In my last "In a Vase on Monday" post, I commented that African daisies don't make great vase material because many of the flowers close in low light. After that pronouncement, I couldn't help wondering if
Gazania 'Sunbathers Otomi' wouldn't fare better given its ruffled center disk. Late last week, as I made what's become my weekly spin through my local garden center, I came across a new edition of another favorite African daisy,
Osteospermum '3D Silver'. The new release was labeled
'4D Silver' and its tag declared that it doesn't close at night. Like
G. 'Otomi',
'4D Silver' has a dense central disk. With that point in mind, I decided I was going to try
'Otomi' in a vase.
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| Gazania 'Sunbathers Otomi' in my garden, as shown in my February Bloom Day post |
While I considered a variety of flowers to accent the
Gazanias, I ended up keeping the arrangement simple with just 3 ingredients.
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| Completed arrangement in my sunny kitchen |
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| The ingredients include: Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' (recycled from last week's vase), Gazania 'Sunbathers Otomi', and Ribes viburnifolium (aka Catalina perfume currant) |
So far, so good. The outer flower petals do curl up some as the light level drops but the flowers don't close completely as my other
Gazanias do.
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| On the left, the vase on the east-facing dining room table in late morning; on the right, the vase in the late afternoon with the east side of the house already in shadow |
Did I stop at one vase this week? No, of course not. The garden is literally full of flowers and I'd already cut some others with the prospect of including them in the vase with the
Gazanias. However, I kept each of my vases simple this week.
Vase #2 has just 2 elements.
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| I couldn't ignore the yellow Freesia in bloom in several areas of the garden but I decided that it would overwhelm vase #1 and detract from the Gazanias |
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| This small vase includes just Freesia and the flowers of the succulent, Graptopetalum 'Darley Sunshine' |
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| It sits next to my computer where I can enjoy the Freesia's perfume |
Vase #3 may be my favorite this week. It sings that spring is in the air (even if our temperatures are headed into summer-like territory again this week).
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| A Narcissus I planted our first year in this house began to open just after Bloom Day |
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| This vase includes Erysimum linifolium 'Variegatum', Lantana montevidensis, and the noID Narcissus |
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| I would have placed this vase in the front entryway but our Santa Ana winds are scheduled to return today and I've already lost 2 of my lighter-weight vases to brisk winds sweeping through the front door so this one sits safely on the bedroom mantle |
As for my future vases, you can expect to see that
Osteospermum I mentioned at the top of my post. I didn't leave it sitting in the garden center.
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| 3 Osteospermum '4D Silver' in 6-inch pots came home with me |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other bloggers have put together with materials on hand this week.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
