Regular readers probably won't believe me when I state that I rarely plan on preparing more than one arrangement for "In a Vase on Monday," the meme hosted by Cathy of
Rambling in the Garden. When I step out into my garden to look for material, I feel lucky if I have just one idea as to what to pick as a floral focus. On Sunday, when I ventured out following a storm that brought us just 0.04/inch of rain overnight, I headed straight for an orchid stem I'd discovered in a corner of the property the day before when I was cleaning up after the tree trimmers we'd had on-site that morning. The unusual color combination in the orchid had me combing the rest of the garden looking for burgundy accents.
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| This is the second flush of flowers on the noID Oncidium orchid I picked up at an orchid show hosted by my local botanic garden in September |
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| The acid yellow foliage of Duranta erecta provided a nice echo of the orchid's yellow color |
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| The yellow and burgundy color echoes show up best in this top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: noID Oncidium; shiny Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey'; yellow/green Duranta erecta NOT 'Gold Mound'; Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', included to fill in some empty space upfront; Leucadendron salignum 'Chief', which is beginning to take on its beautiful red winter color; and Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'. The yellow in the Gaillardia bothered me here but I didn't have a good substitute. |
As I was rounding the opposite end of our property, I noticed that the first bud of
Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' had bloomed. More rain is expected on Thursday and the
Camellia blooms don't like rain so I decided to clip that flower to enjoy it in the house. One thing led to another and soon I had more than enough material for a second vase. Oops!
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| Second vase featuring one flower of Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection' front and center. This Camellia is a hybrid of C. japonica and C. saluenensis. |
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| Back view: I picked the snapdragons after discovering 2 plants infected with rust. The rust is particularly frustrating as I've been careful to avoid overhead watering and have given the plants ample space to ensure air flow around the foliage; however, 2 rainy weekends and the return of fog associated with the marine layer probably tipped the scales. |
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| Top view, showing off the variegated leaves of Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile', a gift from Denise of "A Growing Obsession" last year. I'm more excited about the Pelargonium leaves than any other elements of this vase. |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection', noID Camellia sasanqua, noID orange/pink Antirrhinum majus, Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre', and Pelargonium peltatum 'Crocodile'. Also included, but not highlighted, are stems of variegated Correa 'Wyn's Wonder'. Correa flowers often "hide" mid-stem, making them harder to show off in arrangements. |
Spending time outside collecting plant material was particularly enjoyable as the air was cool and fresh. We played peek-a-boo with rain clouds all day but received no further precipitation; however, I remain hopeful that we'll get another good soaking later this week. At present, our seasonal rainfall total (since October 1st) stands at a paltry 1.72 inches.
This week's vases are in place.
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| With Christmas decorations popping up throughout the house, vase space is becoming harder to come by |
For more vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
