Dahlia 'Diva' finally arrived in sufficient numbers to warrant inclusion in a vase, although I dilly-dallied a bit trying to decide what I should use to show off those dark dramatic blooms. I've always liked purple and green together so I sought out some bright greens to sharpen the contrast.
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| I used 3 types of foliage but the brightest is that of chartreuse Duranta repens 'Gold Mound' |
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| I used Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy' to provide a color echo for the dahlias |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Diva', Abelia grandiflora 'Radiance', Duranta repens 'Gold Mound', Digitalis purpurea, and Gomphrena decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy' (shown in the last photo encircled by stems from my peppermint willows, Agonis flexuosa) |
As I planted all my sunflower seeds at the same time, I shouldn't have been surprised that most are blooming on the same schedule. The odd thing is that many of the sunflowers appear to be a mutant form of
'Panache'.
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| 'Panache' is on the left and one of the mutant blooms, identical to one another if not to 'Panache', is on the right. The mutant's foliage and growth habit clearly identifies it as a sunflower but it lacks the central disc characteristic of Helianthus annuus. The plants are popping up in the same area in which I sowed 'Panache's' seeds. An on-line search on "mutant sunflowers" yielded an interesting article referencing the famous sunflowers painted by Vincent van Gogh, which you can find here. |
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| Helianthus 'Panache' is shown front and center here, surrounded by Rudbeckia |
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| Back view |
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| The petals of both the standard and mutant sunflowers are the same color and shape |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Helianthus annuus 'Panache', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Pennisetum advena 'Rubrum', the mutant sunflower, and Rudbeckia hirta 'Denver Daisy' |
For more "In a Vase on Monday" creations,
visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
