Dahlia 'Loverboy' finally showed up on the garden scene. He looks a little diminished by comparison to his larger-than-life presence last year but maybe the lower profile is a response to tough circumstances. When seeking out others to pal around with this week, he took a long hard look at his former paramour,
Eustoma grandiflora (aka Lisianthus) but she's still blue and seemed more comfortable on her own. So he elected to hang out with his friends Otto and Edward instead.
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| Okay, those of you that followed last year's drama may note that Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' managed to squeeze herself into the mix once more this year but it should be noted that, scattered and flighty as she is, she's likely to keep things light |
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| Otto, better known as Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill', seems to be of 2 minds (or, er, conjoined buds) about hanging around with 'Loverboy' |
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| On the other hand, Edward, who prefers to be addressed formally as Abelia 'Edward Goucher', gets along with everyone |
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| They look like a congenial group anyway |
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| Clockwise from the top, the group includes: Dahlia 'Loverboy', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Dahlia 'Otto's Thrill', and Abelia grandiflora 'Edward Goucher' |
Vase #2 this week presented problems of another kind. I started out with
Dahlia 'Terracotta' and, although I kept adding other flowers and foliage to my bucket, the mix struck me as dull until I realized that
Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' was begging for inclusion.
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| How I missed Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid' for as long as I did when it was waving in the breeze at me is a mystery |
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| The Callistemon helped to integrate the peachy-pink dahlias, the green lisianthus, and the silver-green cones of the Leucadendron |
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| In this photograph of the rear view, the variegated Abelia unfortunately obscured the flowers of Eustoma 'Mint Cocoa'. The brownish-green flowers of the latter are interesting but I haven't entirely warmed to them. |
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| Top view |
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Top row: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Callistemon 'Cane's Hybrid', and green Eustoma grandiflorum
Middle row: Helianthus 'Sun-Fill Green' (with the center now turning yellow), Dahlia 'Terracotta', and Leucadendron 'Pisa'
Bottom row: Eustoma grandiflorum 'Mint Cocoa', Tanacetum parthenium, and Zinnia elegans |
That's it for this week's floral drama. For more "In a Vase on Monday" stories,
visit our host, Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
