There REALLY isn't a lot of floral color in my garden right now. Yes, there are a few - mostly short - flowers here and there but, with the exception of the
Coreopsis 'Redshift,' there's nothing much available in sufficient quantity to make an impact in a vase. Most of the flowers also don't coordinate well with one another. I considered constructing a vase solely with foliage material but, after cutting a mass of colorful coleus 'Honey Crisp,' I was able to find a few flowers that provided a nice floral accent to the variegated foliage of the coleus (
Solenstemon scuttellarioides).
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| Close-up of Coleus 'Honey Crisp' showing the peach, yellow and green upper surface and its pink and purple undersides |
The first floral accent I hit on was
Gaillardia grandiflora 'Goblin,' which is very short. The taller look-alike
Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun' hasn't reappeared this year, which is unfortunate. After a couple rounds of our property, I also picked up:
- Gaillardia 'Mesa Peach' (2 stems) - short and barely visible in the photo at the top of the post
- Helianthus annuus 'Lemon Queen' (1 stem) - planted late from seed in the vegetable garden, this appears to be the only 'Lemon Queen' to show her pretty face
- Pennisetum glaucum 'Purple Majesty' (1 stem)
- Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum' (2 stems)
- Zinnia (2 stems) - planted from seed, I have no record of the small flowered variety that has survived our water limitations
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| Close-up of Helianthus 'Lemon Queen' and Pennisetum 'Purple Majesty' |
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| Close-up of the 2 small Zinnia flowers, surrounded by Gallardia 'Goblin' in flower and in bud |
Once again, the bouquet landed in the front foyer to greet everyone who comes through the door.
Please
check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see her floral creation and to find links to photos of bouquets created by other participating gardeners.
All material
© 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
