerpiece for the bouquet I put together in connection with Cathy's weekly meme at Rambling in the Garden.  I don't have many hybrid tea or floribunda roses so I use them sparingly as cut flowers, if at all.  But, when the Santa Anas blow, these flowers can shrivel or blow to pieces overnight so, facing that prospect, I cut 2 stems of my lavender rose, consisting of 2 full-blown blooms and 4 buds, for today's vase.

This was my first pass at constructing my bouquet.

Vase, sitting in my kitchen window with a cookie jar pig I use as a tea caddy

I'm uncertain as to the name of the rose, which came with the house.  The best guess is 'Angel Face,' although the blooms are much bigger than those of the 'Angel Face' I grew in my former garden.  However, like that rose, the flowers are extremely fragrant.

I accented the roses with Pentas, ornamental oregano, Gaura, and stems from one of my favorite variegated foliage plants.

Pentas lanceolata 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossum'

Origanum 'Monterey Bay'

Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain'

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-Star'

The arrangement was fine but I thought it needed something else with volume to fill the space between the roses and the wispy Gaura.  I went hunting in my garden for the white form of Centranthus ruber which, along with the pink varieties, is a virtual weed here.  Unfortunately, the big white blooms had been wiped out by the last heatwave.  I found only smaller sprays of white Centranthus.  Even the pink varieties, on their second bloom cycle, were relatively small.  I added some of both to the bouquet anyway.  Here's the "after" photo:

Vase after the addition of Centranthus ruber

The addition of the Centranthus did help fill out the arrangement from the back.

Although all my photos were once again taken in the kitchen, the bouquet sits in my home office, where I can enjoy the fragrance.  (Taking a good picture in my home office appears to be impossible.)

This is my contribution to Cathy's meme.  Please visit her at Rambling in the Garden to see what she's cooked up this week and to find links to the creations of other participating gardeners.

Foliage Follow-up - January 2014

Even in January, foliage is already taking a backseat to floral color in my garden.  Flowers that normally arrive in spring are already making an appearance and, with temperatures above 80F (27C) all this week, it feels as though we're skipping rapidly toward summer.  But there are a few foliage standouts to share.

2 more Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope' were added to my garden in December - the bright variegated foliage can light up an area all on its own

This Agave 'Blue Glow' was acquired in a 6 inch pot in October and I could swear it has already doubled in size - I expected it to grow faster than the 2 I have in pots but the degree of difference surprised me

This Arthropodium cirratum (Renga Lily) has become huge - I think it could swallow up a small child.  I'll divide it in the fall.

Carex testacea (orange New Zeland sedge) is one of the plants adding a glow to my side yard

I'm enamored with this Crassula lycopodiodes, which I bought on a whim to line the edge of the patio in the side yard.  It's a good thing I like it as even the smallest pieces root nearly instantaneously. 

Pelargonium 'Indian Dunes' demurely peeking through the foliage of Lomandra longifolia 'Breeze'

Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-Star' performs best with morning sun and afternoon shade, which it gets in the border running along our living/dining room windows

New growth on the Xylosma congestum hedge running behind our backyard border

These are my contributions to Foliage Follow-up, hosted monthly by Pam at Digging.  Please visit her here to find more January foliage highlights.