Finally, the flowers that define summer in my garden have arrived! My lisianthus (
Eustoma grandiflorum) experienced a set-back following the nuclear heatwave in early July, searing foliage and withering some buds in place, but in general the plants have recovered in the weeks since that event. My dahlias and zinnias were late to arrive because I planted the tubers and seeds late. I subsequently filled in with a few nursery grown plants and I'm pleased to see that the former are now catching up to the latter.
The green-flowered lisianthus that bloomed this past weekend provided the starting point for my first vase. I think they look their prettiest as the buds first begin to open but that stage doesn't last long when temperatures are as warm as they've been of late. We benefited from unexpected morning fog for a few days last week but the afternoons were still toasty.
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| I snapped this photo late Saturday afternoon when the flowers looked like rose buds |
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| By Sunday morning the green Lisianthus no longer looked like roses but their color provides a nice foil for the more fully petaled Eustoma grandiflorum 'Black Pearl'. I planted the dark-flowered lisianthus last year and the flowers were disappointing but they look much better their second year in the ground. |
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| Hebe 'Purple Shamrock' (aka Veronica 'Purple Shamrock') forms the base of the arrangement |
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| The top view shows off the native California aster, Symphyotrichum chilense. It spreads by rhizomes. The seller claimed it wasn't aggressive. I'd beg to differ. |
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| Clockwise from the left, the vase contains: noID green-flowered Eustoma grandiflorum, E. 'Black Pearl', Hebe/Veronica 'Purple Shamrock', and Symphyotrichum chilense 'Purple Haze' |
Vase #2 includes lisianthus, dahlias and zinnias.
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| Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill' continues to pump out big beautiful new blooms |
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| Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime' decorates the back of this arrangement with a little help from pink lisianthus |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, this vase contains: Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill', Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', pink Eustoma grandiflorum (most of these from last year's plants), Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime', Prunus laurocerasus (aka English laurel), and Tanacetum parthenium (aka feverfew) |
While most of my dahlias now have buds, nursery grown
'Otto's Thrill' is still the most prolific; however,
'Terracotta' produced its first bloom this week and, with the promise of more blooms to come, I cut it for a small vase. My recollection is that last year's blooms were large. I thought it was a dinnerplate variety but it's actually classified as a semi-cactus variety. Still, the blooms have a projected size of 4-5 inches and this first bloom is a relatively small 3 inches in diameter.
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| Front and back views of the small arrangement |
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| This vase contains: Dahlia 'Terracotta', Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset', Prunus laurocerasus and, hidden behind the dahlia, a noID Zinnia elegans |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other IAVOM contributors have put together this week.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
