It had appeared that our rainy season was over. Even the UCLA climate scientist I depend on for a clear picture of what's happening with California's weather had said that the southern part of our state, with the possible exception of the mountain areas, would be unlikely to see any more rain after mid-April. Local forecasters gave us a small chance of rain this past weekend but, when I checked the forecast on Saturday, the rainfall estimate was a paltry 0.01/inch. As a result, I was surprised to wake up and find that we'd received 0.17/inch of rain. We were also plagued by gusty winds. The result was that Mother Nature selected most of what ended up in my vases this week.
I featured a post on my steep back slope last Friday. The space looks its best in spring when everything is growing like crazy but I acknowledge that some of the plants are a bit too exuberant and in need of pruning, if only to eliminate tripping hazards. That was all too clear on Sunday morning when the combination of wind and rain plastered flower stems across the stairway that offers the only passage in and out of the area.
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| I cut about 2 dozen tall stems of pink and white Centranthus, many of which I found lying flat on the ground |
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| Back view |
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| Top view: I selected pink Alstroemeria to complement the Centranthus |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: noID pink Alstroemeria, Argyranthemum 'Grandaisy Dark Pink', Centranthus ruber, C. r. 'Albus', Daucus carota 'Dara', and Fuchsia 'Windchimes Upright White' |
On Saturday, I'd eyed the Hippeastrum stems in one of my borders for possible use in a vase but I wasn't sure I wanted to sacrifice one of the few remaining stems. Mother Nature made that decision for me too by snapping a couple of them. One was no longer vase-worthy but the other became the focus of my second arrangement.
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| I added larkspur stems from my cutting garden, which had also been battered by the wind |
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| I dressed up the back of the vase with a single stem of Argyranthemum, which has formed a dense mass of primrose yellow flowers filling most of a barrel in my cutting garden |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemeria 'Claire', Argyranthemum 'Angelic Maize', 2 variations of Consolida ajacis from the 'Summer Skies Mix', Hippeastrum 'Luna', Lathyrus odoratus 'April in Paris', and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' |
For more IAVOM creations, check in with our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
