Monday, November 30, 2015

Monday Vase: The Colour Orange

Monday vase meme, rose tropicana, leonotis, cyclamen, euphorbia, amy myers, ceramics, small sunny garden
Today's vase includes some unusual characters.  I had the chance to put together several orange-toned flowers - not golden orange this time, but some more exotic versions of the hue.

First off, I was kindly given permission to cut a couple of perfect buds from my sister's rose "Tropicana", which has been blooming enthusiastically in an enormous pot on the back patio.  Classic hybrid tea blooms and stems (which I did not make the most of as I cut them quite short) give a certain elegance to their colour.
Monday vase meme, rose tropicana, leonotis, cyclamen, euphorbia, amy myers, ceramics, small sunny garden
I know I have mentioned this before, but just in case anyone goes hunting for this rose, it was developed by Tantau and given the name Super Star in the UK.  I think there was some prior name usage conflict which prevented the same name being used in the US, where it was duly brought out as Tropicana.  Admittedly. I'm relying on my memory of a book I no longer have (by Harry Wheatcroft), but I think my memory is correct.

Behind, you can see some stems of Euphorbia "Firesticks", carrying on the idea.  Rather than dipping the Euphorbia stems in boiling water, I opted for the faster technique of singeing the cut ends, which seems to work well at blocking the oozing milky sap typical of Euphorbias.  The colour on this plant has deepened considerably with the coming of cooler weather, making it irresistable to try cutting some.
Monday vase meme, euphorbia, amy myers, small sunny garden
I slipped in a couple of white cyclamen flowers from a little potted plant.
Monday vase meme, rose tropicana, leonotis, cyclamen, euphorbia, amy myers, small sunny garden
And the last bit of orange was supplied by a stem of Leonotis.
Monday vase meme, leonotis,  euphorbia, amy myers, ceramics, small sunny garden
I clustered the flowers, with a good many rosemary clippings and a stem of yellow pomegranate leaves, in a low stoneware dish.
Monday vase meme, rose tropicana, leonotis, cyclamen, euphorbia, amy myers, ceramics, small sunny garden
Not a perfect arrangement, but a fun one anyway!

I thought I would slip in a shot of Thursday's Thanksgiving Day vase as well.  It was plonked together very rapidly in between fixing cranberry sauce and cantaloupe salad, and making some stuffing.  And I couldn't take much time to photograph it, but here it is, along with a second bouquet by my sister (using Tropicana roses!) not to mention some food...
I hope all of you celebrating had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

And now it's Monday, so time for the Monday Vase meme with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden!

Happy Monday!
Monday vase meme, rose tropicana, cyclamen, euphorbia, amy myers, ceramics, small sunny garden
Weather Diary: Mostly clear; High: 60 F (16 C)/Low: 36 F (2 C)

Monday, November 23, 2015

Monday Vase: Warm Colours

This week's vase is a medley of warm flower colours, from apricot to bright yellow.  Wollerton Old Hall roses...
 ...blend with chrysanthemums...
 ...marguerite daisies (Argyranthemum frutescens)...
...and Tetraneuris acaulis.
 The foliage is Salvia officinalis, the culinary sage, which has been thriving.
I made a quick little arrangement in my small stoneware pot that has proven so useful on Mondays.
This has been a fairly long day so I will keep my post correspondingly short, but I did want to go ahead and share this handful of flowers!
After all, it's still Monday here and time for the Monday Vase meme with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden!

Happy Monday (or Tuesday)!
Weather Diary: Fair; High 78 F (26 C)/Low 48 F (9 C)


Sunday, November 22, 2015

Garden Foliage in November

Lagerstroemia "Dynamite", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour, desert garden
One reason for planting a couple of Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia) in the garden was to ensure at least a little bit of autumn leaf colour - a thing hard to come by in warm-winter gardens.  Well, I have been waiting!

A couple of weeks ago or so, their foliage took on a dark, blackish colour - not attractive, let alone exciting, except in the negative sense that I kept telling myself: no, the plants are fine, don't water them, don't do anything, they're just deciduous shrubs going dormant for the season...  That should be sufficient indication of the effect!  At any rate, I was quite disappointed in the showing.  I solaced myself with remembering how spectacular (and long-lasting) their summer bloom season had been.  Reason enough to grow these plants!

But now, after a fairly unsightly spell, they are suddenly sporting much brighter hues.
Lagerstroemia "Dynamite", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour, desert garden
I don't know what triggered the change - certainly not cold temperatures! - but this is a very welcome little display of fall colour.
Lagerstroemia "Rhapsody in Pink", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour
Most of these pictures show Lagerstroemia indica "Dynamite".  It's the larger plant and still has a fair number of leaves.  But even tiny L. i. "Rhapsody in Pink" is turning.  Most leaves have fallen, but there is a glint of red.  This picture shows a few of its leaves against a backdrop of Muhlenbergia blooms.  Someday the Crape Myrtle will be bigger than the grass, but that day has not yet arrived!
Lagerstroemia "Rhapsody in Pink", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour
And again, this one taken late in the day...
Lagerstroemia "Rhapsody in Pink", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour
So, with these two Lagerstroemias and the Hamelia patens, I do have a touch of autumn foliage in the garden after all.  And they coloured up just in time for Garden Bloggers' Foliage Day, hosted by Christina at My Hesperides Garden, where I'm sure there will be quite an assortment of foliage views as it's November!
Lagerstroemia "Dynamite", small sunny garden, amy myers, crape myrtle, autumn foliage colour, desert garden
Weather Diary: Fair; High: 82 F (28 C)/Low: 51 F (11 C)


Monday, November 16, 2015

Monday Vase: Ruffles and Silver

monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
The Alnwick Rose...
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...plus flowers from two plants of Salvia greggii: a seedling that is blooming well...
salvia greggii, autumn sage, monday vase meme, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...and the named variety "Flame"...
salvia greggii flame, autumn sage, monday vase meme, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...then Pennisetum rubrum stems...
monday vase meme, pennisetum rubrum, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...and foliage from the lemon tree...
lemon foliage, monday vase meme, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...all together in a Spanish goblet purchased at our local resale shop.
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, pennisetum rubrum, salvia greggii
Admittedly, the effect is somewhat flamboyant.
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, pennisetum rubrum, salvia greggii, autumn sage
It began with The Alnwick Rose, of course...
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...and I did want to use some of the Salvia greggii flowers just now while they're at their peak.  They can bloom nearly year-round, but autumn is perhaps their high point.
monday vase meme, salvia greggii, autumn sage, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
The lemon foliage went in as being large enough to support the rose (which is a good-sized bloom) and also as being appropriate content for a little Spanish silver.
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, salvia greggii, small sunny garden, desert garden, pennisetum rubrum
Another shot of the rose...
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
...and the whole arrangement.
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, pennisetum rubrum, salvia greggii
This was a special first time for featuring The Alnwick Rose in a Monday Vase; it has been a favourite of mine since I saw it growing in my cousin's garden in San Diego, CA.  I was very glad to find that the David Austin Roses catalogue recommends it for hot climate growing.  
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, salvia greggii, autumn sage
Not that it's very hot right now!  Temperatures are expected to drop to 37 F (3 C) tonight and we had a soaking rain last night - a little bit of low desert winter for a day or two.  How quickly one gets used to constant sunshine...!

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this wonderful meme at Rambling in the Garden!

Happy Monday!
monday vase meme, alnwick rose, david austin rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden
Weather Diary: Light clouds; High: 59 F (15 C)/Low: 48 F (9 C)

Sunday, November 15, 2015

November Flowers

rose Wollerton Old Hall, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
It has been a grey day with a slow, chilly rain falling off and on.  I was not going to go out and photograph in the garden; but this evening, with only a few drops sprinkling down, I grabbed the camera for some shots of mid-November.

The roses are still taking their time returning to bloom; I slacked off feeding them (exhaustion at the end of summer!), and I think I can't afford to do that in this soil.  But as you can see above, Wollerton Old Hall is still flowering, and a few blossoms have opened on St. Swithun and Crown Princess Margareta.  Here is the latter at sundown...
rose, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
The most reliable flowers are still in fine fettle: Russelia equisetiformis "Big Red"...
russelia equisetiformis "Big Red", coral fountain, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
...and the Autumn Sages, including Salvia greggii "Autumn Moon", which is finally putting out some good bloom again.  I think a good cutting back was appreciated, though I've worked my way into the old wood with trepidation.  The plant had become very rangy with small flowers and few.  It's looking more like it should now!
amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography, salvia greggii, autumn moon, autumn sage
So much for this evening's tour of the garden!

For the rest, I will add some pictures from yesterday, which was bright and sunny.

One of the most spectacular plants in the garden for the last few weeks has been the Pink Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist").  I keep raving about it, so no need to say more here...
muhlenbergia capillaris, regal mist, pink muhly, ornamental grass, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
Nearby, the Perovskia has bloomed heartily ever since temperatures really began to moderate.  After having been unsure of this plant for the better part of twelve months, I am now almost completely convinced that it is a good selection for the region after all.
perovskia, russian sage, amy myers, photography, small sunny garden, desert garden
Another long-blooming plant has been my pink Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri NoID); I've just begun cutting back spent bloom stems, but it has flowered constantly since planting during late summer - an incredible feat, I think.
gaura, oenothera lindheimeri, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
Just in front of it is The Alnwick Rose, and I do love the way the two plants are mingling, the wiry bloom stems of the Gaura falling forward into the rose.
amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography, the alnwick rose
William Shakespeare 2000 has been transplanted into the Central Bed at the opposite corner from The Alnwick Rose - apparently successfully as new growth is coming along nicely.  This is a big relief as this is one of my favourite roses.  No flowers as yet!

Below these two roses I planted a few clumps of Dianthus to accent the corners.
Another rose in the Central Bed is Sterling Silver, and it has begun putting out its luscious (doubly so, as they are intensely fragrant) lavender blooms again.
rose Sterling Silver, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
In the East Border, Tetraneuris acaulis is blooming happily.  This picture is from a week and a half ago, but the effect is about the same now because little T. a. is pleased with the weather!
tetraneuris acaulis, hymenoxys acaulis, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
Nearby I planted the chrysanthemums I featured in last Monday's vase.  They are blooming heartily as well.  (For a series of chrysanthemum-and-bee pictures, see my recent post at Journal of a Thousand Things.)
chrysanthemums, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography
There are a number of other plants putting out smaller amounts of bloom just now; one special one is Eremophila hygrophana, another member of this large Australian genus that seems to thrive in this garden.
Eremophila hygrophana, amy myers, small sunny garden, desert garden, photography, garden bloggers bloom day
There are others, including the new Leonotis, which has yet to go into the ground but is blooming away in its pot.  There are the two miniature roses, both in flower.  The young Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink" is still putting out some late bloom, as is the even younger Hamelia patens, which is blooming and turning fine shades of pink and mahogany at the same time!  Oh yes, and Lavandula "Goodwin's Creek Gray" and even a few blooms on the rosemary hedge...  This is actually a fairly lush time of year here in the desert, and the garden is happy!  The weather is cool and even, incredibly, a bit wet.

Linking to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day with Carol at May Dreams Gardens for this look at November...
perovskia, russian sage, bee, amy myers, photography, small sunny garden, desert garden
Weather Diary: Scattered rain showers; High: 64 F (18 C)/Low: 46 F (8 C)