This week I was able to cut both foxgloves and sweet peas for my Monday vases. My impression was that both flowers are late in blooming this year but, after a bit of sleuthing through my records, the reality is less clear cut. The foxgloves were blooming by mid-March last year but this year the first flowers have only just appeared. Although the blooms were even later in 2017, I believe this was because I planted my plugs late, as I gradually converted my vegetable and herb garden into a real cutting garden. A colder winter and cooler-than-usual Spring could be responsible for the delayed blooms this year but, as I also relied almost entirely on rain to water the raised planters until the middle of this month, the beds may also have received less water than they wanted. Last year, when we received so little rain, I irrigated the beds regularly.
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| As usual, I crammed more stems than I should have into this vase. Once I cut flowers, I'm always loathe to toss them directly in the compost heap. |
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| The Orlaya grandiflora grown from seed were meant to have a larger starring role in the arrangement but they're crowded too tight to have the impact I envisioned |
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| Overhead view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Digitalis purpurea 'Dalmation White', spent Helleborus 'Anna's Red', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Orlaya grandiflora, Pelargonium 'Orange Fizz', and P. cucullatum 'Flore Plenum' |
I've planted sweet peas from seed for at least 3 years now and my records indicate that, while this year's blooms are almost a month behind the 2017 crop, they're just a couple of weeks behind the 2018 crop. However, in prior years, I've also added a couple of specialty nursery-grown seedlings to my planters in late winter, which I didn't do this year so it may be that my own seed-grown plants are right on target.
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| Although all my sweet pea seeds were sown on the same date in late October, only those that were part of the 'Pastel Sunset' mix are blooming and, of those, most are coral-pink. Finding other flowers to complement their color took 2 rounds of my garden. |
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| Although it took awhile to select flowers for this arrangement, I was pleased with the final product |
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| Top view: The surprise element here are the seedpods of Nigella 'Transformer' |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Lathyrus odoratus in coral-pink (shown with Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance'), white sweet pea (also from the 'Pastel Sunset Mix'), Nigella orientalis 'Transformer'seedpods, Rosa 'Pink Meidiland', and Centranthus ruber 'Albus' |
Last week's arrangements held up well. While I tossed out the contents of one, I held on to a simplified version of the arrangement featuring the "pinwheel" flowers.
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| The Ranunculus blooms may not last another week but the Leucospermum 'Brandi' flowers should |
The new arrangements found their spots.
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All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
