The heat "on" switch here has blessedly been turned off, at least for a time. We had beautiful weather this past weekend and it's expected to hang on through Thursday, after which another heatwave is expected to descend upon us. I'm going to make the most of the cooler weather while it lasts.
With the exception of 'Labyrinth', the dahlias have been stingy with their blooms thus far. I followed the advice offered by Nicholas Gitts (owner of Swan Island Dahlias) in the latest issue of Fine Gardening and applied a bloom booster fertilizer a week ago but it hasn't has a material impact as of yet. However, I do have one arrangement featuring dahlias this week.
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Dahlia 'Labyrinth' is once again stealing the show but 'Candelight' made its first appearance this week as a supporting actor
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I used what may be the last of the "green" gladiolas to dress up the back of the vase, along with a few stems of my sweet autumn clematis
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlias 'Labyrinth' and 'Candlelight', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Inca Sunshine', Clematis terniflora, Cuphea 'Honeybells', Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', and Gladiolus 'Green Star'
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I made use of some of my limited collection of sunflowers for a second vase.
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I mixed the sunflowers with Rudbeckia and Cosmos
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The back view features a couple of mutant sunflowers (below the larger sunflower). I sowed seeds of Helianthus annuus 'Greenburst' and 'Ruby Eclipse' and these don't look like either but they do look much like the mutant blooms that appeared in my garden last year. Apparently mutant sunflowers are relatively common as described here.
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy', Helianthus annuus 'Delta Sunflower', mutant sunflowers, hybrid Helianthus 'Sunfinity', Cosmos bipinnatus, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Chondropetalum elephantitum
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A few leftover blooms landed in a tiny vase on the kitchen island.
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I cut two stems of pink Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus) for the first vase but they weren't a good match so they and a few extra stems of Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' ended up here
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For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
