In a Vase on Monday: Sodden flowers

An atmospheric river has been moving through Southern California since late Thursday night.  It's delivered a lot of rain, albeit not as much as I was led to believe it would at the outset.  It's come down in torrents at times and, while the showers paused Sunday afternoon, the rain is expected to pick up again Monday morning with heavier showers in the afternoon.  My flowers have suffered in the process and even my beautiful blue bush violets (Barleria obtusa) are looking sad; however, I hope they'll bounce back once the rain has passed.

I'd targeted my Camellia sasanquas to fill a vase this week.  Camellia flowers are prone to shattering and they were taking a beating on Saturday so I cut several of the longest, prettiest stems I could find that afternoon and put them aside, planning to put my vase together Sunday morning.  Unfortunately, the bulk of the flowers dropped their petals overnight.  I made another pass at cutting the flowers on Sunday between morning showers but the stems weren't as impressive as the first ones I'd cut.

The result turned into yet another of my "everything but the kitchen sink" arrangements

Back view: The Amarine wasn't bothered by the rain at all and neither were the Australian fuchsias (Correa)

Overhead view

Clockwise from the upper left: Coleus 'Florida Sun Rose', noID Dianthus, Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', Amarine 'Belladiva Emanuelle', 2 Camellia sasanqua (possibly 'Early Wonder' and 'October Magic Rose', and white Eustoma grandiflorum

I wasn't going to bother with a second vase but I'd cut some snapdragons and a late-blooming zinnia mid-week for my kitchen island.  That arrangement needed a refresh so I pulled a couple of the faded flowers and filled in with blooms of Grevillea 'Superb', a plant that is utterly unfazed by rain.

The arrangement of an orange Antirrhinum majus, Grevillea 'Superb', Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Coral', and a single stem of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is very matchy-matchy in terms of color but at least it's a cheerful mix

I also rehabbed both of the vases I created last week and placed them elsewhere.

I cut last week's vase containing Protea 'Claire' down by half, as shown on the left.  Other than removing the spent Cosmos flowers, the Chrysanthemum arrangement on the right remains the same.

For more IAVOM creations, check in with 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

Special Effects - Foliage Edition

This week I felt the first subtle signs of the seasonal shift toward fall.  The days are perceptibly shorter.  Evening temperatures are cooler.  The marine layer, although thin, was present more mornings than not.  No plants have been newly incinerated by intense sun exposure.  The neighborhood kids returned to school.  And the late afternoon light accentuates everything it touches.

The northwest corner of the garden shines.  With added water, the shrubs and perennials I planted there are filling out at last.

The peppermint willows (Agonis flexuosa) look their best when back-lit by the sun

Even in partial shade, these large Agave attentuata, inherited with the garden, were scarred by the nuclear heat blast we experienced in early July, but they still look stunning in the lower afternoon light

The paddle plants (Kalanchoe luciae) in the same succulent bed positively glow

The sun picked up the color of Duranta repens 'Lime', also sold as 'Gold Mound'.  Although I have several of these plants, it makes me nervous as one of them shot up over 7 feet tall when they were marketed as growing 2-3 feet tall.  This one's minding its manners (so far).

The peppermint willows at the southwest end of our lot create a natural sun screen.

This Agonis shows signs of sun scorch but still looks pretty.  In contrast, the under-story Western redbud trees (Cercis occidentalis) were more badly damaged by July's heat blast but I expect they'll eventually recover.

The Aeonium arboreum planted along front the slope below the trees curl up during the hot summer months but the mass display here still shimmers in the late afternoon sun

Variegated Agave mitis also shows itself off well in the sun.  Planted from a small pot in February 2017, I was startled to see how much it's grown.

In the lath house, the new sun screens my husband built seem to be doing the trick in protecting my burgeoning shade plant collection.

July's heatwaves left this noID Rex Begonia with only one leaf

Caladium 'Candyland' looks as pretty as any flower

Caladium 'Miss Muffet, also planted as a tuber, is looking pretty good too

Plectranthus scutellaroides 'Dipt in Wine' (aka coleus) may be my favorite of the species

Am I suffering from a delusion that summer is reaching its end?  Almost certainly.  Summer's high temperatures can easily extend into late October and even early November here.  We toured our current house for the first time during a nasty heatwave in early October nearly 8 years ago - I had to beg my husband to get out of the car when we arrived.  It's reasonable to expect we'll get another blast of heat or two before summer bids its seasonal farewell.  I don't plan to cut back the foliage burned in July for another month or so yet, much less start replanting the areas left bare by summer's brutality, but I'm enjoying the first signs of fall in the meantime.  Fall's arrival means winter is coming and the prospect of our first real rain since March 22nd grows closer.

Whether you're continuing to celebrate mid-summer or joining me in anticipating fall's cooler days, best wishes for a pleasant weekend!

All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Faux orchids and blobby things

No, I didn't create a vase using silk or plastic flowers.  The "faux orchids" of the title refer to the flowers of Bauhinia x blakeana, also known as the Hong Kong orchid tree.  Despite a warm blast from Santa Ana winds this past weekend, the tree is currently blanketed in flowers.

Although they don't usually last long in a vase, I decided to make use of the orchid-like flowers this week.  The "blobby things" refer to the apt name Cathy, the hostess of "In a Vase on Monday," gave to Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' when I used these odd flowers in a vase last month.

Front view

Back view

Here's a closer look at the individual elements:

Top row: Flowers of Bauhinia x blakeana
Bottom row: Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' (aka "blobby things"), Leucadendron 'Pisa', and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Lava Rose'

Hopefully, the Bauhinia flowers will last at least a few days.  I cut longer stems this time and cut into the woody bases to improve water uptake.  The vase currently sits in the front entryway.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners are featuring this week.  As winter cold takes hold in many areas (but not here, where temperatures are hovering just below 80F/26C), participants are getting very creative about finding materials for their arrangements.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Camellias at last

Despite another spike in our daytime temperatures and Santa Ana winds that made the air so dry I've felt as though I was undergoing mummification, the blooms on my Camellia sasanqua were finally plentiful enough to cut for this week's vase, which is fortunate as there was little else to be had in terms of flowers.  I kept the arrangement simple again this week.

Front view

Back view, which this week I like as much or more than the front view

I used just three plants - or 4 if you count the fact that there are two forms of Camellia sasanqua, both of which I inherited with the house and neither of which I can identify.

Left to right: NoID Camellia sasanqua, Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Lava Rose' (formerly classified as Solenostemon scutellarioides aka coleus)

If your eyes are sharp, you may have noticed that some ants hitchhiked in with the Camellias.  This is common but, more often than not, I notice them before arranging the flowers.  This time I didn't see them until I looked at my photos, by which time most had taken cover elsewhere.  The vase sits on the dining table so, unfortunately, I expect they'll show up for breakfast one morning this week.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other participating gardeners have found to put in their vases this week.


All material © 2012-2015 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: It was better in concept...

For a change, I went into the garden to cut flowers with a plan in mind for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme sponsored by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Maybe that was the problem.  Usually, while I might identify a focal point ahead of time, I otherwise approach the garden as a blank slate.  This time, I began cutting flowers of various kinds I'd identified in advance, only to find that they didn't combine well when I took them in and tried to create an arrangement.  I took out a vase to fill with rejects early on and ultimately ended up with 2 reject vases and one larger vase I'm not thrilled with.

The larger vase was constructed of flowers and foliage I hadn't even considered on my first pass through the garden.  It's a hodge-podge construction with an emphasis on pinkish-coral tones.

Front view

Back view

The vase includes:

• Aloe flowers (noID, possibly Aloe 'Pink Blush')
• Arbutus 'Marina' flower stems
• Calibrachoa (noID)
• Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' flower stem
• Rose 'Pink Meidiland'
• Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Honey Crisp Coleus'

The Aloe flowers pick up the deeper tones in the roses

The flowers of the Arbutus' Marina' trees look like miniature hot-air balloons and are loved by the hummingbirds

The flower buds of the succulent Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' have a coral blush but open with yellow petals

The centers of the 'Pink Meidiland' rose mimic the colors at the center of the Graptoveria flowers

Close-up of the variegated leaves of the coleus

Reject vase #1 contains Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl,' a couple of raggedy stems of Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherry Brandy,' and Solenostemon scutellarioides 'Fire Fingers Coleus.'

Close-up of the small Leptospermum flowers

Reject vase #2, my favorite of the day due solely to its sweet perfume, contains Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum,' Lantana (noID), and Lonicera japonica, a weed that grows on the steep side of the back slope.

Close-up of Lonicera japonica, inherited with the house

The vases all found places to roost.

The larger vase sits in the front entryway

Reject vase #1 landed in the guest bathroom

Reject vase #1 sits next to my PC, where I can appreciate its scent

Please visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other contributors have rounded up now that the weather has turned cold in many areas.


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