The heat turned up here last week, rising into the low 90sF (33C). My garden is entering its summer doldrums in response. Last year the first dahlia blooms appeared in my cutting garden in late June and early July but I haven't even seen evidence of buds forming yet from the tubers I planted this year. Of course, last year I planted most of my tubers in early March whereas this year I didn't get around to planting the first of these until mid-April and didn't finish planting the rest until early May. As I dragged my feet on pulling the last of my cool season flowers as well, I was also late in sowing sunflower and zinnia seeds in their place. So, I have a gap in my supply of floral material at the moment, especially as only a few flowers are growing in profusion in the garden at large.
Early Sunday morning I focused on the two flowering plants with the most blooms at present, lion's tail and California aster, but I was at a loss as to what to pair with them that I haven't used before. I strolled the garden and cut a few things here and there on spec. What I ended up with produced my first vase, which wasn't something I had in mind at the start at all.
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| I used an ornamental teapot with colors that matched my selected plant material. I think this is the first time I've used the dwarf myrtle (Myrtus communis) that's been growing in my garden for almost 5 years now. Yellow Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) produced a few stray blooms long after the rest of the flowers have gone to seed. |
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| Back view: I used Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash' (aka variegated wire bush) to add height and an airy quality and stems of the copper-tinged Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike' as an accent and filler |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Corokia virgata 'Sunsplash', Leucanthemum x superbum, Leucadendron 'Safari Goldstrike', Myrtus communis 'Compacta', Phlomis fruticosa, and noID Cosmos |
I originally thought I'd throw the lion's tail (
Leonotis leonurus) I'd cut in with the materials that formed the first vase but, when I decided against that, I paired the former with other blooms and foliage to create a fiery mix.
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| I stuck to yellow, orange and red for this arrangement |
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| Back view: The slightly cooler tones of the variegated Abelia brought the temperature of the mix down a bit |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Leonotis leonurus, Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', Cuphea micropetala, Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', and noID Zinnias |
I ended up using the California aster (
Symphyotrichum chilense) in a larger scale version of the small arrangement of "leftovers" I created last week.
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| The dark blue Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) took a beating under last week's heat but the aster appears to love the higher temperatures. The latter has been blooming well ahead of schedule. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Left to right: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Eustoma grandiflorum, and Symphyotrichum chilense. I added stems of a noID lavender as well but I couldn't get a clear photo of those. |
Our temperatures are expected to drop this week and, although I've been on a bit of a plant buying spree of late, none of my new purchases are poised to produce instant blooms so I've no idea what I'll come up with next week. However, I've realized that my garden has a way of providing even when I can't see it.
For more IAVOM creations,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
