The flowers available for cutting are in shorter supply now and the blooms I do have generally don't have long vase-lives. In recognition of the season, the first arrangement is a mix of red and green with a few splashes of white. I emphasized a variety of foliage so that it may retain some interest even when the flowers collapse.
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| Grevillea 'Ned Kelly' wasn't meant to be the floral focus of this arrangement but I couldn't resist. 'Ned' is far less generous with its blooms than my other large-flowered Grevilleas, 'Superb' and 'Peaches & Cream'so I don't use it often in arrangements. |
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| My original inspiration for the arrangement, the flowers of pink powder-puff (Calliandra haematocephala), ended up in what I've designated the back of the arrangement, although it can be viewed from all angles where it sits. The powder puffs only last a couple of days at most and I doubt the brownish-red buds will open on cut stems but they offer their own kind of interest. |
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| Top view |
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The vase contains: Top row - Calliandra haematocephala, Coloenema pulchella 'Sunset Gold', and Dianthus 'Dash White'
Middle row - Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', and L. 'Winter Red'
Bottom row - Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells' and Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light' |
The second, smaller arrangement made use of the current abundance of Camellia sasanqua. As our humidity levels have been low more often than not recently, the Camellia blooms wither quickly, even in their protected spot under the roof eave on the north side of the house. There are lots of flowers but finding a few in pristine condition with stems of a decent length was a little bit of a challenge.
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| At best, these Camillia flowers will last 2-3 days |
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| The uninteresting back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum 'Angelic Giant Pink', two unidentified forms of Camellia sasanqua, Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' |
For more IAVOM, most created in colder areas than mine, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2020 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
