Ever since the Matilija poppies (
Romneya coulteri) produced their first blooms a few weeks ago, I've been thinking of cutting some for a Monday vase. However, with so many flowers still clamoring for attention, it was easy to ignore the poppies down at the bottom of my back slope for a time. Sunday morning, I decided their time had come and marched down there to clip a couple of stems.
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| The poppies are already blooming well above my head. I knew the plant could spread but I wasn't aware it' could grow 8-10 feet tall. |
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| I've got plenty of white and yellow elements in the garden to accent the crinkled white petals and yellow centers of the poppies |
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| I threw in a couple of the unusual flowers of Sideritis cypria for added drama (and because they'd toppled over into a pathway) |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Romneya coulteri, Lonicera japonica, Orlaya grandiflora, Achillea 'Moonshine', persimmon buds, and Sideritis cypria. A critter of some sort broke 2 large branches of one of my persimmon trees over the weekend, resulting in the loss of dozens of the budding fruits. |
An unexpected bloom in my back border provided the impetus for a second vase. I'd almost entirely forgotten about the dozen dwarf
Gladioli bulbs I planted there over a year ago. One lone bulb produced a flower this year and the color wasn't at all what I'd expected. While pretty on its own, it looked terrible among the surrounding plants so I cut it and went looking for suitable companions. This year, I've become more confident about my ability to find appropriate color matches somewhere within my garden but this flower's wild colors presented an exceptional challenge.
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| According to my records, the Gladiola's flowers were supposed to be white and pink. The coral, pink and magenta flowers were a surprise. |
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| Once I'd assembled my odd mix of flowers, only this vase created in the form of manicured hands seemed right to hold them |
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| I used stems of my 'Pink Meidiland' rose to pick up the coral pink in the Gladiola and stems of a magenta-flowered Pelargonium peltatum (aka ivy geranium) to echo the bright spots in the petals. The gray foliage of Dorycnium hirsutum (aka hairy Canary clover) brings down the voltage a bit. |
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| Clockwise from the top: Gladiolus nanus 'Nymph', Rose 'Pink Meidiland', Pelargonium peltatum, and Dorycnium hirsutum |
As you may have noticed, our kitchen (where I take most of my photos) remains intact. We're still awaiting the sign-off from the Air Quality Management District required by our city to issue our construction permit and, even after we have that, it may take 2 weeks before the asbestos removal crew is available to start. Meanwhile, a huge storage pod is sitting in our driveway waiting to be loaded with our living and dining room furniture. But at least I still have spots to put flowers!
For more "In a Vase on Monday" posts,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
