I felt utterly uninspired when I walked into my garden on Sunday to pick material to use in a vase. It wasn't that the garden had nothing to offer - it's Spring after all. The problem was that the situation facing my community, my city, my state, my country and the rest of the world just felt overwhelming. I brought my clippers and a water-filled jar outside with me anyway and snipped a few blooms from my cutting garden, telling myself I should be able to focus long enough to cobble together one vase. But then the garden worked its magic and I focused on my plants, shoving the world's woes into a closet at the back of my mind, at least for a time.
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| The Anemones in my cutting garden have peaked but there were still a few vase-worthy blooms |
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| Back view: I gathered other flowers in shades of pink and blue to play off the colors of the Anemone's petals |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Cistus x skanbergii, lavender and blue Freesia, Osteospermum 'Berry White', Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic', Osteospermum 'Violet Ice' and, in the middle, hybrid Anemone 'Mistral Rarity' |
Energized by my first collection effort, I tackled a second, centered around the first blooms of
Leucospermum 'Spider' I'd originally eyed for one of last week's vases.
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| 'Spider's' flower sepals are an amethyst color, which prompted me to add touches of pale blue to the arrangement |
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| Back view: I added 2 Narcissus varieties to the mix to echo up the peach color of the Leucospermum |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Campanula portenschlagiana, Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash' (recycled from one of last week's vases), Freesia, Narcissus 'British Gamble', Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Xylosma congestum (also recycled from one of last week's vases), Narcissus 'Geranium' and, in the middle, hybrid Leucospermum 'Spider' |
I cut more than I needed for the first arrangement so the leftovers went into a tiny vase for the kitchen island.
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| The contents are noID Pericallis (aka Florist's Cineraria) and Persicaria capitata |
I hope you're able to escape current circumstances at times. Born well after the travails of World War II, this is the first time I can think of in which people all over the world are facing the same concerns, even if in varying degrees of intensity. Here in Southern California, we got a little extra help on Friday.
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| This isn't a great photo but that's the US Navy Hospital Ship Mercy docked at the Port of Los Angeles, visible from our backyard. Although half of it's hidden behind the cruise ship terminal, if you look closely you can see the red cross on its side. It won't be taking in people infected by COVID-19 but it's available to accept other hospital patients to free up beds for those with the virus in Southern California hospitals. |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what other IAVOM contributors have pulled from their gardens to lift their spirits this week. Best wishes to all!
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
