Our Santa Ana winds returned this past weekend, humidity levels dropped dramatically, and our daytime temperature reached 80F (26C). While there's a slim chance of light rain later this week, absent a stray tropical storm in late summer, my guess is that we won't see any more rain until October or November. Our long dry season has begun. Of course, the warm weather means that the parade of Spring flowers has stepped up its pace. They're everywhere, all crying for attention. To limit distraction, I picked two colors to focus on even before I stepped into my garden to select plant material for "In a Vase on Monday": blue and pink.
Though I'd planned to limit my first vase to blue and white flowers, yellow crept into the color scheme as well.
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| I blame Narcissus 'White Lion' for bringing yellow into the arrangement. 'White Lion', my favorite daffodil, appeared last week. As daffodils don't stand up well to our Santa Ana winds, the window of opportunity to use it in a vase may be limited. |
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| Salvia heldreichiana, shown at the back of the vase here, was the impetus for the original blue and white color scheme but its delicate stems were quickly overwhelmed by more flamboyant blooms |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Argyranthemum frutescens 'Mega White', self-seeded Lavandula stoechas, Freesia, Limonium perezii, Phlomis fruticosa, Salvia heldreichiana, Narcissus 'White Lion' and, in the center, Scilla peruviana. The Scilla and Freesia blooms in my garden are fading fast as temperatures rise. |
I didn't stray as much in putting together my pink vase, which was inspired by the
Ranunculus blooming en masse in my cutting garden.
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| My Alstroemerias seem late in arriving this year but they're all getting into gear now |
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| I added a couple of stems of orange blossoms to this arrangement, which elevated what is otherwise a rather ordinary arrangement |
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| Top view: Unlike the salmon-colored Ranunculus I used last week, most of the pink and white Ranunculus are much more densely petaled |
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Top row: noID Alstroemeria and Agryranthemum frutescens 'Mega White'
Middle row: white ans pink picotee Ranunculus
Bottom row: Prunus laurocerasus, orange blossoms, and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' |
For more Monday vase creations,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
