Last week I said I wasn't sure what I might come up with for the next week's vases that might be different from what I'd already used this season as I didn't see any new blooms on the horizon. Well, late last week I was surprised to see a naked lady in the garden! Actually, at least seven of them have made an appearance thus far. The lady is properly known as
Amaryllis belladonna, not to be confused with
Hippeastrum, which is commonly identified as
Amaryllis but isn't actually part of that genus (although both are part of the
Amaryllidaceae family). There are only two species in the
Amaryllis genus as it's currently construed and both of these plants are native to South Africa.
![]() |
| Amaryllis belladonna gets its common name from the fact that it blooms without any foliage. My bulbs were a gift from a fellow blogger, Tammy of Casa Mariposa, who passed them along when she discovered that they weren't inclined to bloom in her Virginia garden. |
![]() |
| Back view: I was also pleased to discover that my Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' had produced a few more stems studded with flowers |
![]() |
| Top view: This arrangement was a little too tall to photograph overhead without a ladder |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Amaryllis belladonna, Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Ammi majus 'Dara' in two tones, flowers of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', foliage of the same plant, and Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Bells Red' |
Another minor surprise arrived in the form of a lavender-flowered Lisianthus (
Eustoma grandiflorum). Last year, I planted a 6-pack of what was labeled as
Lisianthus 'Rosanne II Deep Brown'. It subsequently bloomed in a mottled lavender color. I'd intended to dig it up and move it but lost track of that task during our remodel upheaval last fall. I'd forgotten it until it reappeared last week in a bed in which it stands out like a sore thumb. I had no hesitancy about cutting it for another vase.
![]() |
| I kept this arrangement on the cool side by combining the blue and lavender flowers with the gray foliage of Centaurea 'Silver Feather' |
![]() |
| Back view |
![]() |
| In addition to the lavender Lisianthus, I used a stem of another blue-flowered variety, which isn't as dark as the variety I cut last week. The silver foliage almost disappears against the background of our kitchen island. |
![]() |
| Clockwise from the upper left: Eustoma grandiflorum in lavender and blue, Ocimum basilicum ('Thai' and 'Purple Ruffles' basil), Lavandula angustifolia, Centaurea 'Silver Feather', Myrtus communis 'Compacta', and Salvia 'Pozo Blue' |
There are buds on two of the 15 dahlia tubers that sprouted for me this year. The rest are developing healthy foliage but I expect I still have a month or more to wait until I see many flowers. Although it pained me to do so, I pinched back all my dahlias, sunflowers and zinnias to encourage branching. You may see a succulent arrangement next week...
For more IAVOM creations,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
