We had a lovely - and unexpected - change in our weather on Friday. Just after noon, as temperatures appeared to be heading back into the low 90sF (33C) where they'd been stuck for more than a week, fog blew in, immediately dropping our temperature by almost 10 degrees. It stayed below 80F (26C) for the rest of the day and was followed by marine layers on Saturday and Sunday. Will it last? Who knows, but I'm enjoying it for now. I know I complained about it when it persisted from April through June but, after weeks of hot weather, I appreciate its value. Our humidity is high but then you can't have everything.
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| View of the back garden against the morning marine layer |
July's heat put a quick end to many of the early summer flowers. The Shasta daisies fried almost before they got started, the Agapanthus are already looking shaggy, and even the Salvias are withering. My dahlias and zinnias are coming along but I don't know if I'll see many, if any, flowers from those plants before August. I gathered bits of numerous flowers scattered throughout my garden to put together the following arrangement.
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| There's no real focal point to this arrangement. It's more of an ensemble cast of flowers. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Monarda 'Peter's Purple', Pandorea jasminoides, Polygala myrtifolia, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian Purple', Scabiosa columbaria 'Deep Blue', S. c. 'Flutter Rose Pink', Viola 'Penny Peach', and Digitalis 'Dalmatian White' |
My other arrangement this week features what may be the last of the lilies for the season. It's essentially a more flamboyant spin on the red and white arrangement I created for Independence Day earlier this month.
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| Unlike my earlier arrangement featuring Lilium 'Pretty Woman' which contained a single lily bloom, this stem has 5 flowers, one of which is still in bud and another which is just unfurling. 'Pretty Woman' is one of the so-call "tree lilies" which are known for growing taller and more floriferous with age. |
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| Back view, highlighting Daucus carota 'Dara' |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna' (plus one stem of the nearly identical A. 'Inca Husky'), Daucus carota 'Dara', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Lilium 'Pretty Woman' |
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party