We had a nice cool weekend. Although we didn't get much in the way of the rain (less than a tenth of an inch in total), gray clouds hovered over the horizon full of unrealized potential all weekend. We don't usually get rain in spring but I've held onto the vague hope that
El Niño might still deliver rain to Southern California when it weakened, as some pundits had predicted. We're on the cusp of summer and, in the face of that reality, I spent a good portion of the weekend laying 3 cubic yards of mulch, hoping this will help the soil retain the little moisture it gets from our irrigation system.
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| Saturday evening's view of the clouds over Los Angeles Harbor - areas to the east received some downpours amid flash flood warnings but we remained dry |
I've got 3 vases again this week but they're a mixed bag, all very different from one another. The first utilizes succulent flowers, which are suddenly appearing in abundance.
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| I can't remember a time when Aeonium 'Kiwi' has produced so many flowers throughout the garden at the same time |
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| The vase contains just 3 elements (from left to right): flowers of the succulent, Aeonium 'Kiwi', and foliage of glossy-leafed Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey' and Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' |
The second vase represents another attempt to do something with the Renga Lilies (
Arthropodium cirratum) I featured in one of last week's vases.
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| I limited my selections to just 3 plants this week, all delicate floral elements |
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| Top view |
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| I used a shorter, asymmetrical vase (top, left) with a heart-shaped opening. The vase contains, clockwise from the upper right: Abelia x grandiflora, Arthropodium cirratum, and Coriandrum sativum (aka cilantro/coriander), now gone to seed. |
The second vase was overcrowded with Renga Lilies but that's because I cut some stems with the idea of including them in the third vase, which needed a touch of white. However, the flowers were eclipsed by the more vibrant blooms of
Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) so I removed them, tucking them into the second vase.
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| When fresh, the wide purple flower clusters of Limonium perezii have a white corolla but this drops as the flowers age and dry. The papery calyxes can retain their color for months in a vase without any water at all. |
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| Back view showing off the flowers of Coriandrum savitum |
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| Top view, emphasizing how the Limonium dominates the vase - there are just 2 stems of the sea lavender here |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Limonium perezii, common borage grown from seed, more Coriandrum sativum, noID Lathyrus, and Tanacetum niveum |
The first vase sits on my office desk.
The second is in the front entry.
And the third is on the dining room table.
For more vases,
visit Cathy, the host of "In a Vase on Monday," at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
