I thought I had all my choices made before I stepped into the garden on Sunday to select blooms for "In a Vase on Monday," the popular meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden. But, facing another forecast of toasty temperatures by mid-week, the garden persuaded me to focus on the flowers most likely to respond negatively when the heat's turned up. They moved to the front of the line while others (pardon the pun) were put on the back burner.
The larkspur (Consolida ajacis) that only recently started blooming was uppermost among the plants I was concerned with, as they'd already taken a hit in late April when our temperatures suddenly soared into the upper 80s, reaching 95F at one point. The fact that the grayish-purple larkspur complemented the bearded Iris that had just started blooming down at the bottom of my back slope was pure serendipity.
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| Unlike the dwarf bearded Iris I featured earlier this spring, this one grows very tall so I couldn't miss it when I made a brief trip to the bottom of the slope on Saturday. I think it's an old-fashioned variety but I've no idea of its name. |
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| I used a few stems of Abelia to dress up the base of the arrangement and stems of an ornamental grass as a filler |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: noID Iris germanica, Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Consolida ajacis 'Earl Grey' and noID white form, and Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tails grass) |
The second vase features larkspur in a different color and a few Dutch Iris that recently made a late appearance in my front garden.
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| Dutch Iris 'Silvery Beauty' grows in a semi-shaded area of the garden and has never bloomed as early or as vigorously as those grown in full sun |
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| I used a narrow-necked vase given to me by a friend last Christmas and dressed up the back of the vase with the first globe daisies (Globularia x indubia) to bloom this season |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Iris hollandica 'Silvery Beauty', Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix', Globularia x indubia, Achillea 'Moonshine'(shown with Anagallis monelli), Prunus caroliniana, and Trichostema 'Midnight Magic' |
I hadn't expected to create a third vase but I decided the pink Alstroemeria in a sunny section of the garden might also benefit from seeking cover in the house. I selected an odd little vase I think I've used only once before to hold those flowers and their companions.
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| A close-up of the vase, which has a random assortment of irregularly shaped holes on top to hold flowers in place |
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| I added an assortment of pink and while flowers to complement the Alstroemeria |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: noID pink Alstroemeria, Argyranthemum frutescens 'Everest', Pelargonium 'Lady Plymouth', Orlaya grandiflora, and Osteospermum 'Berry White' |
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
