Yellow is one of my favorite colors (along with blue and green) but even so, I find some strong yellows off-putting. Still, the Didelta 'Silver Strand' I planted in November had recently produced so many flowers, I found I couldn't ignore it.
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Unfamiliar with Didelta, a succulent, I planted a single specimen in a 4-inch pot in one of my back garden borders. I selected it for its silver foliage and drought tolerance. The tag said it produced yellow flowers but I didn't expect a display like this.
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The question was: what do you combine with flowers in an intense yellow like that? Rather than attempting to provide a distraction by using other strong colors that would compete with it, I decided to lean in with other yellow flowers, creating a combination of plants which probably would never be found together in nature.
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The Didelta flowers tended to droop when placed in a vase, making them appear less prominent. The 'Golden Celebration' rose easily handled the competition presented by the succulent's flowers. However, as most of those roses fried during our recent heatwave, I only had one presentable bloom to include.
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Back view: Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance' offered a softer influence and tied in well with the foliage of Agonis flexuosa 'Nana'
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Top view: The flowers of Iris 'Lion King' also tied in well - and I'd previously been perplexed about what to pair with them
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis fleuxosa 'Nana', Alstroemeria 'Inca Sundance', Argyranthemum frutescens 'White Butterfly', Didelta 'Silver Strand', Iris hollandica 'Lion King', and Rosa 'Golden Celebration'
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While my first arrangement is vivid, my second consists primarily of softer colors.
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My cutting garden finally produced foxgloves in shades other than peach
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left, Digitalis purpurea in pink and white, Orlaya grandiflora, Pelargonium cucullatum 'Flore Pleno', Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink'
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Like last week, my IAVOM preparations were temporarily interrupted by an unexpected visitor, one much rarer than the bunny that stopped by last week.
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As I was cutting flowers for this week's vases, I heard the tell-tale cries of a male peacock nearby but I was still surprised when I looked out the kitchen window and caught him eating blueberries from the pots just outside our back door. He allowed me to follow him for several minutes before flying over the fence into my neighbor's garden. These birds are well known on our peninsula but I haven't seen one in almost 2 years. (You can read more about the birds in a 2020 post here.)
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When finished, my new arrangements assumed their usual positions in the front entry and on the dining room table.
I had flowers left over from last week's arrangements I couldn't bear to toss too.
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The Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' flowers (left) have a very long vase life. The Dephinium elatum 'Cobalt Dreams' flowers don't but I cut the stems down in order to preserve the florets as long as possible, although I see fallen petals every time I glance in the direction of that vase.
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For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
