I was hoping to have dahlia flowers by now but they're still taking their time reaching bloom stage. The buds closest to that are those of Dahlia 'Catching Fire' but only one bud was even near to the being suitable for cutting.
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The 2 'Catching Fire' plants occupying the half barrel in my front garden are loaded with buds. This one is probably a day or 2 shy of being vase-worthy. I didn't see the tiny grasshopper on the flower's upper petals until I viewed this photo. I didn't commit hopper-cide but, once identified, I did remove it from the immediate area.
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I suspected the
phrase I used in the title to the post was of American origin but I looked it up to confirm that assumption. The phrase hearkens back to the 1920s where it was used by carnival barkers who lured visitors in to play games that were hard or impossible to win. Cigars were a common award for winning the games, offered but not often handed out.
As I continue to wait out the dahlias, I leaned on an old standby to fill a vase.
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The ever-flowering Grevillea 'Superb' filled the order, although I think adding Zinnias was a misstep
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I decided I liked the back view better and ended up treating it as the front view when I placed it
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Actually, I think this overhead view is the best one in this case
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Clockwise from the upper left: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Grevillea 'Superb', 3 Zinnia elegans (which I think are all part of the 'Candy Mix' I sowed from seed), and Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder'
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I wasn't really satisfied with the first arrangement and I'm only nominally more satisfied with the second one.
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| I cut the Agapanthus stems I stripped of flowers last week down in size and used them to bulk up the arrangement of Helianthus and Zinnia flowers shown here. This is a smaller version of the crystalline glazed vase I used last week. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', recycled Agapanthus stems stripped of their flowers, Helianthus 'Sunbelievable Brown-Eyed Girl', Zinnia elegans (once again from the 'Candy Mix' seeds), and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Pineapple (formerly known as Coleus) |
I threw together a third small arrangement when I noticed a few Lisianthus prime for cutting before the heat takes them out.
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| I reused one stem of Alstroemeria 'Inca Vienna' from last week's small vase and added stems of pink and white Eustoma grandiflorum (aka Lisianthus), as well as Zinnia elegans 'Mazurkia' (sold as 'Hidden Dragon') |
Our weather this weekend proved to be milder than expected (albeit still very warm) and I'm hopeful that temperatures will continue to stay below 90F (32C) through this week. I'm also hopeful that I'll have some dahlias to cut for a vase next week!
All
material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
