Wordless Wednesday: A Summer Rose

Monday Vase: Quite Bright

Today's vase is a bit unexpected even for me.  I had been wondering what to use in it as July is, of course, a bit thin on flowers here.  But I came to realize that I have two plants which are proving invaluable at all seasons: Russelia equisetiformis and lantana.  In addition, I have slipped in several hesperaloe stems with still-green seedpods.  A little more greenery is supplied by rosemary.

The group went into a pot I haven't used before.  This is a smallish earthenware pot which I made last year, inspired by my friend Aggeliki, who suggested a form based on the (open) hesperaloe seedpods.  I thought it a wonderful idea, and this little vase is one result.  I would like to explore the form a little further...  It seemed very appropriate to use hesperaloe pods in it today!

The whole combination makes for a very bright effect.  They seemed like good colours for July.

The lantana flowers come from a large plant growing under one of two palm trees that are now incorporated into the Rose Border.  And I have to admit that a well-grown lantana is trouble-free, reliable, and simply wonderful at providing midsummer bloom in this dry, hot climate.  So I am ignoring the scent (which I don't notice in the cut flowers anyway) and using it freely in this vase.

As for the Russelia, I love it!  Its relaxed growth habit needs to be taken into account when siting it; otherwise it's a gem of a plant, providing vases with some taller stems and a delicate texture as well as brilliant scarlet colour.

And the Hesperaloe seedpods are a beautifully soft aqua green right now.

I am linking with Cathy's lovely meme at Rambling in the Garden, and her vase is at least as bright!

Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 106 F (41 C)/Low: 84 F (29 C)

The Wild Tree: July

I finally went over to check on the little cluster of Parkinsonia florida trees which constitute my "tree" for the monthly meme.  My little Blue Palo Verdes are surviving desert summer in fine style.

I had my usual friend along.  I had been expecting that it would be too hot to take Bella with me, but the weather has been cooler this past week, so she was able to do her own desert exploration.  She feels that there are many other, more interesting things to check out than my tree cluster.

Back to the Palo Verde tree...

A few seedpods still hang on the branches...

...but most have fallen and been eaten by wild creatures.  Most of the fallen pods that I looked at were empty.

These trees are, indeed, summer-deciduous, having lost many - though not all - of their leaves.  Here is a tangle of particularly bare branches.

The green bark continues the task of photosynthesis through the season.  Yes, the bark is as smooth as it looks, and I love the soft wrinkles where the branches meet.

With so many of the leaves gone, the graceful tangle of thin branches is fully evident.

And do you see what I found, visible in the upper left of the picture above?  A second look showed me a couple of late and rather draggled blooms.

Since it has been a month since I last hiked through this area, I decided to take a longer look around.  In particular, I wanted to check on the wild barrel cactus (probably Ferocactus emoryi or F. covillei) as I thought there was a chance it would be in bloom.  It is.

I spent quite a while enjoying the cactus with the camera; more pictures can be seen on my other blog, Journal of a Thousand Things.

I also noticed that a large creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) on my way was looking very lush (as desert plants go!).

And finally, I found a much younger seedling of Palo Verde up near the road, and this one has red tips to the new growth.  I don't think I've noticed that in any others.  Quite a desirable specimen, I would think!

It consists of little more than this one supple stem.

Maybe I should keep an eye on it too...

Linking with Lucy's meme at Loose and Leafy, where there are trees from all over the world to be followed by proxy!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 102 F (39 C)/Low: 84 F (29 C)

Wordless Wednesday: Sonoran Desert Rainclouds

And yes, this time it did rain!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 106 F (41 C)/Low: 84 F (29 C)

Monday Vase: Simplicity in Green and White

A single stem of Jasminum sambac is the beauty in today's vase.

This is the jasmine that I was so happy with in a recent post.  It speaks for itself (especially if you are near enough to smell the fragrance)...

The jasmine is in one of my own vases: a drop-shaped vase tapering to a small mouth.  The whole piece was handthrown in stoneware clay, then covered with a blue-green glaze tinted by copper; a small touch of flow glaze accents the mouth.  I made the piece several years ago, but it remains one of my favourites.

It seemed like a nice cool arrangement for this July Monday.  Linking with Rambling in the Garden, with a big thank you to Cathy for inspiring us all with this wonderful meme...

Happy Monday!

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 102 F (39 C)/Low: 75 F (24 C)