In a Vase on Monday: I couldn't resist...

I knew I wanted to use certain Narcissi in one of today's vases but I couldn't decide on a focal point to show them off.  My eyes kept coming back to one of my orange-flowered Leucospermums, which had only one bloom.  I wouldn't usually cut the first bloom of the season on any plant but I couldn't convince myself to accept any alternatives - and it isn't as though Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi' doesn't have buds gearing up to flower...

This Leucospermum has the most flamboyant blooms of the plants in that genus in my garden, if not the greatest profusion of flowers

Back view: Narcissi 'Geranium' and 'Beautiful Eyes' are currently at their peak bloom

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin', noID orange and yellow Calendula, white Freesia, Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', Narcissus 'Beautiful Eyes', N. 'Geranium', noID Ranunculus, and Xylosma congestum

With plenty of blooms on my 'Pink Panther' Dutch Iris, it was the natural choice as the centerpiece for my second arrangement.  I wasn't sure what I was going to pair with it but I uncovered more than I expected.

The Iris is more lavender than pink

Back view: Despite the yellow flame on the fall of the Iris, I used flowers with pink, purple, and white notes to complement it

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Bacopa 'Double Indigo'; Lavandula stoechas; Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue'; mix of lavender, white and purple Freesia; Iris hollandica 'Pink Panther'; Limonium perezii, and Salvia hybrid 'Pozo Blue'

 

As I couldn't allow myself to toss out the stems of Leucospermum 'Goldie' I cut two weeks ago, I popped them into a small vase and tossed in one of the blooms of the 'Mystic Beauty' Dutch Iris that began to open last week.

It sits on the kitchen island

 

Last week's rain may be our last for the season.  Our rainy season usually ends in April and, with a total of 21.10 inches since the season's start on October 1, 2022, I can't complain as that's well above our old "normal," not to speak of recent norms.  Still, I'd gotten used to having Mother Nature take care of the watering for us and I'll miss that.  Forecasters are now predicting a slow rise in temperatures, possibly edging to 80F/26.7C within the next week.

 

For more IAVOM posts, visit our host, Cathy of Rambling in the Garden.

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

Early spring bulb blooms

My monthly Bloom Day posts tend to be very long and, as the March 15th early spring bloomfest will probably be especially lengthy, I decided to "split the baby" and present my bulb blooms in a separate post.  While I expect a lot more Iris, Narcissus, and possibly species Tulip blooms to appear within the next month, there are already some flashy bulb blooms to share now.

Overall, I've been disappointed with the Anemone coronaria blooms in my cutting garden this year; however, 'Admiral' has been the exception.  The plants suffered when temperatures soared into the low 80sF but these recovered reasonably well.

The blue Anemone coronaria have been much less vigorous and the white 'Mount Everest' (not shown) have barely made an appearance.  The bicolor bloom on the right appears to have sprung from a corm planted in 2020.

I've planted Freesia bulbs in various colors throughout the garden in prior years.  I'm still trying to sort out colors blooming in spots they weren't intended for due to mislabeled bulb packages.

Hippeastrum 'Ambiance' was slow to sprout but it's putting on a good show now 

In contrast, Hippeastrum 'Luna', potted up at approximately the same time, began flowering in early January.  It's last 2 bloom stalks are just opening now.

I don't have a record as to when I planted Ipheion uniflorum 'Starry Nights' in my back borders but my guess is that it was 8-9 years ago.  There are more flowers every year even though some of the small bulbs were probably displaced as I widened the borders and replanted over the years.

I've added more Dutch Iris every year since 2018.  The oldest clumps of 'Sapphire Beauty' next to the backyard fountain are always the first to bloom.

I have a few masses of this same Narcissus in the the back garden, purchased as bulbs in bags years ago from the local garden center.  If they were identified, I never made note of it.

I planted Ranunculus tubers again this this past October but so far they've been a disappointment with only a handful of the tubers just now developing buds.  However, I bought a couple of plants in bud to fill in the empty spots in the pot on the left several weeks ago.

Scilla peruviana, which despite its peruviana epithet, hails from the Mediterranean region of Spain and Portugal rather than Peru, is a dependable spring bloomer in my garden.  I plan to dig up and divide the bulbs after they finish blooming this year.

Like the Freesias, Sparaxis tricolor bulbs are blooming in spots throughout my garden, all planted as a mix of colors.  The lion's share of these are orange but now and then I find one in another color.  

I'll share my the other blooms next Tuesday.  In the meantime, I hope you find some color to brighten your corner of the world this weekend.

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

In a Vase on Monday: Spinning through Spring

Spring has suddenly become very busy.  That's partly due to preparations for (gulp!) an upcoming home remodel; partly to a significant increase in the docent tours I'm conducting at my local botanic garden; and partly due to the demands of my own garden.  I keep hearing there's an uptick in our temperatures on the horizon so I've been trying to prepare my garden for summer; however, thus far, temperatures have remained below average.  Spring often turns into Summer without much warning here but maybe I need to slow down a bit and just enjoy the current season while I can.

Leucospermum 'Brandi' seems to be in a hurry as well.  The shrub's full of mature flowers now so I decided to cut three for use in a vase this week.  The flowers look like pinwheels so they fit the spinning theme.

The arrangement bears some similarities to one I created in late March but it includes an interesting new element in the form of Nigella orientalis 'Transformer'.  (I misidentified the plant as Bupleurum in last week's Bloom Day post but helpful readers of my blog and Instagram posts pointed me in the right direction.)

I planted both 'Transformer' and Bulpleurum from seed in the same raised planter.  The latter has yet to make an appearance but 'Transformer' has a nice display going.

The Ranunculus are just about finished, taken out prematurely after being buffeted by a few rounds of Santa Ana winds

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucospermum 'Brandi', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Lotus berthelotii 'Gold Flash', Ranunculus, and Nigella orientalis 'Transformer'

Last week I admired the Dutch Iris Christina of My Hesperides Garden featured in her IAVOM post, commenting that I'd like to have some in similar colors, only to be surprised by the appearance of two similar blooms in my front garden late last week.  I planted the bulbs in October 2017 and all I remembered about them was that they were pale blue in color but they're actually a mix of blue and white with a touch of yellow at the throat.

According to my records, the Iris is 'Silver Beauty'

I played off the yellow at the throats of the Iris with the addition of Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jeruselem sage)

I added more light blue to the mix with the stems of the same Salvia I used last week

Clockwise from the upper left: Centranthus ruber 'Albus', noID self-planted Cotoneaster, seed-grown Orlaya grandiflora, Salvia heldriechiana, Phlomis fruticosa, Limonium perezii, Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' and, in the center, Iris hollandica 'Silver Beauty'

For more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Best wishes for a happy Earth Day!

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Nothing to spit at

My Osteospermums  are doing especially well this year so I decided to make one variety the focus of this week's vase.  After cutting a couple of stems, I realized that they were covered in a sticky foam, the tell-tale evidence of the presence of a spittlebug.  I hosed them off and used them anyway.  I'm not sure how common spittlebugs are but you can see them in action here.

As usual, I stuffed my vase

I've got oodles of frothy white Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven) in the garden at the moment.  It's a great filler but I won't use much of it in a vase as I dislike the smell of the flowers.  The foliage has a lovely scent but, when it's blooming en masse on a warm day, the smell of the flowers can be unpleasant.

The Ranunculus in my cutting garden are fading fast now due to warm temperatures and dry winds

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratum corymbosum, Coleonema album, Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Lavandula stoechas, Freesia, Ranunculus, Polygala fruticosa 'Petite Butterfly' and, in the middle, Osteospermum '4D Violet Ice'

I put together a second vase this week specifically as a personal challenge, using Salvia africana lutea as my inspiration.  I've never had any idea what to combine with its flowers, which have an unusual shape and color.  It's been in my garden for 3 years now and, while it's far from reaching its mature size, this year it's produced numerous flowers.

The flower color is variously described as clay, brick, or rusty orange

 

I surprised myself (again) by finding more than enough flowers and foliage to accent the Salvia.

This vase was a Christmas gift from my brother and his thoughtful girlfriend.  It bears some resemblance to my cat, Pipig, who was described by the rescue organization I adopted her from as a "Torbie" or tortoisehell-tabby.

I used the orange/salmon Ranunculus to complement the color of the Salvia and to repeat the orange color in the vase

I'm a little shocked that I cut one of the first blooms on my Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid' but it did play off the color of the Salvia surprisingly well

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Leucospermum 'Spider Hybrid', Lotus berthelotii 'Gold Flash', Narcissus 'British Gamble', N. 'Geranium', Ranunculus and, in the middle, Salvia africana lutea

It's probably entirely a coincidence but Pipig showed up as soon as I put the vase down on a side table in the living room.

Admittedly, Pipig (her name is Swedish for "Squeaky"), periodically checks out my vases but it's not a regular practice and it's been many months since she's shown any interest in them

She settled on the arm of the sofa, keeping her eye on the vase

I'm still feeling a bit guilty about cutting the Leucospermum bloom for this vase but the flowers have a long vase-life so I expect I'll be able to enjoy it for awhile.

This Leucospermum 'Brandi' flower is still in great shape 2 weeks after I originally cut it for another of my IAVOM posts.  It's sitting in my office now with some new accents in the form of Ranunculus and Agonis flexuosa foliage but the sun's glare made it impossible to get a good photo of it in situ.

For more Monday vases, visit our IAVOM guru, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Spring is in hyperdrive

Our Santa Ana winds returned this past weekend, humidity levels dropped dramatically, and our daytime temperature reached 80F (26C).  While there's a slim chance of light rain later this week, absent a stray tropical storm in late summer, my guess is that we won't see any more rain until October or November.  Our long dry season has begun.  Of course, the warm weather means that the parade of Spring flowers has stepped up its pace.  They're everywhere, all crying for attention.  To limit distraction, I picked two colors to focus on even before I stepped into my garden to select plant material for "In a Vase on Monday": blue and pink.

Though I'd planned to limit my first vase to blue and white flowers, yellow crept into the color scheme as well.

I blame Narcissus 'White Lion' for bringing yellow into the arrangement.  'White Lion', my favorite daffodil, appeared last week.  As daffodils don't stand up well to our Santa Ana winds, the window of opportunity to use it in a vase may be limited.

Salvia heldreichiana, shown at the back of the vase here, was the impetus for the original blue and white color scheme but its delicate stems were quickly overwhelmed by more flamboyant blooms

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens 'Mega White', self-seeded Lavandula stoechas, Freesia, Limonium perezii, Phlomis fruticosa, Salvia heldreichiana, Narcissus 'White Lion' and, in the center, Scilla peruviana.  The Scilla and Freesia blooms in my garden are fading fast as temperatures rise.

I didn't stray as much in putting together my pink vase, which was inspired by the Ranunculus blooming en masse in my cutting garden.

My Alstroemerias seem late in arriving this year but they're all getting into gear now

I added a couple of stems of orange blossoms to this arrangement, which elevated what is otherwise a rather ordinary arrangement

Top view: Unlike the salmon-colored Ranunculus I used last week, most of the pink and white Ranunculus are much more densely petaled

Top row: noID Alstroemeria and Agryranthemum frutescens 'Mega White'
Middle row: white ans pink picotee Ranunculus
Bottom row: Prunus laurocerasus, orange blossoms, and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' 

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

All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party