In a Vase: Easter Roses

And the roses have come into bloom, just in time for Easter...

For an Easter Sunday bouquet I used mostly roses and penstemon.  I snipped a few blooms here and there from most of the shrub roses.  From the Central Bed came Wollerton Old Hall...

...and the Alnwick Rose.

The Rose Border yielded a couple of buds from the Generous Gardener, as well as a frilly bloom from James Galway...

...and two blossoms from St. Swithun; these had a bit of windburn.  It is the westernmost bush in the bed, and winds have been strong lately.  The Rose Border could do with a little additional protection at both ends -- wind from the west and sun from the east -- but I don't have any brilliant ideas for it at the moment.

And of course, there was a bloom of Sterling Silver.

Two types of Penstemon went in: P. parryi (centre)...

...and P. pseudospectabilis.

It is very interesting combining them in the vase as the flowers are surprisingly similar.  They are trumpets in slightly different hues of pink, with P. parryi being bluer and softer than P. pseudospectabilis with its brash magenta.  In the garden they are considerably different plants in terms of foliage and, to a lessert extent, growth habit.

Both are known by the common name "Desert Penstemon".  Both are native to Arizona, but P. pseudospectabilis has a much wider range, shown on the USDA map to include New Mexico, Utah, and California as well, whereas P. parryi seems to be found only in Arizona.

Then there were a couple of sprigs of an unknown and, as yet, unplanted, Salvia.  I found it at one of the local box stores the other day.  Its delicate pink and white was irresistable, to me at any rate!

It was simply labelled "Salvia," grrrr...!  Some of us prefer to know just what it is we are growing.  Assistance with an ID on this one would be appreciated, but I'm afraid my photo doesn't give enough detail.  The blooms are elongated Salvia types, and the leaves are rounded with scalloped edges.  It may be something fairly common, for all I know!  Maybe I'll post separately on it later.  It's such a pretty little thing.  I suspect it will get a good deal larger despite the delicacy of the flowers.

The vase also contains a lone stalk of lavender.  Bought at the same time as the Salvia, it also was scantily labeled.  "Lavender", said the pot sticker.  Yes, lavender it is; and I believe it is L. dentata.  At any rate, I love the paler, silvery tones of the flowers.

I used more sprigs of Ozothamnus diosmifolius in this vase too.  It is nice to have something that works so well as filler.

The completed vase, using an unglazed stoneware jar that I made a year or two ago...

The pictures were taken outside at sunset, which is why the colours look the way they do!

Thanks to Cathy for hosting the Monday Vase meme at Rambling in the Garden!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy and windy; High: 81 F (27 C)/Low: 55 F (13 C)