The silvery
Leucadendron 'Pisa' that sits outside my home office had become top-heavy and during the high winds that accompanied last week's thunderstorm I was concerned that some of its branches might snap. They didn't, but with a second thunderstorm possible on Sunday, I decided to trim away more of its foliage to take a bit of weight off. The pruned foliage provided the starting point for today's vases.
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| Leucadendron 'Pisa' after I lightened its load |
The cutting garden took a beating during our last heatwave and I've since pulled all but 2 of the sunflowers and a good many zinnias but there are still some dahlias producing new, if smaller, blooms. Once again,
Dahlia 'Loverboy' was the most prolific bloomer.
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| I added the foliage of Alternanthera 'Little Ruby' to pick up the purplish color at 'Loverboy's'center but there's not enough contrast to create the desired effect |
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| I threw in a few pink zinnias but they're over-shadowed by the red dahlia blooms too |
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| As 'Loverboy's' blooms age, the petals develop tinges of pink |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Loverboy', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Alternanthera 'Little Ruby', Leucadendron 'Pisa', Pseuderanthemum 'Texas Tri-star', and Zinnia elegans |
The
Eustoma grandiflorum 'Rosanne Black Pearl' (Lisianthus) I tried this year has been disappointing but, for the first time, I had enough blooms to use it as a focal point in an arrangement so I let those flowers set the color scheme for a second vase.
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| 'Rosanne Black Pearl' isn't so much black as eggplant purple and the flowers are smaller than those of the other Eustoma grandiflorum I've been growing |
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| I made a last minute change in the vase just before shooting these photos, swapping a ceramic base for this visually lighter glass one |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: Eustoma grandiflorum 'Rosanne Black Pearl', a paler blue variety, and the same white variety flushed with lavender I featured last week; the silvery Leucadendron 'Pisa'; the flowers of Liriope muscari, normally hidden from view by the plant's strappy foliage; Osteospermum '4D Silver'; and Symphyotrichum chilense |
Sunday's thunderstorm was a no-show, at least here, although we did get winds gusts of 20mph in the evening hours so I'm glad I got the
Leucadendron trimmed despite an unexpectedly hot (91F) afternoon. I can't complain, though - my weather wasn't punishing like that faced by residents of Florida and the Southeastern Seaboard. My thoughts are with all of you touched by Hurricane Irma, as well as the survivors and families of victims of the 9/11 attacks 16 years ago today.
For more Monday vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, the gracious host of "In a Vase on Monday."
All material © 2012-2017 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
