We're in the middle of a winter heatwave. Just over a week ago, our daytime temperatures were barely reaching 60F (15.5C) and now, courtesy of our Santa Ana winds, they're soaring well above 80F (27C). Worse yet, there's no rain in sight and our humidity level is near zero. Still, the flowering plants have responded to the added warmth and blooms are appearing everywhere. My
Grevillea 'Superb' is blooming as heavily as the
'Peaches & Cream' I featured in a
vase in mid-January.
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| Grevillea 'Superb' photographed last week in the front garden |
The
Grevillea was a natural choice for this week's "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden.
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| Front view |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
Here's a closer look at the individual elements:
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| Clockwise from upper left: Grevillea 'Superb'; Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', now showing its full winter colors; 3 coral-toned Iceland poppies (Papaver nudicaule); Coleonema album, just beginning its annual bloom cycle; a few stems of Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'; and Pelargonium x hortorum 'Mrs. Pollock' |
The wind has also been hard on the last of the two poinsettias I used to create holiday-themed pots to stand outside the front door in mid-December.
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| This vignette was my entry into the "Poinsettia Challenge" sponsored by Loree of danger garden last December |
It was time to put away the gnome, the final remnant of my holiday decorations, and change out the contents of the pots by the front door. However, as there were a few nice "blooms" still left on poinsettia, I decided to put them in a vase before retiring the remains of the plant.
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| This poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) didn't start to deteriorate significantly until about a week ago, although the variegated form I planted began to fall apart in mid-January |
By pure coincidence, both vases this week offer lots of coral color.
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| The arrangement containing the Grevilleas ended up on the dining room table |
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| The 3 poinsettia stems, after scalding in hot water, sit in the front entry |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find what she and other gardeners have cobbled together from what they have on hand this week.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
