Neither of my vases this week are anything like what I contemplated when I walked into my garden Sunday morning to see what there was to cut. My Renga Lilies (
Arthropodium cirratum) and
Agapanthus have produced their first blooms and I had vague plans of using each in an arrangement but I'd no idea what to pair them with. Then I remembered the multi-flowered stem of Matilija Poppy (
Romneya coulteri, aka California Tree Poppy) I'd seen Saturday while working on the back slope and I headed down there to see if the flowers were suitable for cutting. The bees tend to scatter pollen all over the ruffled white petals but the cluster of flowers I'd identified was still pristine.
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| In keeping with the wild look of these Southern California natives, I kept the arrangement loose and simple |
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| I tucked the Sideritis cypria I used in last week's vase into this one. (Note: I mistakenly labeled this as S. syriaca, a different species, in last week's post.) |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Achillea 'Moonshine', Sideritis cypria, Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', and Romneya coulteri |
While down on the back slope, I noticed that another stalk of bearded
Iris was blooming and, since I spend relatively little time down there, I cut it too. I threw a lot of other long-stemmed flowers into the mix with it, creating a second vase with a wild look and loose composition. However, like the first vase, it might have looked better had I simplified the flower palette.
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| It's a bit of a mish-mash |
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| The stem of Melaleuca thymifolia at the base of the arrangement was a last minute addition. It has an interesting flower, although the plant itself has a sloppy look in the border and I've contemplated pulling it out. |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Arthropodium cirratum, Coriandrum sativum, noID Delphinium, Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmatian White', Lathyrus odoratus, noID Iris germanica, and, in the middle, Melaleuca thymifolia |
For more Monday vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
