In a Vase on Monday: The calla lilies show up

My friend Hoover Boo (the handle she goes by on her blog, Piece of Eden) often says "rain is magic" and that seems to be the case this year.  Our largely unirrigated back slope came with a plethora of calla lily bulbs, something I discovered our first spring living here.  The plants go underground as soon as summer arrives, only to reappear with the rain.  However, I had fewer plants and very few flowers last year.  They seem committed to making a comeback this year.

I pulled 7 of the tall lily stems but cut them down to better fit with the other materials I collected

Back view: the Lotus berthelotii (aka parrot's beak) is attempting to steal the show

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Antirrhinum majus, Freesia, Grevillea 'Poorinda Leane', Lotus berthelotii, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

I changed my mind a few times about a second arrangement, both about having one and what flowers I'd use if I did.  In the end, I leaned into the blues, primarily because they're so readily available at present.  The anemones and sea squill won't last long once the temperatures soar so I decided I'd best use them while I can. 

I added a touch of yellow to break up the blues a bit

Back view: I filled in with stems of Ageratina adenophora (aka Crofton weed), a plant native to Mexico and considered invasive in California, which I believe planted itself here a couple of years ago.  I cut it back hard last year but decided not to pull it out.  It hasn't spread (yet) but it has grown back to its former size.

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Ageratina adenophora, Narcissus papyraceus, Osteospermum '4D Pink', Anemone coronaria 'Azzurro', A. c. 'Lord Lieutenant', Hebe 'Grace Kelly' (which is gradually losing its variegated foliage), and Scilla peruviana

We got over two inches of rain last week, which was great.  Unfortunately, the additional rain originally forecast for later this week has all but completely evaporated.  AccuWeather's longer-term forecasts show the possibility of more rain in mid-to-late March but the chances they've floated are nothing to lay bets on.  Meanwhile, I'm all too aware that our rainy season typically comes to an end in April.

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

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Spring spectacle

I can't help myself.  I've keep cutting flowers for the house.  It doesn't noticeably diminish the flowers in the garden because they keep coming, thanks to the relatively bountiful rainfall we've had.  Our total rain thus far this water year currently stands at 18.53 inches, which is considerably more than the average of 14.25 inches, and there are over five months left before the water year is over.*  Although our rainy season usually comes to an end by mid-April, climate scientists contend that it may continue into May this year.

My first arrangement this week was inspired by the the bearded Irises in bud at the bottom of my back slope.  However, they didn't open on the schedule I'd anticipated so I took another tact.  I cut a few stems of the fragrant Abelia 'Chiapas' growing nearby and sought companions to complement it elsewhere in my garden.

In lieu of the dark purple bearded Irises, I cut the nearly black Dutch Iris known as 'Eye of the Tiger'.  I added two of the last 'Pink Panther' Irises to provide a contrast.

Back view: I used stems of the Abelia 'Chiapas' (syn. Vesalea floribunda, aka Mexican Abelia) and Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea bush) as filler material.  The Abelia, purchased from Annie's Annuals & Perennials years ago, has a delicious scent.

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Chiapas', Osteospermum '4D Pink', O. 'Violet Ice', Iris hollandica 'Eye of the Tiger', Phlomis fruticosa, Polygala myrtifolia, and Iris hollandica 'Pink Panther'

I checked the bearded Iris again late Sunday afternoon but the buds still weren't fully open.

I expect they'll be well past their prime by next Monday

It's impossible to ignore the Leucospermum blooms in my garden at the moments so I cut several of those stems for a second arrangement.

I kept flip-flopping between this side and the one shown below to serve as the "front" of the arrangement.  The Erysimum 'Winter Orchid' used as a "spiller" here finally sealed the deal.

The other side of the vase featured 2 varieties of snapdragons

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Antirrhinum majus 'Chantilly Peach', noID Antirrhimum, Erysimum 'Winter Orchid, Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', Narcissus 'Geranium', Xylosma congestum, Zantedeschia aethopica, and Leucospermum 'Sunrise'

I also cut flowers for a small vase during the middle of last week, then refreshed it on Sunday.  In addition, not able to bring myself to dump all the contents of one of last week's arrangements, I rejiggered it using what was still fresh.

The tiny vase on the left contains Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato', A. c. 'Mount Everest', Alstroemeria 'Inca Lucky', and Cuphea 'Honeybells'.  The Anemones appear to be headed toward their seasonal exit.  The arrangement of leftovers on the right includes last week's Helleborus 'Anna's Red', noID Alstromeria, Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink', and Heuchera maxima.  The revamped arrangement shows off the form of the clasped hands vase nicely.

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

*Approaches to recordkeeping with respect to rainfall vary.  The US National Weather Service tabulates rainfall by "water year," measured from October 1st through September 30th of the following calendar year and the current average figure of 14.25 inches is calculated based on water year totals over the 30 year period from 1991-2022.  In contrast "seasonal" rainfall for downtown Los Angeles is calculated from July 1 through June 30 of the following year over a span of years from 1887-2022.  The resulting average in that case is 14.75 inches.

 

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

In a Vase on Monday: Sunshine and blue skies

We've had a welcome break in the rain since last Wednesday.  More rain is expected Tuesday night into Thursday morning this week but it's been nice to have sunshine and blue skies again in the interim.  Our climate usually delivers plenty of both and I have to admit I've missed them, much as I've appreciated all the rain we've had this year.

My first arrangement was inspired by the Dutch Iris 'Sapphire Beauty'.

The yellow flame on 'Sapphire Beauty's' falls almost requires a pairing with yellow flowers.  The Leucospermum 'Goldie' stems I cut last week were still in great shape so I reused them in this vase.

Back view: I keep using stems of Acacia 'Cousin Itt' as my foliage filler because the plants need pruning and I can't bring myself to throw away all those puffy yellow flowers

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Freesia, Limonium perezii, Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty', and Leucospermum 'Goldie'

 

My second arrangement was inspired by the calla lilies blooming on my back slope.  Last year's poor rainfall gave me just two blooms but this is clearly going to be a much better year.

In retrospect, I should've varied the heights of the lilies more

Back view: I limited the floral colors to yellow and white 

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Freesia, noID Narcissus, and Zantedeschia aethiopica

I recycled some of the Alstroemeria from last week's pink and white arrangement and cut a few new blooms to fill out a small vase for the kitchen island.  The 'Lady Jane' species tulips are still plentiful but I couldn't bring myself to cut any more.

Views from 3 sides.  The contents include 2 varieties of Alstroemeria, Argyranthemum 'Aramis Bicolor', Artemisia californica, and dark pink and white Freesia

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: Going overboard (again)

Our Easter holiday was eerily quiet.  I shared greetings with some friends by email and others by text and enjoyed watching the birds splash in our fountain - the white-crowned sparrows take their baths very seriously!  I observed the holiday by refilling my bird feeders and filling jugs with flowers, which led to the creation of four vases, three of which I'll share here.  As gloomy as the news is, the garden's overflowing with flowers and I find it hard not to get carried away.

Leucospermum 'Brandi' provided the inspiration for my first vase

Back view: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' was responsible for tying all the elements together

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucospermum 'Brandi', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Euphorbia x martinii 'Ascot Rainbow',  Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset', and Xylosma congestum

The calla lilies at the bottom of our back slope are plentiful this year and it occurred to me that they'd look nice on our living room mantle, which has been looking very bare of late.

I know many people allow calla lilies to stand on their own but I can only take simplicity so far

Back view: I did manage to restrict myself to three elements in this arrangement, however

Top view

From left to right: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', and Zantedeschia aethiopica

The dwarf bearded Iris on the back slope are also doing remarkably well this year.  To my surprise, I discovered that the dark purple variety has a beautiful fragrance so I couldn't stop myself from cutting another stem this week.  It had one fading bloom but two good-sized buds and, as the buds on last week's stem opened in my vase, I thought there's a good chance these buds will as well.

I added 2 stems of a new Dutch Iris that just started blooming this week, filling in with a mish-mash of other flowers

Back view: The fresh green foliage accent is Prunus laurocerasus (aka cherry laurel), a prolific self-seeder here

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens, Iris hollandica 'Mystic Beauty' (only slightly different from 'Sapphire Beauty'), Cerinthe major, Freesia, Lavandula stoechas, buds of Iris germanica (possibly 'Darth Vader'), Limonium perezii, and Prunus laurocerasus

My husband isn't much into holiday celebrations of any kind and I'd no illusions about the possibility of finding chocolates or other tasty treats on Sunday but he did hide an Easter egg of a different sort, which I found when I downloaded photos for this post.

He took this photo of Pipig in a pose signifying feline nirvana on her heating pad and left it for me to find when I used the camera for my IAVOM post

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to discover more IAVOM creations.

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Finding peace in arranging flowers

Officially, Californians (and residents of New York and a few other states) have been under orders to shelter at home since Friday but, from a practical standpoint, our movements came to an abrupt halt a week ago as group events and activities were cancelled right and left in response to new guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.  Under the current order governing California residents and a second order governing Los Angeles County residents, "non-essential businesses" have been shut down and those of us not performing "essential services" (health care services, grocery and pharmacy operations, delivery services, garbage pick-up, and the like) have been asked to remain at home except to shop for groceries, obtain medical care, and perform functions in a similar vein.  It feels weird but at a time like this having a garden to work in is a very real sanity-saver.

It was a special pleasure to putter about my garden yesterday, selecting flowers and foliage to fill my vases, because the rhythm of that activity felt so normal.  You probably won't be at all surprised to see I've created more than one vase this week.

A rose was meant to occupy the front of this vase but it somehow got jockeyed to the side

Back view: Instead of cutting new Leucospermums to fill this vase as I'd intended to do, I chose to recycle the one I cut last week to serve a second term

Top view: I think the calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) ended up stealing center stage in this vase

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Freesia, Leucospermum 'Goldie', Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream', Rosa 'Joseph's Coat', Xylosma congestum, Grevillea 'Superb' and, in the middle, Zantedeschia aethiopica

My second vase was constructed around the Hippeastrum papilio (aka Butterfly Amaryllis) I discovered mostly by accident.  I grew 3 of these bulbs in a basket 2 years ago, then planted them in a bed outside our living room window in the hope they'd naturalize.  They didn't bloom last year and I wasn't expecting them to do anything this year when one bulb produced a single short stalk with a flower this past week.

Once again, I had less trouble than I'd anticipated finding suitable companions for the floral centerpiece

Back view: I reused 2 stems of Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow' (as well as 2 freshly cut stems of the same plant), an Alstroemeria I'd entirely forgotten I'd planted years ago and some humble clover flowers as accents

Top view: There's a stem of Corokia in there too and, if you look closely, you'll see it has a scattering of tiny yellow daisies

Clockwise from the upper left: Hippeastrum papilio, Alstroemeria 'Inca Husky', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Trifolium repens (white clover), Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', and Euphorbia 'Ascot Rainbow'

My third vase is a variation on the one I created last week using Dutch Irises as a centerpiece.

I selected different companions for the Irises this week, including 3 stems of Narcissus 'White Lion' and 2 stems of flowering Dianella I tripped across during my spin around the garden

Back view: I used Limonium perezii (sea lavender) as a filler

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty', Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred', yellow Freesia, blue Freesia with Campanula portenschlagiana, Limonium perezii, and Narcissus 'White Lion'

I count myself very lucky that my husband and I are in reasonably good shape to manage through the challenges that face us with COVID-19, at least for now.  Wherever you are, I hope you're taking care of yourself and your loved ones as best you can during this trying time in world history.

For more pretty diversions, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our "In a Vase on Monday" host.

I had some leftover daisies (Argyranthemum 'Everest') that ended up in my small cactus vase behind the kitchen sink

All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party