In a Vase on Monday: As luck would have it

I fully expected to be scrambling to find material to fill a vase this week.  This was indeed the case with my first arrangement.  I identified two flowering plants that might serve as centerpieces, a yellow Rudbeckia growing in a barrel in my front garden and the first buds of Senna bicapsularis growing along the fence separating us from a neighbor.  I cut stems of both but in retrospect wasn't too pleased with either so I went searching for other plants to give them a boost.  As is often the case in such circumstances, I cut more plants than I probably needed and end up with a hodge-podge.

Most of the Rudbeckia flowers had been nibbled by the grasshoppers still plaguing my garden and the Senna buds hadn't quite opened yet

Back view: I threw in the shaggy Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum) that made a lone late showing in my front garden and the orange berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium (aka diamond-leaf pittosporum)

Overhead view: 2 stems of Japanese anemone (Eriocapitella hupehensis) elevated the arrangement somewhat, although they were partially buried on the mix

Top row: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', and Auranticarpa rhombifolium
Middle: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Eriocapitella hupehensis, and Lantana 'Lucky Yellow'
Bottom: Leucanthemum x superbum, Rudbeckia 'Juliana', and Senna bicapsularis

I had some unexpected luck in putting together my second arrangement.  Due to last week's heavier-than-expected rain, I wasn't able to get as much done in my cutting garden as I'd planned.  I managed to get all the dahlias but one out of the raised beds, which I left in place temporarily as it still had buds.  After the sun came out and temperatures surged into the mid-80sF (29C) days later, two new blooms of Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' made an appearance.

The 2 dahlias are smaller and redder than the 'Lady Darlene' flowers I've featured in prior vases

Back view: I've plenty of colorful Leucadendron stems to fill out my vases

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', G. 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', and variegated L. 'Jester'

Despite delays, I completed the process of digging up one of the raised beds in my cutting garden and replanted it with spring blooming plugs and bulbs (anemone corms).  Meanwhile, the local raccoons have been "helping" me clear the other two raised beds of grubs.  (I've laid hardware cloth and wire cloches over the first bed to keep them at bay.)  However, my sister-in-law will be visiting midweek so work will be delayed once again - but then my back will appreciate the break.

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

All material © 2012-2025 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Protea flowers at last!

I planted my first Protea 'Pink Ice' in the ground in 2018, after it spent two years in a large pot without flowering.  Almost six years after planting it in the ground, I finally have flowers.  I planted another Protea cultivar last December and it's already developing flowers so I'm guessing that the magic ingredient was two years of good rain.  I only cut two flowers because I want to enjoy them outside too.

The Protea blooms are very heavy and I struggled to find the right vase, making do with this one my mother bought me in Finland many years ago, on her one and only trip to her parents' home country

Back view: I used a mix of Leucadendron foliage (as well as Rudbeckias) to fill out the vase.  Leucadendrons are members of the larger Proteaceae family.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Rudbeckia hirta ''Sahara', Dahlia 'Excentric', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', L. s. 'Blush', and Protea neriifolia 'Pink Ice'

The first Dahlia 'Hometown Hero' blooms are just getting started but I decided to wait until those flowers are more fully open to cut them for an arrangement so instead I made use of a mix of the dahlias that keep toppling over.

I included 4 varieties of dahlias in this arrangement

Back view: a few Rudbeckia served to fill holes

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac', D. 'Fairway Spur' in 2 forms, D. 'La Luna', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Indian Summer' (coleus), Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', and Dahlia 'Summer's End'

Once again, I also put together a small third arrangement for the kitchen island, utilizing more dahlias of course.

Vitex trifolia is at its exuberant best in late summer, although it droops in vases during the first 24 hours after its stems are cut as shown here.  Digitalis purpurea is also still flowering in my cutting garden so I had to cut Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' to show off both.

I'm glad the dahlia train is still running but I've already started thinking about my cool season cutting garden, even if its been far from cool here thus far.  Our morning marine layer continues to keep it cooler along the coast than it's been in the inland areas but last week's temperatures were in the mid-80sF (30C) most days.  This week may be cooler but that remains to be seen.  Meanwhile, our 2025 "water year" started October 1st and my year-to-date precipitation total now reads 0.02/inch.  That is wholly attributable to moisture from the heavy marine layers.  There's still no rain in the forecast for us in the foreseeable future.

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

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Flashy Lady

I still haven't run out of dahlias for In a Vase on Monday!  Some have grown ridiculously tall and two of those have either twisted their stems around their neighbors to catch the sun or collapsed on stems too weak to support the flowers.  However, my first arrangement features Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' which has blooms that stand tall and stately straight.  This 'Lady's' flowers are also on the flashy end of the dahlia spectrum, hence the title of this post.

When the temperatures were trending higher, the flowers of 'Lady Darlene' tended to be pinky-red and cream but she's showing more of her true colors, red and yellow, now that it's cooler

Back view: I wasn't sure what to pair with the dahlia's flowers other than feverfew until I realized that the red bracts of Leucadendron 'Blush' would make a nice complement

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', noID red Pelargonium peltatum, Tanacetum parthenium, and Zinnia elegans 'Raspberry Limeade'

My second arrangement features Dahlia 'Summer's End'.  The plant is the most prolific bloomer of all my dahlias.  

'Summer's End' has the tallest stems of any of my dahlias and most of them are twisted, which made arranging them a bit challenging

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Summer's End', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', Tanacetum parthenium, Zinnia elegans 'Golden Hour', and a noID Zinnia

I've been filling a small vase on my kitchen island with stems of Dahlia 'La Luna' most weeks because those stems flop over under their own weight but this week both Dahlia 'Excentric' and Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Wine' are flowering heavily so they won the spot.

Top: views of the vase in place and from the top
Bottom: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Stained Glassworks Velvet', and Dahlia 'Excentric'  (with my go-to Leptospermum foliage thrown in)

A ridge of high pressure is expected to push temperatures back up again in our area this week.  While temperatures could zip back up to 100F (37C) in the inland valleys, it looks as though our area will stay in the low 80sF (28C) thanks to the persistence of the morning marine layer.  I hope that's right!

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

 

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - September 2024 (Late, late edition)

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, the long-standing meme created by Carol of May Dreams Gardens, didn't fall neatly into my schedule this month so this post is three days late.  My garden is usually at its lowest point in late summer and this year is no exception.  A recent heatwave didn't help matters either, although with extra infusions of water my cutting garden still shines.  The Dahlias, Rudbeckias, and Zinnias planted there are the clear stars of my garden again this month.

This is Dahlia 'Brown Sugar', which is new to my garden this year.  The 2 tubers I planted bloomed later in the season than the majority of my others.

In contrast, Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac', also new to my garden this year, was one of the first to bloom and continues to be one of the 3 most prolific, especially as I planted 2 tubers of this one too.  My only beef with this plant is that the flowers generally have short stems.

I planted 2 tubers of Dahlia 'Catching Fire' saved from last years crop.  Both have flowered very well, especially given that my husband accidentally broke a large step off one of the plants.  They both responded to our 6-day heatwave with significant flushes of fresh flowers.  It gets my silver award for prolific blooms.

Dahlia 'Excentric' is another new addition this year.  It's pretty but I haven't decided whether it's worth saving the tuber for planting next year.  I only have so much room...

Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' is a late bloomer that produces very large "dinnerplate" flowers.  It's another tuber I saved last year and will definitely store away for use next year too.

Dahlia 'Labyrinth' didn't impress me last year but then I didn't provide it enough breathing space to thrive.  This year I put the tuber in a half-barrel with some smaller plants (not dahlias) and it's done well.  It's a keeper.

This is Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' and I'd swear she's changed her appearance this year.  The yellow in the bloom was far more pronounced last year and the flowers were smaller.  This year, I'd describe it as red with cream accents rather than red and yellow and the blooms are huge!

Dahlia 'La Luna' grew from a tuber I planted in 2022, which didn't appear or bloom until 2023.  I saved 2 divisions of the original tuber and planted both out in 2024.  The color of the blooms varies from pale yellow, to white, to white with yellow streaks.  Some flowers are multi-petaled like those shown here and some are single-petaled.

I planted a single clump of Dahlia 'Summer's End' I'd saved from the prior year.  The plant is over 5 feet tall and barely contained by my largest tomato cage.  This one wins my gold prize as the most prolific dahlia of all.

'Vancouver' is the only dahlia I purchased as a potted plant this year.  I cut its first flush of blooms shortly after purchase.  After a brief hiatus, it's just produced its third flush of blooms.  The blooms get more spidery as they mature.

My other dahlias include: Dahlia 'Break Out' (hit hard by the recent heatwave), D. 'Iceberg' (which the resident grasshopper seems to love), and D. 'Mikayla Miranda' (one of my favorites).  Two other dahlias have yet to bloom, D. 'Hometown Hero' (which has buds at last) and D. 'Belle of Barmera' (which is still bud-less).

I purchased 6 plugs of Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara' by mail order as the plants aren't commonly offered by my local garden centers.  Every one of the plants is at least slightly different from the others.

Clockwise from the upper left, the Zinnia elegans varieties currently in bloom include: 'Benary's Giant Coral', 'Benary's Giant Wine', 'Golden Hour', a noID orange variety (picked up as part of a 6-pack to fill in some empty spots), 'Raspberry Limeade', and 'Zinderella Lilac'.  All but the noID orange variety were planted from seed and have proven to be much more vigorous than those planted later as plugs.

There are a few plants elsewhere in the garden that are putting on a good show, at least by our hot, dry summer standards.

Clematis terniflora is the only member of the genus that's ever survived in my garden.  This year more of the vines are weaving through the plants surrounding the arbor than are climbing it because I left it to its own devices.

Two of my 3 Cupheas are blooming: Cuphea 'Honeybells' and C. 'Starfire Pink', although the latter was hit harder by the heatwave.  I cut back all the C. 'Vermillionaire' a month ago and they haven't yet rebounded.  Cupheas are short-lived perennials in my Southern California climate.

I don't call Grevillea 'Superb' my standby flowering shrub for nothing.  The flowers look lighter to me after the heatwave but they keep on coming.

Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea shrub) flowers more lightly during hot weather but it persists.  One plant was badly burned and others were scorched in spots but, as it self-seeds like crazy, their are plenty more to serve as replacements.

As is true most months, there are also a few surprises.

This Digitalis purpurea (foxglove) doesn't look great but the fact that it's still producing endless bloom stalks in September is extraordinary

I missed most of the blooms of Pelargonium schizopetalum earlier this year but was thrilled to see a few more of the unusual flowers this month.  They seem to appreciate a little shade in my climate so I'm looking for an ideal spot to suit all those I currently have in pots.

This is the first time this Yucca gloriosa 'Variegata' has bloomed

Other flowering plants waved their petals goodbye as they exited for the season.

Clockwise from the upper left: Agapanthus 'Elaine', Amaryllis belladonna (white form), Eustoma grandiflorum (one of few that survived the heatwave), and Hemerocallis 'Persian Market'

That's it for the main show.  As usual, I'll end with the best of the rest, swept up into color-coded collages.

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratum houstonianum, Liriope muscari, noID Scaevola, and Tulbaghia violacea

Clockwise: Alstroemeria 'Claire', Fuchsia 'Windchimes White', Pandorea jasminoides, and Tanacetum parthenium

Echinacea purpurea, Pelargonium hortorum, and Pentas lanceolata

Echeveria 'New Black' and Leucadendron salignum 'Blush'

Clockwise: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' (not as robust as its cousin 'Superb'), Lantana 'Lucky Yellow', and Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

Enjoy those late season blooms, whenever and wherever you find them!  If you're posting late like I am, check in with Carol at May Dreams Gardens to see what blooms she and other GBBD contributors are celebrating this month.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party