It's been raining off and on here since Thursday. The first storm delivered high drama with lightning and thunder so severe that local beaches were evacuated. Friday night through Saturday delivered heavier rain as part of what the weather forecasters call an "
atmospheric river," which caused
flooding and mudslides. My own area was relatively unaffected, although falling trees are an ongoing concern following heavy rains here and the rain still hasn't stopped. More rain is expected through Tuesday.
It was coming down hard enough on Sunday morning to dampen my interest in collecting material for "In a Vase on Monday" (pun intended). If I'd had any sense, I would have cut flowers late Sunday afternoon when there was a break in the rain. I didn't but I had noted some prospects for cutting so I zipped through my garden grabbing up what I'd identified earlier and made do with that. And I still have two vases this week!
The first one features two early blooming calla lilies.
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| The calla lilies came with the garden and most grow on my horrid back slope. The plants die back in late spring but return with the rain each winter. Last year, few bloomed but I'm hoping for a better turnout this year. |
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| I used Fatsia leaves to anchor the lilies |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Zantedeschia aethiopica, berries of Duranta erecta 'Gold Mound', Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein', Fatsia japonica 'Camouflage', and Senna artemisioides |
The second vase was composed around the blooms of a begonia I picked up in the course of a visit to Ventura the weekend before last.
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| The hybrid Rieger begonias have always done better for me here than most tuberous begonias |
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| Although I have quite a bit of red and pink flowers in the garden, most didn't mix well with the coral pink of the begonia so I relied on foliage and Leucadendron bracts to accent the flowers |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the top: Begonia x hiemalis 'Borias', Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Leucadendron 'Blush', and L. salignum 'Chief' |
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| Once again, I had leftover stems that I popped into a tiny vase. The flower here is also Begonia x hiemalis but this one is a solid coral color. |
Sans its original
Camellia blooms, the blue and white arrangement I created using
Echium and
Dianthus last week still sits in the front entryway, while the new vases took up other positions.
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| The tiny vase of leftovers sits just out of sight on the other side of the vase on the right |
I'd hoped to create a vase using the first
Freesias to flower but, with rain coming down in bursts, I shelved that idea. Maybe the
Freesia stems currently in bloom will still be in shape to use next week, or prompted by the rain, maybe others will be flowering by then. While I know many gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere are shivering from the cold, the rain here has delivered the promise of spring. I'm checking the garden every day for new arrivals.
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what she and other IAVOM participants have found to fill vases this week.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
