The orange snapdragons in my small cutting garden provided the starting point for this week's vase. After a couple of good rains, the flowers are coming on well, although their stems are still relatively short. I clipped 4 stems and then wandered about seeking companions. Two Iceland poppies in the same area were shedding their bud covers so I clipped those too. From that point, it wasn't hard to select foliage and floral accents.
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| With their saturated color, the poppies steal the show |
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| Back view: The arrangement contains many of the same materials as I've used the last couple of weeks, albeit in a different combination and with the new element of the snapdragons |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: noID Antirrhinum majus, Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Grevillea 'Superb' (an almost prefect match in color with the snapdragons), Papaver nudicaule, and Tagetes lemmonii. Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' was also included, although not highlighted here. |
I usually carry around a jar containing my cuttings while assembling an arrangement - it cuts down on the number of poor matches I make. But, when I trooped down the back slope to water my lemon tree, I saw pink
Centranthus in bloom in the middle of a pathway and, thinking that it might pick up the pink tones in the snapdragon, I snapped off a few stems to take back to the kitchen. As soon as I placed the
Centranthus flower next to the snapdragon, I knew they'd make poor companions as the undertones in the pink
Centranthus are blue while the undertones in the snapdragon are yellow. So 4
Centranthus stems prompted the creation of a second vase. Surprise! 😉
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| The last of the pink Eustoma grandiflorum (Lisianthus) is looking a little ragged but I thought it deserved a farewell bow so it went into this arrangement |
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| In this case, I think I managed to make the back of the arrangement look remarkably similar to the front |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left, this vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum, Centranthus ruber (virtually a weed here), Argyranthemum frutescens, and Hebe 'Purple Shamrock' (which I think is the real star of this arrangement) |
For at least a couple of days, our daytime temperatures are expected to be unusually cold, which means below 60F (15C) here, but I understand that an
arctic blast is expected to affect much of the USA this week. Wherever you are, I hope you stay warm and safe!
To see more "In a Vase on Monday" creations,
visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Here are my vases in their places.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
