In a Vase on Monday: Freesias everywhere

Freesias weren't the starting point for any of today's vases but somehow they managed to find their way into all three of them.  Those blooms are plentiful in my garden now, come in a range of colors and, as they smell wonderful, tucking a few stems into an arrangement just seems like the thing to do.

Tulips, real ones this time, kicked off the color scheme for my first vase.

I've previously planted species tulips said to be suitable for warm weather climates; repeatedly tried other tulips chilled in my refrigerator for 3 months prior to planting; and tried pre-sprouted tulips purchased from my local garden center, all with limited success.  The tulips in today's vase are another pre-sprouted variety I purchased a month ago.  This time, they bloomed without difficulty, presumably because our weather has been unusually cold and wet of late.

Not my best effort in decorating the vase's back side

The tulips were labeled "two-tone" without a cultivar name.  The blooms were yellow and orange when they first emerged but the colors shifted to cream and red as they matured.

Clockwise from the upper left: "Two-tone" tulips, Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Freesia, Grevillea 'Scarlet Sprite', and noID small-cupped Narcissus

I know I've said it before but I hadn't planned on creating three vases this week.  I planned a pink vase and started by cutting stems of Grevillea sericea only to find that the other pink flowers I cut didn't make a good color match, even when I squinted hard.  But, rather than toss out the the Grevillea stems, I cut other flowers to pair with them.

The pink flowers of the Grevillea have bluish undertones

The Freesia I selected as an accent is a marbled pink with similar blue undertones

The odd thing about these Freesias is that they were a solid pink when I originally planted them.  The marbled pink and white pattern showed up in later years, presumably due to some kind of virus.

From left to right: mutant Freesia, Grevillea sericea, and Helleborus 'Phoebe'

The Ranunculus I'd originally cut as a match for Grevillea sericea has more yellow undertones than blue ones so I used plants with touches of yellow to go with them.

I planted Ranunculus tubers in late October.  This pink and white variety is the first to bloom.

The tiny pink flowers of the Coleonema (aka Breath of Heaven) wasn't a perfect match either but I went with it because its foliage is a yellow-chartreuse color

I planted the daffodils years ago but kept no record of the variety

Clockwise from the upper left: Ranunculus 'Tecolote Picotee', Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold', pink Freesia, noID Narcissus, and Pyrethropsis hosmariense (aka Moroccan Daisy)

For more more Monday vases, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.



All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party