I have to confess that my vases this week were created Saturday night as decoration for a small family gathering on Sunday. I wandered about in the half-dark collecting flowers to fill two vases, barely able to see what I was cutting. Still, I'm pleased with how they turned out.
This one landed on the dining room table.
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| This photo, taken in Sunday's early morning light, turned out better than those taken the evening before under artificial lights |
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| Back side of bouquet, photographed in my night-darkened kitchen |
It contains:
- Agonis flexuosa
- Alternanthera tenella
- Gaillardia x grandiflora 'Mesa Peach'
- Gomphrena haageana
- Nandina domestica (berries)
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| I used 2 forms of Agonis flexuosa - the thin-leaved stems came from one of our peppermint trees and the lower stems with wider leaves came from the dwarf variety 'Nana' |
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| I used the chartreuse Alternanthera to pick up the similarly-colored centers of the Gaillardia |
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| The Gomphrena are on their last legs - the lower petals (actually bracts) have dried and flaked away like rice husks |
The second, smaller vase served as decoration in the guest bathroom.
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| Photographed without the benefit of any natural light |
It contains:
- Aster x frikartii 'Monch' (reused from last week's vase)
- Eustoma grandiflorum 'Echo White'
- Hebe speciosa 'Variegata'
- Solanum xantii (also reused from last week's vase)
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| The Eustoma bud hasn't yet opened |
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| As the sun went down, the flowers of this Hebe seemed to gleam in the twilight but its photos didn't contain the same magic |
These vases are my contributions to Cathy's "In a Vase on Monday" meme at
Rambling in the Garden. You can see her vase and find links to other gardeners' creations
here. Most participants are dealing with far colder temperatures than I am. Our temperatures hovered in the mid-60s Fahrenheit (around 18C) last week but, in response to high winds, they're expected to climb up to 80F (26C) tomorrow before settling back to normal levels before Christmas. Hopefully, the warmer temperatures following last week's rain will bring more flowers (rather than more weeds).
All material
© 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
