We enjoyed a brief fall preview this Labor Day weekend, which marks the unofficial end of summer. Although we expect a warm up as the week progresses, both the garden and I are anxiously anticipating the seasonal change. In fact, the garden surprised me by signaling the pending change with a sudden flush of bloom on the
Clematis terniflora, commonly known as sweet autumn clematis. Planted in 2013, this vine had so disappointed me that I was planning to tear it out but now it's earned itself a second chance.
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| Clematis terniflora climbing up the arbor on the south side of the house |
I've also had another flush of bloom on the pink-tinged, pale yellow
Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus), which I thought would pair well with the delicate flowers of the clematis.
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| Unfortunately, photographing an arrangement with such pale colors in a mostly white kitchen doesn't show it to great advantage |
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| I'd planned to mix in pink flowers to complement the pink touches in the Lisianthus but then felt the arrangement didn't really need it. However, since I'd already cut stems of Leptospermum 'Pink Pearl', I compromised and tucked those into the back of the vase. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase includes: Eustoma grandiflorum, Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopley's' (photographed outside), Clematis terniflora (photographed outside), Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', and Ozothamnus diosmifolius (photographed outside). The latter adds a light touch of scent. |
The new vase displaced the red hot arrangement from last week. (The
Leucadendrons held up but most of the other plants did not.) The soft colors of the new arrangement may conjure images of spring for some viewers but as fall is widely referred to here as our "second spring," the vase seems season-appropriate to me.
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| New vase on the dining room table |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our "IaVoM" host, to find more vases created from materials sourced from contributors' own gardens. Best wishes for a great week to all. I hope all of you in the US eastern seaboard are safe and not waterlogged.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
