In a Vase: Two Seasons

Today's vase is a simple collection of snippets from the garden.

Rose "Wollerton Old Hall"...

...foliage of Lavender "Goodwin's Creek Gray"...

...flowers of Hamelia patens...

...and Cuphea ignea "Vermillionaire"...

...are combined in my handthrown stoneware vase.

What with the combination of Hamelia and roses, this represents an enjoyable seasonal overlap between summer and autumn.

Do check the other Monday vases, which can be seen at Rambling in the Garden, where Cathy hosts this lovely meme every week!

Weather Diary: Cloudy; High: 98 F (37 C)/Low: 79 F (26 C); Humidity: 12%-45%

In a Vase: Escaping the Inferno

In defense of the garden, there are some lovely flowers in bloom today.  Lagerstroemia, rose William Shakespeare 2000, miniature roses, lantana, Catharanthus roseus, even Dianthus, could each have supplied material for a vase.  However, I decided to use dried flowers for today's vase.  There are two reasons why.  One, I picked the material months ago and have been saving it back for midsummer, so why not go ahead and feature it?  Two, frankly I did not feel like merrily touring the garden, clippers in hand.

It's hard to feel like doing anything in the heat.

Yes, 118 F/48 C yesterday.  Last night we could just see the blaze of a 40 acre brush fire, fortunately extinguished during the night.  This morning the smell of smoke drifted over us on the hot wind.  Today is officially not so bad with a maximum so far of 115 F/46 C.  But I've spent my outdoors time caring for my horse, watering plants, and keeping water available for the wild birds.  It is not a day to just enjoy being out in the grand outdoors!

So I decided to make the most of having dried material already on hand for the Monday Vase.

If I had been more forward with picking earlier in the year, I could now have had a lot more; but as it is, here are Ozothamnus diosmifolius (the pink flowers were picked at an earlier stage than the white, which were fully bloomed out when cut)...

...seedpods of Nigella damascena "Persian Jewels Mixed"...

...lavender, and a single stem of Pennisetum setaceum rubrum.  I almost went out to pick more grass stems; but when I started to the door, I could see one of our Mourning Doves getting a drink on the patio.  Mourning Doves are much more timid than Rock Pigeons or Ring-neck Pigeons, both of which also reside around our home, so I was doubly hesitant to disturb her.  I decided to use just the single previously cut stem.

There is also a clump of Artemesia "Powis Castle" from a vase two weeks ago.  It has lasted very well, but in water.  We shall see what becomes of it dry, as I know it can wilt down badly.  So far, though, it is holding up well.

I used a vase I made specifically for Monday flowers, handthrown last year but only recently glazed with a very dark brown glaze and fired.

So here is hoping for some cooler weather!  Meantime, it will be good to see what everyone is doing for Monday Vases around the world.  Here is the link at Rambling in the Garden.

Weather Diary: Sunny and hot; High: 115 F/46 C; Low: 95 F/35 C; Humidity: 6%-16%

In a Vase: Interlude in Light and Dark

Yesterday's vase was a fun afterthought to my Bloom Day post.  Going around, snipping for the vase, I discovered tidbits I didn't know were still flowering.  In fact, this vase is very much a collection of tidbits.

It began with pairing my dark-glazed pot with the very dark blooms of ivy-leaf pelargonium "Precision".  I slipped in a bloom from Jasminum sambac, the Arabian jasmine which is scenting the air from the White and Silver garden -- with only a few blooms so far!

The heart of the vase is no surprise: a couple of roses, "St. Swithun"...

...and "The Generous Gardener", one of my favorites for fragrance now.

But then there was the stem of Nigella, with one small flower discovered among the big pods.

A spray of white lantana...

...combined with a couple of smaller sprigs from Ozothamnus diosmifolius, whose flowers seem to be more or less everlastings, a useful trait that I was not aware of when I purchased it.  Two stems still had unopened buds, the stage at which these are normally cut for arrangements.

I was also able to take a few stems of Salvia farinacea.

And there were long stems of Lavender "Goodwin's Creek Gray" and shorter stems of lemon thyme.

So there was actually quite a bit of material, even with just a stem here and two or three stems there.

The jasmine flower had dropped by this morning, but I really liked having the bright white accent while it lasted.

Hurrying over to Rambling in the Garden, where other vases and much inspiration can be found!

Weather Diary: Sunny; High: 90 F (32 C)/Low: 67 F (19 C)

In a Vase: Cottage Trimmings

This week's vase came as a spur of the moment idea to use some bits and pieces out of the garden.  It had much to do with the fact that some plants needed a bit of deadheading.  As the garden transitions into summer, things are looking a bit frowzy in places!

So I collected some odds and ends that I thought would combine well in a vase.

The centerpiece is, of course, a full-blown bloom of rose "Wollerton Old Hall".  There is a fair amount of color variation with this variety (at least in my garden), and this bloom aged to nearly white with a little pink at the edges.

There are stems of Cerinthe major "purpurea"...

...and Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, which is setting its long, slender seedpods...

Also there were some very non-descript bits of Convolvulus cneorum with fluffy seeds replacing the white flowers and pretty foliage nearly hidden in the mix.

Lavender stems were used, coming from both the newly planted Lavandula dentata and the established L. "Goodwin's Creek Gray".

And, yes, a single stem of pink sweet pea "Old Spice Mix" went in among the lavender.

There is, besides, a special first showing from a white lantana, recently added to the White and Silver Garden, where both its color and rugged capacity to bloom in dry conditions will be perfect for the spot.

And now I will go over to Rambling in the Garden to see what other vases are coming in from gardens this week - and especially Cathy's creations for the Big Day!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 85 F (29 C)/Low: 57 F (14 C)

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)