Monday Vase: a Favourite and a Few Digressions

Monday's vase came together of its own accord and is, in its rather quiet way, becoming a favourite of mine.  Unfortunately, some of the material had wilted when I managed to get the photographs, leading to a decision to postpone sharing until today, when I anticipated taking a second round of pictures.  However, this morning we are in the midst of a luscious autumnal rain, with dim light all through the house and no interest in going outdoors to get a bit more light!  Therefore yesterday's photos will be used a day late, and I will ask my viewers to imagine the artemisia leaves properly perked up and bushy (which they now are)!

It began with the grass plumes.  Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist" is now beginning a royal blooming spree.  I have waited exactly one year for this as it was about the first plant that went into the garden last autumn.  It sent up a few plumes last year - just to give an idea of what it could do, I suppose - and now in its second year it is loaded.  None of the stalks are fully opened yet, but they already combine nicely in a vase.

Perovskia is blooming happily now that the weather has softened and I am no longer trying to water anything much (except the new plants, more on them later).  It remains considerably wider than it is tall, but it looks healthy and I found a new bloom stalk yesterday.  At first I hesitated to cut any stems because the bees were enjoying it so much!  But there is plenty of bee fodder in the garden, and I was able to stuff a good handful of Perovskia in the vase.

The other blooming stems are from Leucophyllum frutescens "Compacta", the so-called Barometer Bush, which true to name has opened a scattered few flowers ahead of last night's and today's downpours.  It is a good source for foliage in a vase, and all the better when in bloom.

Artemisia "Powis Castle" supplied a cluster of foliage as well.  As I say, it has brightened up considerably since these pictures were taken.  

All of the material used was fairly large-scale - enough to go into one of my larger handthrown vases: an unglazed stoneware vase with a narrow mouth and neck and some extra texturing around the shoulder.

So the Monday Vase was a day late due to weather and wilt.  Finally linking, of course, with Rambling in the Garden, where there are always many wonderful vases to be found...

Now for a few digressions...

I am happy to say that the male hummingbird has established his rights to the apricot tree outside our dining room window.  He clearly perceives himself as part of the garden now.  And we have seen the pair of them swooping and chasing in the yard.  No pictures, I'm afraid!

I have also been planting out my assortment of plants-in-waiting as well as this autumn's order from High Country Gardens.  The South Border is rapidly filling up, from Eremophila hygrophana and Ozothamnus diosmifolius at the top to Agave angustifolia "Marginata" at the bottom.  More on all that in a much-delayed post later today, I hope!

The southeast corner of the garden took on a new sense of space this morning as I finally squared it out with pavers (must go buy some more...) and found that my eyes had been deceiving me as to the depth of the bed.  This gardener was delighted to find extra planting room available...!

The Alnwick Rose has bloomed and is looking much healthier overall; I think it's past the worst of its woes.

And Salvia reptans has been flowering also: a wonderful haze of brilliant, deep blue blossoms on a fairly upright plant.  This one is a treasure for the desert garden!

With rain (even hail last night - no damage done that I've noticed) the whole garden is looking greatly refreshed.  Autumn is here!

Berlandiera lyrata is once more blooming happily every morning

Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Rain with occasional thunder; High: 83 F(28 C)/Low: 63 F (17 C)

With the rain, the high temperatures have dropped about twenty degrees (F) over the last twenty-four hours, down to 64 F (18 C) now!