In a Vase on Monday: I've got the blues...

It's very hard not to feel blue now.  I hesitate every morning before I turn on the news and, on more mornings than I can now count, I wish afterwards that I hadn't.  But our world of 24/7 newscasts and social media outlets doesn't permit us to hide from current events and I suppose it's pointless to aim for that.  Still, I find comfort in friends, family and people like yourselves that nourish the earth and look for the beauty it can provide.

The unnamed blue Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) I planted from plugs in April produced 2 flowering stems, which I cut this week in the hope that the plants will respond by branching out.  I meant to make them the centerpiece of my arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, but I think the Agapanthus I added to fill out the arrangement assumed the starring role when the vase came together.

The Agapanthus managed to jostle the Eustoma over to the side

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left, the vase includes: noID Eustoma grandiflorum, Abelia 'Confetti' with the wispy stems of Coleonema album, noID Agapanthus, Duranta erecta 'Sapphire Showers' with Catananche caerulea, Lavandula angustifolia, and a ruffled form of Leucanthemum x superbum

Eustoma flowers last a long time in both the garden and a vase but, with the pink forms all blooming at once, I can't expect them to hold out indefinitely so I cut some of those too.  As I've mentioned before, the stems and foliage of these plants, especially those that have been in the ground a year or more have a succulent quality.

This photo is my poor attempt to show you how thick and succulent the stems and leaves of these plants are

Individual stems often have more than a dozen flowers and, even though I've propped them up, they tend to topple when buffeted by wind or weighed down by spray from the overhead irrigation system.  I "rescued" several stems I found with their heads in the dirt for my second vase.  I'm running out of options to complement them so I'm afraid my arrangements are taking on a repetitious quality.

Front view

A remarkably similar back view

Top view

While I cut some Centranthus ruber that recently reappeared in my garden (it's a virtual weed here), the vase seemed too busy to me so I reduced it to 3 elements: Abelia x grandiflora, pink Eustoma grandiflorum (this could be either 'Echo Pink' or 'Mariachi Pink' as they look identical to me), and the foliage and berries of Prunus laurocerasus

The blue arrangement sits in the front entry.

The pink one sits on the dining table.

And the stems I removed from the second arrangement when it got too crowded went into a miniature version of that arrangement, which landed in the bedroom.

I couldn't bring myself to cut the green Eustoma flowers that opened up last week as I still have just one stem of these.  Perhaps, if and when more appear, I'll find the strength to sacrifice some of these.

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other participating gardeners have come up with this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Foliage Follow-up: Stressed out succulents

My Aloe wickensii provided the jumping off point for this month's foliage follow-up, the meme hosted by Pam at Digging.  I know that succulents will frequently turn red when exposed to water and/or heat stress but I didn't know that they could twist and turn themselves like acrobats until I saw this:

Originally planted in 2014, the area in which this Aloe wickensii is planted is more exposed now due to the thinning of nearby trees.  The photo on the left was taken from the side and the view on the right was taken from overhead.

According to an on-line source such shape changes can be a response to extreme heat and intense sunlight.  I felt like covering my head and hiding too after last month's awful heatwave, which occurred on the heels of a period of unusually cool spring weather.

The Aloe sent me looking for other signs of stress among my succulents.  Agave 'Jaws', which sits just a few feet away from Aloe wickensii in the same bed showed little sign of stress; however, upon close examination, I did discover a surprise

I almost stepped on a tiny Agave pup that showed up about a foot away from 'Jaws' (to the left of the larger plant in the photo on the left)

Aeoniums enter dormancy this time of year so their change of shape isn't extraordinary.

These Aeoniums, planted in the narrow space between the outer fireplace wall and the driveway, are curling inward but they're not nearly as stressed as those along the street entering our neighborhood, which look more like round balls.

Shade, especially afternoon shade, seemed to buffer some succulents.

Aloe vanbalenii x ferox, shown here partially in the shade of a peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa) with Sedum x rubrotinctum and Aeonium nobile, doesn't seem the least bit stressed

Agave bracteosa, planted nearby, is assuming a new shape but I think that's a natural progression in this case.  It's common names include Candelabrum Agave and Squid Agave.

The 2 Agave 'Blue Flame' that sit along the street receive a good amount of shade in mid-afternoon.  These 2 are in much better shape than the 'Blue Flame' and 'Blue Glow' specimens I have in full sun in the bed on the southeast side of the house, some of which suffered from "agave edema" when the heat suddenly soared last month.

The lower leaves of Agave impressa yellowed last year after the shrubs behind it died off and it received more sun but the bright red streaks shown here are new

The Agaves in the dry garden on the northeast side of the house showed no signs of stress.

Agave ovatifolia's only threat is being overcome by the spread of the trailing Lantana

And the same could be said for Agave vilmoriniana

All in all the succulents managed June's heat relatively well but I am thinking about moving poor Aloe wickensii.

Visit Pam at Digging to find other foliage highlights.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day - July 2016

With one notable exception, there aren't many large splashes of floral color in my coastal Southern California garden this July.  As I've mentioned ad nauseum, our horrific heatwave in June left destruction in its wake.  However, the Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) generally took the heat in stride despite their delicate appearance.  I credit the succulent stems and foliage that characterize the plants, particularly those that have been in the ground a year or more.

The top-heavy plants look somewhat ungainly in the backyard border.  I have to use supports to keep them from falling over.  The plants have as many as 6 stems, each of which can have a dozen or more flowers.

The newer Eustoma I put in as plugs in spring didn't fare quite as well in the heat as the pale pink varieties planted last year but they're providing spots of color here and there.

Clockwise from the left: The pale pink Eustoma planted last year (the 'Echo Pink' and 'Mariachi Pink' cultivars appear identical), a deeper pink plug planted this year, an unnamed blue form, a yellow form, and a green form

A few other plants have managed to put on a good show, albeit on a smaller scale.

Abelia x grandiflora is in full bloom

With regular deadheading, Achillea 'Moonshine' continues to produce new blooms, although not in the same abundance as the 2 prior months

Unlike the Anigozanthos (kangaroo paws) in the background, this one in the foreground withstood the heat, perhaps helped by the shade it receives in late afternoon

Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' shows no signs it even noticed the heat

And there are a few plants I can count on to bloom continuously from spring through fall (and beyond in some cases).

These include, clockwise from the upper left: Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink', Gaura lindheimeri, and Grevillea 'Superb'

The Gazanias keep flowering too.  From the left: G. 'Strawberry Shortcake'. 'Sunbather Otomi', White Flame' and 'Yellow Flame'.

Finding other blooms beyond those requires a scavenger hunt.  I looked high and low.

The Magnolia grandiflora continues to produce a steady supply of blooms but they're best viewed from a distance.  I can get a close-up of the flowers only when blooms open on the lower branches.

Heteromeles arbutifolia (aka Toyon), designated the official native plant of Los Angeles County, is also in full bloom but most of the flowers are well beyond my reach

Not to be missed, the creeping thyme (Thymus serphyllum 'Minus') planted between and around the flagstones throughout the backyard is blooming, to the delight of the bees who manage to ignore me as I tromp through the area

The blooms that dominated my garden last month are largely done.

There are just a very few Agapanthus and Hemerocallis 'Sammy Russell' in  bloom

There were a few surprises.

Alstroemeria 'Claire' (left), which I thought was a goner after the heatwave, has produced some new flowers and Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin', which I cut back hard in early June just before the heatwave, has produced another burst of flowers

My latest plant crush, Phylica pubescens, has thrived in a pot on the back patio, although 2 plants in the back border were fried beyond recognition and show no signs of coming back

Beyond these, there was just a little of this and a little of that.

Top row: Catanache caerulea, Convolvulus with Brachyscome, and Duranta 'Sapphire Showers'
Middle row: Lavandula angustifolia, L. stoechas, and Osteospermum ecklonis '4D Silver'
Bottom Row: Nierembergia linearifolia, Leucanthemum x superbum (back from the dead!), and Salvia greggii 'Mesa Azure'

Top row: Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', G. 'Gallo Peach', and Helichrysum italicum (aka curry plant)
Middle row: Leonotis leonurus, Jacobaea maritima, and Lantana 'Samantha'
Bottom row: Pelargonium peltatum 'Pink Blizzard', noID P. peltatum, and P. hortorum 'Tweedle Dee'

I'm irrigating more.  Our water service provider allocates us a monthly water budget equal to 64 percent of the water used in 2013.  Anything that isn't used in a given month becomes part of the total water balance I have to draw on.  As my rainwater collection is gone, I've begin drawing against the savings I've accumulated.  If I'm lucky that may give me flowers to show in August.  In the meantime, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, to see what's blooming elsewhere in the world this month.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Wednesday Vignette: Green Flowers!

In my last post, I grumbled that none of the Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) I planted this spring had produced green flowers.  I'd ordered 2 collections of Eustoma plugs by mail, one of which consisted of 6 blue, 6 yellow and 6 green-flowering plants.  Some of these plants were negatively impacted by heat and insufficient irrigation and less than half have produced flowers thus far but, where I believe I planted the green-flowered plugs, I saw only pale yellow blooms.  However, last evening as I was making a pass through the garden, I saw this:

Both this photo and the one above are of the same small plant

In stronger sun this morning, they're looking somewhat less green.  It may be that the flowers bleach out with ongoing sun exposure as this plant is located alongside others I'd characterize as pale yellow but I was still excited to see the greenish flowers.

My sojourn through the garden last evening also led to the discovery of a single, tiny blue Eustoma bloom.  Unlike the pink Eustoma, I'd thought that none of the 'Borealis Blue' I'd planted last year had survived to bloom this year.  This small bloom makes me wrong on that count too.

It's not nearly as heavily petaled as last years blooms nor, at 7 inches high, nearly as tall but it's alive and blooming!

This summer got started with a blast, literally, as a heatwave wreaked destruction across my garden so it's the little things that lift my spirits.  I was even excited to see these this morning:

A cluster of tiny noID mushrooms snuggled up against one of the flagstones that form a path through the backyard garden

This mish-mash of photos represents my Wednesday Vignette this week.  Visit Anna at Flutter & Hum to view the images that drew her attention and that of other garden bloggers this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

In a Vase on Monday: Ikebana Experiment

Last week, Cathy of Rambling in the Garden challenged those participating in the meme she hosts, "In a Vase on Monday," to try an ikebana-style arrangement.  I've admired the arrangements created by Susie at pbmGarden but I consider the artistic discipline associated with ikebana beyond my skill level.  Nevertheless, I decided to give it a go.  I considered a number of floral and foliage elements, including succulents.  In the end, I selected Grevillea as my focal point, partly because the flowers are complex and partly because I thought the approach would allow me to show off the plant's leaves, which usually get lost in my arrangements.

After reviewing some examples of ikebana arrangements on-line (and becoming seriously intimidated), I decided to keep my first try very simple

I selected materials from 3 plants and used just 2 stems of each.  Clockwise from the far left are close-ups of the pinwheel-like flower of Grevillea 'Superb', a Grevillea leaf, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' flaunting its summer colors, Coprosma 'Inferno', and the closest thing I have to an ikebana vase.

Because I had no idea what I was going to use in the ikebana arrangement, I cut a lot of different plants on spec as I wandered my garden.  Of course, that left me with plenty of material to use in other arrangements.  The pink Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) in the backyard border has produced huge sprays of flowers on the year-old plants.  They're so heavy, they're falling over so thinning them out is almost essential.

I used just one stem of Eustoma and the vase my husband bought me for my birthday in May

Top view

In addition to the double-flowered pink Eustoma (top), I reused the Abelia x grandiflora stems (bottom, left) cut for one of last week's vases and Origanum 'Monterey Bay' (bottom, right)

For some reason, the pink Eustoma in my garden are much more vigorous than any of those in other colors I've grown.  Perhaps it's as simple as the sun exposure in the location I selected for the pink varieties last year is optimal for their development.  In any case, I've been disappointed that the beautiful 'Borealis Blue' I grew in prior years hasn't come back.  This spring, I planted a mix of yellow, green and blue flowering plants I purchased by mail order but those plants haven't attained the vigor of those planted in prior years, at least not as yet.  Although I submitted my order in December, I didn't receive the plants until early April and, still small when our nasty June heatwave struck, relatively few have bloomed.  The biggest disappointment is that I'm unable to distinguish the plants that the grower claimed would bloom with green flowers from those that were to bloom with yellow flowers.

I believe that the pale Eustoma (Lisianthus) blooms shown here include both those the grower labeled as green and yellow

Back view showing a few of the flowers sprouting from the red stems of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' this summer

Top view

Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: yellow and "green" Eustoma grandiflorum, Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' (grown from seed), Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron 'Pisa', and Origanum 'Norton Gold'

As usual, I scattered the arrangements around the house.

The ikebana-style arrangement sits on an end table in the living room

The rose-like pink Eustoma arrangement sits on the dining room table

And the yellow arrangement sits in the front entry

Pipig was unimpressed by my efforts.

But then she generally ignores the flowers unless she thinks they're getting attention that should rightfully be directed to her

Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other gardeners have put together this week.


All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party