It's Spring. I can't help myself. I started with a clear idea of what I wanted in my first vase and a vague notion of a possibility for a second arrangement. And I ended up with four vases. The problem arose at the start when, cutting materials for the first vase, I got carried away and cut more than the vase could hold.
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| Leucospermum 'Brandi' is one of my favorite flowers at the moment but this arrangement was actually inspired by my desire to use the last of the presentable Narcissi before the next stretch of very warm weather arrives later this week |
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| I finally got a handful of Iceland poppies to bloom and added a couple to dress up the back of this arrangement |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Leucospermum 'Brandi', Narcissus tazetta 'Geranium', and Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) shown with Lotus berthelotii 'Amazon Sunset' |
When I realized that I literally couldn't stuff anything more into the first vase, I pulled out another one for the overflow materials I'd already cut.
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| I'd thought that the flowers of Aeonium 'Kiwi Verde', currently blooming all over the garden, and the chartreuse and rusty red flowers of Salvia lanceolata might offer a nice complement to the orange Leucospermum but there wasn't room to cram those stems into the first vase |
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| Back view showing off the Aeonium flowers |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Claire', and Salvia lanceolata |
I cut all my flowers on Sunday morning before I have breakfast so I already had flowers cut for what was supposed to be vase #2 but ended up as vase #3.
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| The noID snapdragons I grew from plugs are showing the first signs of rust so I cut them and the only Anemone 'Bi-color' still in good shape |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Anemone coronaria 'Bi-color', red and white Antirrhinum majus, Coriandrum sativum, and Penstemon mexicali 'Mini Red Bells' |
The contents of the fourth arrangement weren't cut on Sunday. The foxglove is a holdover from one of last week's arrangements and the sweet peas were cut late last week for the kitchen island but I'm sharing them to show off the magical color transformation of
Lathyrus 'Blue Shift' as the blooms age.
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| The vase of "leftovers" too good not to share |
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| These photos show how the color of Lathyrus odoratus 'Blue Shift' changes from magenta to purple to turquoise blue. I grew these from seed. |
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
