With daytime temperatures now in the 60sF, spring is creeping ever closer. The gold-toned
Freesias that have naturalized to form a thick mass on one side of the fountain suddenly burst into bloom. With the flowers flopping all over one another, they were a logical choice to cut for "In a Vase on Monday" this week. The challenge was to find something to complement their strong color without being overwhelmed by it. A couple of calla lilies from the back slope did the job.
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| The calla lilies still haven't appeared in large numbers but two stems were enough on this occasion |
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| The Moroccan daisies have short stems but they still do a good job of dressing up the base of an arrangement |
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| The velvety leaves of the peppermint geranium provided the foliage accent |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Freesia, Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance, Pelargonium tomentosum (aka peppermint geranium), Zantedeschia aethiopica (aka calla lily), and Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy) |
My hellebores have also produced their first flowers. I'd been hoping to combine
'Anna's Red' with the flowers of a
Cyclamen in a similar shade so I cut both for a second vase. Unfortunately, the tiny
Cyclamen flowers got lost in the vase I'd selected so I ended up starting the arrangement all over again using a different vase.
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| I love the color of this vase but it has a narrow and irregular neck that limits how much I can shove down its throat. I had to jettison some of the stems I'd cut as they were either too fragile or too thick to cram in. |
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| Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy's' thin stems were no problem |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the left: Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Hebe (Veronica) 'Wiri Blush', and Westringia 'Morning Light' |
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| The leftovers, including the tiny noID Cyclamen, two fat stems of noID Alstroemeria and extra stems of the Hebe and Gomphrena were popped into a 3-inch vase |
Last week's "tulip" vase is still on the dining room table and one of the orchids I received last week is in the front entry so the new vases ended up in areas that don't get flowers as often.
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| I pulled 3 stems of Narcissus from last week's vase and added one new stem of the same flower but I was impressed by how well the arrangement held up overall. The "tulips" are now more green than yellow but the Leucadendron stems are still in good shape. |
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| The Freesia arrangement ended up in the living room and the other two vases landed on the master bedroom mantel |
For more Monday vases,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
