My husband and I were gone for 3 days to attend a family wedding in Northern California. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was a joyous celebration but, as we drove to and from the event and returned late Sunday afternoon, the trip felt harried. There was little time to put one vase together, much less two, for "In a Vase on Monday." That didn't stop me but the quality of the arrangements - and my photographs, all taken in the early evening - suffered.
Roses (!!!) bloomed en masse on a few shrubs during my absence. My
'Medallion' roses hadn't bloomed at all this year - and they chose to do so while I was gone. I could joke that I need to go away more often but the blooms are actually a response to the deep watering I've been giving them at intervals over the course of the last several weeks. I've been seriously contemplating pulling them all out and this was my last ditch effort to see if they could earn their space in the garden.
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| As a result of very warm weather over the weekend, all the roses were past their prime but I couldn't miss a chance to cut a few while I had the opportunity |
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| Back view |
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| The California asters (Symphyotrichum chilense) were a last minute addition. Those flowers are spilling all over one of my backyard beds at the moment - and they haven't received any extra water! |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Dahlia 'Terracotta', Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Rosa 'Medallion', Eustoma grandiflorum 'Mint Cocoa' and Symphyotrichum chilense |
The dahlias in my cutting garden also bloomed like crazy in my absence. Most of the
'Otto's Thrill' variety were already past their prime but I was able to cut two of the first blooms of
'Strawberry Ice', one of the new varieties I purchased this year.
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| 'Strawberry Ice' is similar to 'Otto's Thrill' except for the yellow flares at the base of the petals |
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| I filled in with zinnias mainly because they were right in front of me when I was cutting the dahlias. Discovery of the Gomphrena 'Fireworks'was a surprise as the plants are hold-overs from last year. |
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| Blurry top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left, the vase contains: Gomphrena 'Fireworks', Tanacetum parthenium, Pelargonium 'Lady Plymouth', a mix of Zinnia elegans and, in the center, Dahlia 'Strawberry Ice' |
This post was hastily put together as well but I couldn't miss an opportunity to join my favorite meme. For more "In a Vase on Monday" posts,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
