It hasn't been really hot here yet so, despite the fact that the official start of summer is just days away, the garden is still flush with blooms. I'd originally planned to cut some blue flowers but they weren't what called to me when I stepped into the garden on Sunday to make my selections for "In a Vase on Monday," the weekly challenge hosted by Cathy at
Rambling in the Garden focused on creating arrangements from materials found in one's own garden. The hot corals, oranges and reds drew me and I ended up with an arrangement that practically sizzles. I started off with stems of
Grevillea 'Superb', a shrub that literally blooms year-round in my garden.
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| As usual, I stuffed my vase fuller than I'd originally intended but there's a LOT in this color range in my garden |
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| The tubular Bignonia capreolata were a last minute addition. I'm not sure they'll last long in the vase but they do make a dramatic statement. |
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| The Cuphea and Coleus are elements I don't commonly use in vases either |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Achillea 'Moonshine', A. millefolium 'Appleblossom', Bignonia capreolata, Cuphea 'Vermillionaire', Gaillardia 'Arizona Sun', Grevillea 'Superb', and, in the center, Plectranthus scutellariodes 'Campfire' ( aka Coleus 'Campfire') |
Blue flowers would have created a nice balance for the hot colors of my first vase but the dahlia I brought home from my local garden center two weeks ago is already sporting a number of mature blooms. The heavy head of one unsupported flower had already broken its stem so I elected to feature
Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill' again this week. Upon close examination, I noticed that one of the dahlia stems had produced an odd double-headed bloom.
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| I should have photographed the mutant dahlia stem before I stuck it in a vase so you could see the fused stem leading up to the two-headed flower. This appears to be yet another example of fasciation, similar to that I found in two of my Agapanthus stems last week. |
The choice to cut the dahlia blooms also prompted me to cut the last of the snapdragons in my cutting garden. After weeks of damp mornings due to persistent
"June Gloom," the snapdragon foliage was covered in rust so they had to go. Due to the cool weather we enjoyed in May and early June, I'd delayed clearing both the snapdragons and my sweet peas from my cutting garden, which in turn delayed planting many of my sunflower and zinnia seeds. Hopefully, they'll still have adequate time to grow before the heat here becomes brutal.
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| In cutting the dahlia stems long, I gave up several ancillary buds but my hope is that this will prompt the plant to produce new stems |
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| This is another instance in which I almost prefer the back of the vase to the side I'd designated as the front |
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| Top view, showing that I also overstuffed this vase |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill', Abelia grandiflora, Antirrhinum majus, Leucanthemum x superbum' Dorycnium hirsutum, and Pandorea jasminoides |
For more Monday vases,
visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
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| The "hot" vase sits on the dining room table and the "soft" vase in the front entry |
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
