In a Vase on Monday: A November surprise (but without pizzazz)

I disposed of all but one of my dahlias about two weeks ago, the majority because they showed signs of the mosaic virus, and a few others simply because they hadn't performed well.  The one I left in place was purchased on a whim from my local garden center in April, labeled as 'Caproz Pizzazz'.  The photo attached to the tuber's package showed a flower with deep magenta petals touched with pinkish-white.  I planted it in a half-barrel in May and it grew well but stubbornly refused to produce any buds.  I was ready to toss it with the rest of my tubers when it surprised me with a single bud a few weeks ago.  That bud finally opened late last week, revealing the fact that it is most definitely not 'Caproz Pizzazz' (which you can see here.)  As pickings to fill vases are very limited now, I cut that bloom for the first of this week's vases.

I asked Google AI to identify white dahlias with lavender petal tips.  It offered 6 possibilities, one of which was 'Ferncliff Illusion', which is the one that most resembled the dahlia shown above.  In addition to its color, both flowers are dinnerplate varieties. The dahlia has unexpectedly developed a few more buds so I've left it in place for now.

Back view: Vitex trifolia has an annoying habit of drooping after being cut but it's still pretty and it usually straightens up eventually

Overhead view: Among other things, I added 2 stems of Medinilla myrinatha (aka the Malaysian or grape orchid) to the mix.  It's not as flashy as Medinilla magnifica but it's survived in my garden for years and gets points for that.

Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Ivory Bells', Cosmos bipinnatus, Cuphea 'Starfire Pink', Dahlia 'Ferncliff Illusion' (maybe), Medinilla myriantha, and Vitex trifolia

I considered Camellia sasanqua flowers for a second arrangement as they've just begun to bloom but the flowers of Senna bicapsularis have reached their peak so I decided to make use of them.  Although I featured a couple of stems in a vase two weeks ago, they were still in bud at that point.  They're making a bolder statement now.

I filled in with stems of 2 of the ever-blooming Grevilleas.  The addition of a single Rudbeckia up front was due to accidentally cutting its stem as I was tidying up the plant.

Back view

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', G. 'Superb', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Rudbeckia 'Juliana', and Senna bicapsularis

The green Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) I cut last week are still looking good so I stuck them in the small vase on my kitchen island to accompany the Leucadendron 'Jester' stems I cut two weeks ago.

The Lisianthus haven't been prolific this year but at least they have a long vase life

Following a moderate heatwave last week with temperatures in the low 90sF/32C), temperatures have dropped over the last couple of days, courtesy of dense morning marine layers.  Current expectations are that our temperatures will remain in the 60s to low-70sF throughout most of November. However, Weather West predicts that Southern California (if not necessarily the northern part of the state) will remain dry for the "foreseeable future."

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: Seasonal support

Now that I've cleared my cutting garden, there aren't many flowers to fill a vase.  My options are to focus on foliage, go small, or make use of succulents.  I'll probably use all three strategies off and on until my cool season plants jump into gear, which is likely to take at least two months and possibly longer, depending upon our weather.  However, I do have a few plants that commonly flower at this time of year.  I featured two of these, Senna bicapsularis and Tagetes lemonnii, in one of last week's arrangements.  This week I focused on the bush violet, Barleria obtusa, a drought tolerant South African native.

While the bush violets inspired the arrangement, bearded Iris 'Autumn Circus' grabbed the spotlight.  The Iris has been blooming for over 2 weeks but the recent Santa Ana winds desiccated some buds before they had a chance to open so I decided to take advantage of the the last 2 blooms.

Back view: I'd meant to cut the Vitex trifolia stems the night before putting this arrangement together but never got around to it, hence the drooping foliage in these photographs taken Sunday.  They should be standing upright by Monday morning.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, Iris germanica 'Autumn Circus', self-seeded Osteospermum, Pentas lanceolata, and Vitex trifolia

I relied heavily on foliage to create a second arrangement this week.

This one was inspired by my favorite ivy geranium, Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy'; however, the rainbow colors of Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose' (aka coleus) assumed center stage

Back view: The only true flowers in this arrangement are a few Pelargonium stems and the pink Pentas lanceolata

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leucadendron salignum 'Winter Red', Prostanthera ovatifolia 'Variegata, Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy', P. sidoides, Pentas lanceolata, and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Florida Sun Rose'

 

After nearly two weeks of excessively warm temperatures and dry winds, it looks as though our morning marine layer will bring back cooler, more fall-like temperatures this week.  Unfortunately, the atmospheric river that's enveloped the Pacific Northwest isn't likely to bring any rain this far south.  I've heard that the rainy season here may not get rolling until January.

 

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: Can you have too many dahlias?

The dahlias in my cutting garden have gone bonkers.  'Iceberg' is finally in the process of opening its first bloom so now all those I planted this year have made a showing.  Even though the combination of last week's heatwave and our dreaded Santa Ana winds took a toll on some of them, causing tall stems to fall over and break and other blooms to wither in place, there were still many more dahlias than I had time to cram into vases on Sunday.

I built my first arrangement around one of the recent arrivals, Dahlia 'Lady Darlene'.

'Lady Darlene's' yellow and red petals curve downward, giving the flower a ball-like shape

Back view:  As I only had 3 'Lady Darlene' flowers in good shape, I had to make do with yellow dahlias, grass plumes, and foliage to fill out the vase

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', D. 'Summer's End', noID yellow dahlia, Leucadendron salignum 'Safari Sunset', L. 'Wilson's Wonder', and Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum'

I hadn't planned to use Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' this week but all of a sudden it's producing gobs of flowers, most of which aren't mutants for a change.  I went bigger than usual in creating an arrangement around them.

I used burgundy foliage and a dark-toned vase to contrast with the orange and yellow dahlias

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Pineapple' (aka coleus), and Zinnia elegans 'Queen Lime Orange'

 

My last arrangement is a simplified version of the one I created last week using lavender-colored flowers and purple foliage.  I wanted to experiment further with the Vitex foliage and, like Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', 'Mikayla Miranda' had pumped out a lot of new blooms.  I skipped the process of dunking the Vitex stems in hot water this week  - the stems straightened up nicely overnight in water after I split the bottom inch of each stem. 

Top row: the arrangement from 3 angles
Middle: pink and white Cosmos bipinnatus and Vitex trifolia
Bottom: Dahlias 'Lavender Ruffles' and 'Mikayla Miranda'

Our temperatures started to come down yesterday.  Instead of the temperatures in the low-to-mid 90sF we had last week, we're expecting them to settle into the low-to-mid 70s (23-25C) this week.  I'm looking forward to getting back to work in the garden, although this week I have some help coming to trim about half my trees (fourteen this year), which means I'll be busy moving potted plants and other breakables out of the way and then restoring them to their spots afterwards so I'm not likely to get any big projects done.

 

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: An embarrassment of riches

It's October and I've got more dahlias than I know what to do with, even though I've been giving bouquets away here and there.  In 2017, the first year I grew dahlias, they were gone by September.  2021 was a banner year with thirteen dahlia varieties still in place but, on average, between 2017 and 2022, I've had just seven varieties left by the time October arrived.  This year I have fourteen varieties and what's more, I have duplicates of many of these.   It's overwhelming - in a good way.  I'm already saving glass and plastic bottles, imagining a large scale giveaway of cut flowers in November (absent a nasty heatwave beforehand).  Needless to say, dahlias fill all three of this week's vases.

The first vase contains some newbie dahlia blooms: 'Breakout', 'Calin', and Romantique'.  Another newbie, 'Lady Darlene', also made an appearance last week but I'm waiting for additional flowers before cutting them for a vase.

Dahlia 'Romantique' is a diminutive variety relative to most of the dahlia blooms surrounding it.  I mistook it for a bud of 'Breakout' when I first noticed it, as they're similar in color if not size.

Back view featuring Dahlia 'La Luna'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' foliage, noID double-petaled Calibrachoa, Prunus ilicifolia foliage, Dahlia 'Breakout', D. 'Calin', D. 'La Luna', and D. Romantique

 

My second vase includes one of the dahlias with the largest blooms, as well as this year's most prolific bloomer: 'Fairway Spur' and 'Summer's End'.

While one Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' is still producing a lot of mutant-shaped blooms, the other has produced huge, fully-petaled flowers

Back view: I planted only one Dahlia 'Summer's End' but it still manages to out-produce even the varieties with 2 or 3 clumps in terms of the sheer number of flowers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End', Xylosma congestum (foliage), and Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose'

 

The last arrangement was inspired by the foliage of Vitex trifolia but it contains three dahlias that make the most of the Vitex's purple leaves: 'Enchantress', 'Lavender Ruffles', and 'Mikayla Miranda'.  'Lavender Ruffles' is this year's floppiest dahlia and I unfortunately planted three of them, all holdovers from last year, only one of which was properly supported at the outset.  The plant is only supposed to get three feet tall and I generally don't cage dahlias that are that height or shorter; however, as it's blooms grow up to twelve inches wide, their sheer weight pulls the stems down.  Next year, I'll plant only one of those tubers and it'll be surrounded by a tomato cage.

Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' got center stage as it's become one of my favorites.  Unfortunately, Vitex trifolia stems don't appreciate being cut and droop almost immediately.  I cut the stems at an angle and sliced the bottom inch in half before immediately putting them in water but, when that didn't do the trick, I immersed the stem tips in hot water for 15 seconds before arranging them.  The stems are looking better since these photos were taken but I suspect I should treat them a day before including them in an arrangement. 

Back view featuring Dahlias 'Enchantress' and 'Lavender Ruffles'

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Cosmos bipinnatus, Dahlia 'Enchantress', D. 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Mikayla Miranda', tiny Vitex trifolia flowers, and the Vitex's dual-colored foliage (olive green on top and purple underneath)

 

Despite my skepticism, we received a little rain this past weekend after all.  The majority of that, 0.04/inch arrived Sunday morning, most of it as a single downpour.  As October 1st is the start of the 2024 "water year," I'm choosing to see that as auspicious.  We're expecting a warm-up on Wednesday but it doesn't look like it'll get much above 80F (27C) here.

 

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

 

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

In a Vase on Monday: Scraps from the garden

Floral pickings are relatively spare right now but I managed to cobble together some scraps from the garden for a small arrangement that doesn't include my year-round bloomers this week.  As Christmas decorations have begun to fill the house, there's less space for vases anyway.

The Osteospermum blooms front and center here are seedlings that came up in the middle of the dirt path that runs behind my backyard border.  They appear to be offspring of Osteospermum '4D Silver', which I haven't been able to find for some time and which I'd never thought would come up true to form from seed.

Back view featuring the globe daisies (Globularia x indubia) that recently reappeared

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'White Butterfly', noID Ceanothus, Globularia x indubia, Osteospermum '4D Silver', Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea', and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light'

As the arrangement I created two weeks ago is still sitting on the dining room table (minus only the Mangave bloom spikes), the new arrangement landed on the kitchen island.

I attempted another wreath this year but, running out of patience and struggling with a backache, it failed to live up to my expectations.  I erred in failing to hydrate the cut stems overnight after I assembled the materials in small bundles before wiring them to a metal frame the next morning.  My guess is that it won't hold up long even hung outside.

I interspersed bundles of Coleonema 'Sunset Gold', Chondropetalum elephantipes and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (shown upper right) with berries of a noID Cotoneaster (middle right) and bundles of Leucadendron 'Chief' and Prunus caroliniana (lower right).  I found ribbon that looked like burlap (if it was wired and infused with a dusting of gold glitter) in my gift wrap stash.

I brought home a pre-made pine wreath when we picked up our Christmas tree on Friday.  I always embellish these with cuttings from the garden, although I used a lighter touch than usual this year.

In addition to the ribbon I've reused for years now, I added an angel, more Cotoneaster berries, and Leucadendron 'Blush'.  The last were leftovers from last week's vase.

A garden gnome, released from his confinement in the garage only for a brief interval each December, took his place near the front door to greet visitors.

The gnome came from a favorite nursery on a 50% off sale when it closed many years ago.  He was missing a fishing pole so I give him succulents, berries or other cuttings to hold each year but he never looks less grumpy.  The smaller climbing gnome hanging from his cap usually goes on the pine wreath or the Christmas tree but he earned a new role this year.

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

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