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
