A number of people have expressed surprise at seeing roses and other flowers characteristic of summer elsewhere in bloom in my garden. For all practical purposes, coastal southern California has two seasons: a cool season and a warm season. Our temperatures are slowly creeping upward and the garden has responded by going into hyperdrive. My
'Medallion' rose has produced a larger than usual number of blooms, all huge, so it was the natural choice to start with for this week's "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden.
![]() |
| Front view |
![]() |
| Back view |
![]() |
| Top view |
The apricot tones of rose initially led me toward more somber colors, like the reddish bronze foliage of
Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' and the maroon flowers of
Salvia lanceolata. The first version of the vase spoke to me more of fall than spring so I sought to brighten it up with some white and yellow blooms.
![]() |
| Clockwise from the top left, the vase includes: Rosa 'Medallion' shown fully open; the same rose shown in bud; foliage of Abelia 'Kaleidoscope'; Achillea 'Moonshine'; Anagallis 'Wildcat Mandarin'; Argyranthemum frutescens; Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'; Grevillea 'Superb'; Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'; and Salvia lanceolata (Not highlighted: stems of Heuchera maxima, recycled from last week's vase) |
It still reads a little more fall than spring to me but so be it. Coincidentally, I received a catalog hawking fall-planted bulbs this weekend so perhaps I'm not the only one that's confused.
![]() |
| The finished vase sits on the dining room table, where it can be viewed from both sides |
For more Monday vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
