The red hellebores in my front garden grabbed my attention this week and I created my first arrangement to play off them. I kept discovering suitable companions, snipping as I went until I had more flowers than I needed.
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| As I selected the relatively diminutive china vase featuring a woman's elegantly manicured nails, I should have used fewer flowers to show them off. I did jettison some flowers in the process of arranging them but not enough to highlight the vase itself. |
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| I included one fat stem of Daphne odora in the back just because I couldn't resist bringing its scent into the house |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Anemone coronaria 'Admiral', Boronia crenulata 'Shark Bay', Daphne odora 'Leucanthe', Grevillea sericea, Helleborus 'Anna's Red', and Pelargonium sidioides. (Stems of Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' foliage were also included but not shown in closeup.) |
Two of the Echium handiense I grew from cuttings last year after taking out the woody plant in my back border have started to bloom and, as both plants can benefit from being cut back at this stage, I went ahead and cut three stems for a second vase. The flowers of this Echium are bright blue, tinged with just a touch of pink at their base, so I cut a few stems of Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' to add to the mix but subsequently changed my mind, sticking with a simple blue and white (and purple) combination.
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| I cut all the flowering stems of the Osteospermum '4D Silver' that self-seeded in the dirt path behind my backyard border as I'm planning to dig the plant up and move it this week. This is my all-time favorite Osteospermum but I haven't been able to find it in local garden centers for some time. |
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| I filled out the back of the vase with 2 stems of Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender). These plants are just starting to get their bloom on. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: noID Ceanothus, Echium handiense 'Pride of Fuerteventura', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', Limonium perezii, and Osteospermum '4D Silver' |
The leftover materials from both arrangements went into the small vase on my kitchen island.
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| It contains 3 stems of Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', one pink Alstroemeria, and leftover Boronia, Pelargonium, and Prostanthera stems |
For the record, the Triplets are still in place on my living room mantel. With one small exception they look just like they did three weeks ago.
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| The Kalanchoe in the smallest Triplet's chapeau has developed delicate pink roots. All the succulent cuttings will be replanted in the garden this week as the Triplets retreat to the privacy of their closet. |
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
