I planted my first Protea 'Pink Ice' in the ground in 2018, after it spent two years in a large pot without flowering. Almost six years after planting it in the ground, I finally have flowers. I planted another Protea cultivar last December and it's already developing flowers so I'm guessing that the magic ingredient was two years of good rain. I only cut two flowers because I want to enjoy them outside too.
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| The Protea blooms are very heavy and I struggled to find the right vase, making do with this one my mother bought me in Finland many years ago, on her one and only trip to her parents' home country |
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| Back view: I used a mix of Leucadendron foliage (as well as Rudbeckias) to fill out the vase. Leucadendrons are members of the larger Proteaceae family. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Rudbeckia hirta ''Sahara', Dahlia 'Excentric', Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', L. s. 'Blush', and Protea neriifolia 'Pink Ice' |
The first Dahlia 'Hometown Hero' blooms are just getting started but I decided to wait until those flowers are more fully open to cut them for an arrangement so instead I made use of a mix of the dahlias that keep toppling over.
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| I included 4 varieties of dahlias in this arrangement |
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| Back view: a few Rudbeckia served to fill holes |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Creme de Cognac', D. 'Fairway Spur' in 2 forms, D. 'La Luna', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Indian Summer' (coleus), Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', and Dahlia 'Summer's End' |
Once again, I also put together a small third arrangement for the kitchen island, utilizing more dahlias of course.
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| Vitex trifolia is at its exuberant best in late summer, although it droops in vases during the first 24 hours after its stems are cut as shown here. Digitalis purpurea is also still flowering in my cutting garden so I had to cut Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' to show off both. |
I'm glad the dahlia train is still running but I've already started thinking about my cool season cutting garden, even if its been far from cool here thus far. Our morning marine layer continues to keep it cooler along the coast than it's been in the inland areas but last week's temperatures were in the mid-80sF (30C) most days. This week may be cooler but that remains to be seen. Meanwhile, our 2025 "water year" started October 1st and my year-to-date precipitation total now reads 0.02/inch. That is wholly attributable to moisture from the heavy marine layers. There's still no rain in the forecast for us in the foreseeable future.
For more IAVOM creations, visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
