The weather has been bizarre this year - and I realize that this isn't just true of coastal Southern California. Here, we've had brief heat spells on and off since January but, each time I fear summer is moving in to stay, we flip back to cooler temperatures. After temperatures reaching 90F the prior week, last week our temperatures remained mostly in the mid-to-upper 60sF and that pattern is expected to hold through this week as well. Regardless of whether it's hot or cold, though, wind has become a regular feature and, in the absence of rain, that's drying out the soil and plants. While some of my cool season flowers are clearly on the decline, there are others not yet ready to concede the stage to their warm/hot season replacements.
To clear space in my cutting garden for Dahlia tubers and Zinnia seedlings, I've begun pulling out the scruffier Digitalis and Nigella plants. Flowers of both inspired my first arrangement this week.
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| I played off the dark color at the center of the Nigella papillosa flowers in selecting burgundy foliage to fill out the vase |
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| This side of the arrangement was meant to be the back but, when I placed it in my front entryway, it ended up as the front view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Fuchsia magellanica 'Hawkshead', Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', noID Lathyrus odoratus, Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Vino' (formerly known as Coleus), and Nigella papillosa |
In the interest of saving a few purple foxgloves that had flopped over in the wind, I used them as the starting point for my second arrangement.
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| I'd had pink Alstroemeria in mind to combine with the foxgloves but the latter's blue undertones had me abandoning that plan and seeking new partners |
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| Back view: I picked a tall Acanthus stem to add height. Acanthus mollis was a major feature in my former shady garden but the plant can't take the drier conditions in my current garden. While refusing to die, the plants disappear as temperatures rise, returning only briefly following our winter rainy season. At best, I get one or two flowers a year. |
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| Top view: I used a few tall stems of Arthropodium cirratum (aka Renga lily) as a filler |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Acanthus mollis, Arthropodium cirratum, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', noID Lathyrus odoratus, Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata', and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink' |
I expect I'll continue to winnow out the Nigella blooms at a steady rate. As the sweet pea foliage is looking uglier every day, those vines may go this week. I've given away cut flowers at intervals over the past few weeks and I may step up the pace there, assuming I can find enough bottles or cups to hold miniature bouquets.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party