My flower supply is greatly diminished but I resisted falling back on my Grevilleas this week. The Camellias are still plentiful but they shatter easily, especially when the air is as dry as it's been of late. As I wandered my garden, I focused on foliage plants and looked for the odd flowers that might serve as accents. One arrangement turned out better than I'd expected but the second was so disappointing I was tempted to throw the whole thing in the trash.
The first arrangement started with Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', which has colorful bracts that look almost like flowers.
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| Although the Leucadendron stems were my starting point, I think the single orchid stem placed in front did a lot to pull the whole arrangement together. That Phalaenopsis has been blooming in my lath (shade) house for about 2 months now. |
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| Back view: The coleus (now classified as Plectranthus scutellarioides) also pulled colors together |
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| Top view: The chartreuse color of the coleus led to the selection of the flowering bloom spikes produced by Mangave 'Bloodspot' |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Mangave 'Bloodspot' bloom spikes, Phalaenopsis 'Balden's Kaleidoscope', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Pineapple', and Prunus caroliniana |
While I like each of the individual components of the second arrangement, they just didn't come together well.
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| Clockwise from the upper left are flowers of Bauhinia x blakeana (aka Hong Kong orchid tree), Pelargonium peltatum 'Dark Burgundy', Cyclamen 'Djix', and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', shown with foliage of Centaurea 'Silver Feather' |
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| Front view: The Centaurea foliage I've been in the process of cutting back was the starting point but I think it's better paired with larger flowers. Even after I'd thinned the foliage and cut it down in size, it overwhelmed these flowers. |
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| Back view: I should have picked longer stems of the Bauhinia and scrapped the short-stemmed Pelargonium and Cyclamen flowers |
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| Sometimes the overhead view looks better than the other views of my arrangements but this wasn't one of those times |
The Anemones in my cutting garden have sprouted foliage and the Ranunculus are just beginning to follow suit. I planted plugs of foxgloves and snapdragons a month ago too. However, nothing is anywhere near bloom stage yet. In the void, succulents may make an appearance in my December IAVOM posts - or perhaps my arrangements will shrink to tiny dimensions for a time. We'll see.
For a look at what other IAVOM contributors have come up with this week, visit our host, Cathy in Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party