Once again on Sunday my garden worked its magic. With my cool season flowers now gone and the warm season flowers far from ready to take off, I was at a loss as to what I could put together, other than cutting more
Agapanthus. I had the color orange in mind as
Cuphea 'Vermillonaire' is going great guns but instead I decided on the fly to cut some
Leonotis leonurus (aka lion's tail) while there's enough available to cut. Then I saw a bloom on an
Alstroemeria I planted two and a half years ago and I was off and running.
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| I planted the orange Alstroemeria 'Third Harmonic' toward the back of one border, expecting it to grow 3 to 4 feet tall but it's stayed small and, when it's bloomed in the past, I've missed it. I think it wants more water than it gets. |
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| Back view: With the strong orange color of Alstroemeria 'Third Harmonic' and Leonotis, I felt I needed to bring the color down a couple of pegs so I cut the soft-toned variegated foliage of Corokia 'Sunsplash' to do just that. In turn, the 'Corokia'sent me on a search for other flowers in similar soft colors. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Third Harmonic', A. 'Claire', Leonotis leonurus, Corokia x virgata 'Sunsplash', and Crassula pubescens ssp radicans |
I toned down the first arrangement by adding softer colors but, after cutting stems of
Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' as the inspiration for my second vase, I decided I needed to add stronger coral-pink colors to provide contrast.
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| Two early heatwaves put a quick end to an earlier flush of bloom on Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' by mid-May. I was surprised to see the shrub produce another flush of peachy-pink blooms again last week. |
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| Back view: I cut several flowers of Grevillea 'Superb' to add the deeper coral-pink I was looking for but the back of this arrangement could've used a couple more stems |
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| Top view: Two unusually tall stems of my 'Pink Meidiland' rose were a last-minute addition |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Grevillea 'Superb', and Rosa 'Pink Meidiland' |
I threw together a third vase mainly because one of the lisianthus stems I cut last week still had some vase-life left in it. My living room mantle was also calling out for color.
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| The interesting thing I've discovered about the dark blue-flowered lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) is that larger buds will open in a vase but in a lighter lavender color. The lisianthus stem on the left was cut last week and the lavender colored buds surrounding the dark blue bloom opened several days later. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum, Leucadendron 'Pisa', Trachelium caeruleum, and Trichostemma 'Midnight Magic' |
Amazing myself, I cut, arranged, and photographed these arrangements in record time. That's fortunate as I'm hosting three friends for a "bring you own lunch" in my garden today. In the "
before time," we usually met at a local restaurant at least once a week but, due to the pandemic, we haven't been together since early March. My garden allows plenty of space for physical distancing (and a better view than most of our favorite restaurants). Over the weekend, I scrubbed down all my garden furniture and cushions, tidied up the garden, and gave the interior of the house a once over as well. With a final sweep of the back garden and a thorough scrub of the guest bathroom this morning, everything will be ready and waiting. Knock wood, our marine layer will lift mid-day, leaving us to enjoy comfortable temperatures and friendly conversation.
For more IAVOM creations,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
