In a Vase On Monday: Prelude to Spring

With plenty of sunny days and warmer temperatures, my garden is waking up.  Gardens in coastal Southern California never entirely shut down but they take the equivalent of a cat nap.

They appear to be asleep but they're ready to jump into action in response to any change in the environment

Yesterday morning we awoke to a blanket of fog but it quickly cleared out and, walking through the garden, it felt as though we were on the cusp of Spring.  The birds were singing and, if I could carry a tune, I'd have joined them.  Bulbs I planted  in early November and others planted years ago are gradually revealing their blooms.  Those blooms kicked off my search for plant material to fill this week's vases.

I headed down the slope to check the bearded Iris I've been eyeing for the last 2 weeks, intending to make it the centerpiece  of an arrangement of blue and purple flowers; however, it wasn't quite ready to be cut.  I cut 2 stems of Ceanothus while I was down there anyway and substituted the first of the blue Anemones as my focal point.

For a change, I managed to keep this arrangement relatively simple

Top view: Could that Anemone be more perfect?  It's the product of a group of Italian hybrid tubers I planted in early November.

Clockwise from the top: Anemone 'Mistral Azzurro', Ceanothus arboreous 'Clif Schmidt', noID Freesia, and Osteospermum 'Violet Ice'

Another Anemone provided the starting point for my second vase.

I started with very few ideas as to what I could pair with the subtle white, mauve and blue shades in the Anemone's petals.  As usual, I got carried away in adding new elements.

The foxglove stems were recycled from one of last week's vases

Top view: The Anemone in this arrangement was more mature than the one in the prior arrangement.  Interestingly, it turned out to have a 2-headed bloom (shown more clearly in the photo below).

Top row: Anemone 'Mistral Rarity', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Digitalis purpurea Second row: Grevillea sericea and Hebe 'Purple Shamrock' Third row: Osteospermum 'Berry White', Pyrethropsis hosmariense, and Helleborus 'Blue Lady' Bottom row: Nemesia 'Snow Angel', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Helleborus 'Phoebe'

I'm willing to bet that, if I hike down to the bottom of the slope this afternoon, that Iris I'd originally targeted as the centerpiece of my first vase will be in full bloom.  Usually the first Iris to bloom, it always seems to elude inclusion in a vase.

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