The big news from my corner of the world is: WE GOT RAIN! Honest-to-goodness rain, not Mother Nature's spit, which is all we've had of late. I know that those of you in wetter climates may be rolling your eyes but this is a big deal here.
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| According to my little weather station, we got almost two-thirds of an inch of rain from yesterday's system. I captured what I could off the rain chain and in the 3 rain barrels connected to our roof gutters. |
Even though rain was predicted, it's hard to put any faith in forecasts when one after another fails to materialize. I'd planned to spend Sunday in the garden planting recent purchases but, when the skies became auspiciously gloomy, I decided I'd better cut some flowers for "In a Vase on Monday" just in case the forecasts proved accurate for once.
I fixated on 2 flowers that appear only briefly in the garden. The first is
Hypoestes aristata, also known as ribbon bush. I grew this plant in my old garden, where it was a vigorous fall performer. I kicked myself for failing to bring cuttings with me when we moved as it took me years to find the plant afterwards. When I located a mail order source last year, I planted 3 tiny shrubs, only one of which survived the sunnier, hotter and drier conditions of my current garden. My remaining plant is still small and has only a few blooms but I cut a single stem and then went looking for other plants to complement it.
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| The ribbon bush stem on the left was eclipsed by the last of the cherry-colored Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum, Gomphrena globosa 'Fireworks', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Hypoestes aristata, Leucanthemum x superbum, Polygala myrtifolia 'Mariposa', and Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star' |
The other flowering plant I couldn't ignore this week is
Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid'. This shrub, planted in March 2015, produces periodic flushes of bloom but the flowers disappear almost as soon as I notice them. I clipped 3 stems and took another spin through the garden seeking suitable companions.
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| I had a harder time finding flowers to combine with the pale coral-pink blooms of the Callistemon than I had finding matches for the blooms of the pinkish-lavender Hypoestes |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', Coprosma repens 'Evening Glow', Grevillea 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', and Nandina domestica (berries and foliage) |
The vases found their places. For more vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, our host for "In a Vase on Monday."
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
