Wordless Wednesday: A Rush of Roses

Graham Thomas

St. Swithun

The Generous Gardener

Crown Princess Margareta

Monday Vase: Happy Blues

The South Border is finally developing with a colour theme of blue to lavender to soft pink.  This was not the original plan, but it is the one that is making the most sense as the garden takes shape.  Some shuffling of plants and clashing of colours is the inevitable result.

So I was very pleased to look up along the border yesterday and catch a glimpse of the desired effect.  This was possible because Salvia reptans has just begun blooming: its flowers are such a brilliant blue that they show up from a distance despite their miniscule size.

I decided to try to create a vase that would also reflect this colour scheme.

The other components are Perovskia, Leucophyllum, Convolvulus cneorum, and a rose.  The Perovskia is finally putting out quite a bit of bloom.  It has grown laxly, with cane dieback that has worried me since planting.  I've wondered repeatedly whether it is actually a viable choice in this climate, but for now it is looking fairly healthy.

Leucophyllum frutescens is once more in bloom thanks to recent rains and occasional humidity.

Some Convolvulus cneorum foliage was added to the mix as well.

So I brought them together and added a single bloom from Sterling Silver, the hybrid tea rose.  It is currently in the Central Bed, assisting the visual muddle there.  It is slated for a move to the top of the South Border.  I don't have a particularly good record when it comes to moving roses, but I hope to accomplish this job satisfactorily given the looser soil it is growing in.  It is a beautiful rose and has done surprisingly well for me here; it has a reputation as a slow starter, but it seems to be happy in this dry climate and has bulked up nicely over the past year.

I used the crystal vase given to me by my sister.  It has a lovely shape, perfect for an elegantly formed arrangement.

All together for a lavender with blue accents effect...

The Salvia appears wilted in these pictures, and it was.  I took them in a hurry, partly because I had to leave for an appointment and partly because I was afraid the Salvia would collapse completely.  I am happy to say that as of this evening it has perked up instead.  This is an admirable plant for the hot, dry garden.  Its growth habit is open and rangy and could even be described as stringy, but somehow it still has a good deal of charm.  And it's one of the few true blues I've found to grow here so far.

On a different note: I realize that I have not posted as frequently lately.  I am hoping to correct this though frankly my difficulties with commenting on other blogs has taken some of the fun out of blogging, which is for me very much a two way street.  I don't enjoy talking to myself here!  A few WordPress bloggers (I've not had trouble with Blogger blogs) have made it possible for my comments to go through on their posts, but on most others I am still persona non grata.  To make matters worse, I've had at least one friend find it impossible to comment here as well!  Oh, the automated errors of cyberspace!

Having said which, I will be quiet about the whole fiasco for a bit, merely adding that this Monday Vase post is, as always, linked with Cathy's wonderful meme at Rambling in the Garden.

Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 102 F (39 C)/Low: 76 F (24 C)

The Bee and the Rose

A bee enjoying the rich supply of pollen on rose "Graham Thomas"...

Monday Vase: A Rose Bowl

My Monday vase had to wait till Tuesday for posting, which is too bad as it was something of a climax for my young garden.  A whole bowl full of roses...

...with accents of lantana, which I'm finding a very useful plant.  I think I am coming to terms with the foliage scent as well, and I went so far as to buy a new one for the East Border.

I love the way the roses were able to nestle in among the lantana heads.

  Almost all the roses are from a single bush: Crown Princess Margareta.

A bud or two of Wollerton Old Hall found a way into the mix, but are more or less invisible.  St. Swithun sent in a couple of buds as well, but they are in a bud vase instead as their pink did not combine satisfactorily with the peach and yellow tones which make up the arrangement.

So I am very pleased: a whole bowl from my first year rose bush!  I hope next year goes as well.  I didn't even count the roses in bloom on the bush.  There were plenty!

Enough to tumble over the edge of the bowl just a little...

This is another of my handthrown bowls, stoneware with a tin-white glaze and a little rubbing of iron oxide around the rim.  It is a sturdy size and shape, but I think it sets off the roses well.  Margareta's colours are delicate, but she is a very richly petalled rose.

And a bit of good news (for me, at any rate): I am finally able to comment on WordPress blogs again; a big thank you to all of you who helped get me back into WP's good graces!  Ed. ...or maybe not, as I seem to have lost another comment when linking for this post...!

And a special thank you, as always, to Cathy for hosting the Monday Vase meme!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy with some rain; High: 90 F (32 F)/Low: 75 F (24 C)

The Planting of Harry Butterfield

I haven't much to say for myself at present.  I have a myriad of garden jobs that need to be done, and instead I find myself dawdling out among the plants.  I blame it on the weather: beautiful Southwest weather - still hot and sunny, but with a luscious, cool breeze and dry, dry warmth...

A couple of plants have been duly installed in the South Border in the wake (sorry, I had to make the pun) of my poor Chrysactinia mexicana, which proves to have a reputation for not transplanting well.  Aside from the loss of a much-loved plant which I hope to replace shortly, I am happy with the way things are shaping up.  But, as I say, I have been dawdling in the garden.

So today I planted Harry Butterfield in a fit of relaxation.  I am by no means sure that he would survive conditions in the open garden, so an available shallow pot was used.  Harry is a Sedeveria, a Sedum x Echeveria cross: promising, as another such cross produced the wonderful variety "Sorrento".  As you can see, Harry came in quadruplet form.

Harry nearly came in quadruplet form twice.  I actually had two little pots in the cart when I realized, "Oh, that's the same variety..."  Obviously, the softly dusted, grey-blue leaves had caught my fancy.  One went back on the shelf, but this little four-pack came home.  Harry has already grown a bit, and I hope the pot will be filled in nicely.

Hopefully, I will soon have more holes dug and plants planted; but in the meantime it's pleasant to think that I got something valuable done in the garden today...

By the way, WordPress still apparently believes I am a spammer, so to my WP friends - please bear with my invisibility (and do occasionally look for remarks in your spam boxes!).

Weather Diary: Sunny; High: 98 F (37 C)/Low: 72 F (22 C)

Monday Vase: Something Old, Something New

Though there is nothing borrowed for today's vase, there certainly were "something old, something new" and, for that matter, "something blue" according to the old rhyme.

The something old was a good handful of stems from Russelia equisetiformis, which apparently blooms indefinitely!

Something new is the orange-scarlet trumpets of Hamelia patens, one of my shrubs-in-waiting.  Known commonly as Firebush, it is expected to reach approximately 6 ft (1.8 m) in height and, I suppose, spread.  This is my first deliberate purchase for the new North Border.  The leaves are lovely as well as the flowers, and the foliage is said to exhibit some colour change for autumn - a fairly unusual feature in this mild-winter climate!

Something blue - or very nearly - is the bell-trumpets of Leucophyllum.  It bloomed massively again a few days ago, but most of the flowers are now on the ground following a brief but heavy rain.  The foliage alone is a worthy addition to a vase, and I was happy to still be able to include a few of the blossoms.

The other components were both from foliage plants as well: a couple of sprigs of sweet basil and a spray from Artemisia "Powis Castle", which helped to bulk up the bouquet as well as adding a nice range of leaf colours.

\

All went together into my favourite earthenware bottle, one I made last year.  It has a narrow mouth but is big enough to hold a little more material than I usually have available.

So many desert-adapted plants have tiny leaves (other than the succulents, which I haven't used much yet), that it was quite a treat to work with the big leaves of the Hamelia.  It's unlike anything else in this garden, reminding me of more temperate climate shrubs.  I need to see where it is from originally, but I understand it has come into common use across Texas, which is often a fair recommendation for trial here in the case of shrubs and perennials.

Linking rather late with Cathy's meme at Rambling in the Garden, where I hope to look over the other participating posts tomorrow... or rather, later today as we just passed midnight here...

By the way, I have had difficulties commenting on posts lately.  I leave comments only to see them disappear when I thought they were posted!  I know this is happening on WordPress sites - I haven't had a chance to check more closely.  But please be aware that I am more silent than absent, having enjoyed more than one post from friends and then finding myself unable to comment!

In any case, Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy; High: 96 F (36 C)/Low: 75 F (24 C)