When I create floral arrangements, whether utilizing complementary colors or analogous colors, I look for color echoes to link the elements. I fumbled in that endeavor this week.
I used two varieties of dinnerplate Dahlias, 'Iceberg' and 'Lavender Ruffles', in the first arrangement but had difficulty finding companions to play off the latter's pinkish-lavender color.
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Abelia 'Edward Goucher' subtly reflects the color of Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' but as most of the flowering stems are short it doesn't have much impact
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Back view
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Top view: When I squint I think I can made out a very faint pink blush in the Eustoma 'Balboa Blue Rim' (aka Lisianthus) but I'm pushing there
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Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher', Coleonema album, Eustoma grandiflorum 'Balboa Blue Rim', Dahlia 'Iceberg', and D. 'Lavender Ruffles'
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Zinnia 'Giant Carmine Rose', blooming in earnest in my cutting garden, called out for inclusion in a vase. I love its vibrant color but it turns out there isn't much in my garden that pairs well with it, at least not at present. Cuphea 'Honeybells' was the best match. I played off the touch of yellowish-ivory at the tips of the Cuphea in an effort to bridge the gap between the Zinnia and the arrangement's other dominant element, Dahlia 'Calin'; however, I think the bridge is a bit wobbly in this case.
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I guess I can also claim that there's a touch of yellow at the center of the Zinnias
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Back view, showing off the stems of Cuphea 'Honeybells'
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Westringia fruticosa 'Morning Light', Dahlia 'Calin', and Zinnia elegans 'Giant Carmine Rose'
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For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
