In a Vase on Monday: Everything everywhere all at once

I never thought I'd say that I have too many flowers available to cut in my garden but that's how I felt on Sunday morning.  I usually fixate on a few flowers and create an arrangement (or two or three) but, with temperatures rising, the spring flowers that prefer cool temperatures are rushing to the finish line while the summer flowers are already getting ready to move in.  Lilies are developing stalks; Agapanthus are sporting buds; and daylilies are already blooming here and there.  I've started potting up my dahlia tubers to get them sprouted so I can move them into my cutting garden when the cool season flowers are ready to clear out.  With mildew and rust already afflicting their foliage, I focused on making use of them while they're presentable.

My first vase made use of some of the peach foxgloves that shot up all at once.

I wasn't sure how I felt about mixing the pale peach foxgloves with the bright orange Leucospermums at first but I think Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer' helped to tie the whole thing together.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley's Variegated', Alstroemeria 'Indian Summer', Digitalis purpurea 'Peach Dalmatian', Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', noID Ranunculus, and Xylosma congestum

The second arrangement made use of the sweet peas and larkspur, as well as a few of the remaining blue Dutch Iris.

The larkspur grew especially tall this year yet only recently started blooming, at which point its stems started to topple over.  The first variety of the sweet peas began blooming in mid-February.  Another variety joined the display in March but I didn't see any evidence of others until late last week.

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: white Anthirrhinum majus (snapdragons); Consolida ajacis 'Summer Skies Mix' (larkspur) in various colors; Iris hollandica 'Sapphire Beauty'; and a mix of Lathyrus odoratus, most recently including 'April in Paris'

And yes, there's a third vase this week.  The stems of Alstroemeria 'Claire' included in one of last week's arrangements was still in good shape so I added two of the last anemones, as well as stems of the dark pink snapdragons (after removing their rust-covered foliage).

Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato' put on a good show but she doesn't appreciate the rising temperatures

Back view

Top view

Clockwise from the upper left: Allium neopolitatum, Antirrhinum majus, Hebe 'Wiri Blush', Alstroemeria 'Claire', and Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato'

For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

South Coast Cactus & Succulent Society Show & Sale

I didn't make it to last year's local Cactus & Succulent Society show and sale but I made a point of getting there last weekend.  Like the 2022 sale, it was held in a nearby art center only fifteen minutes away.  It's a smaller venue than the local botanic garden provided in the prepandemic days.  Based on my earlier photographic record, there were fewer show tables and seemingly less sale plants.

I arrived about an hour after opening on the first day of the sale when rain was in the forecast so it wasn't as crowded as these events usually are

 

I gave the show tables most of my attention.  The light inside the art center's exhibit space was dicey and I had repeated problems focusing my camera so I only took closeup shots of selected plants.

Show table 1 (the tables weren't numbered but I've done so to keep them straight)

Closeup of 2 plants from that first table, Mammillaria formosa (left) and Melocactus conoides (right).  The Mamillaria looks like a fancy decorated cake to me.

Show table 2

Clockwise from upper left are closeups of: Aloe dorotheae, Dyckia 'White Whiskers', Euphorbia andpria, Euphorbia canariensis, crested Euphorbia lactea, Euphorbia stellata, and Rubutia tiraquensis

Show table 3

L-R: hybrid Dyckia, Machairophyllum albidum, and noID Fockea

Show table 4

Closeups from upper left: crested Aeonium 'Sunburst', Cotyledon pendens, Graptopetalum mendozae, and Pachypodium breviraule

I also took photos of some of the plant sale tables.

One vendor's display from multiple angles

Another vendor's display, including a Trichocereus in flower (lower left)

Colorful Aeoniums and Echeverias (left), crested Euphorbia grandidens and Melocactus matanzanus (middle, IDs are guesses), and a variety of other cacti (right).  I didn't process what I assume was an Agave 'Sunglow' in the background in the third photo until I reviewed my photos.  Everything on this sale table had looked pricey but I may have caved for that one if I'd been more attentive.

Snippets of 2 more sale displays

There were also pots for sale.  As I've lost some of my favorite pots to clumsy critters in recent years, I'm always looking for more; however, the pots were generally on the expensive side so I passed and put my money into plants.

Beautiful pots by succulent collector Jim Gardner 

Pots for sale by other vendors

I laughed at the saying on this planted pot but didn't check its price.  If that "5" on the tag, meant $5 I blundered in leaving it behind even though I'm unsure what the plant was.  It looked like a Clivia to me but that isn't what the tag suggests.

I took home just four plants.

Clockwise from the upper left: crested Aeonium 'Sunburst', hybrid Aloe sinkatana x jacunda, Crassula streyi, and Pelargonium carnosum

One plant's in a pot but all four found homes in my renovated succulent bed, which I'll show sometime soon.  I'm still doing some tweaking there.

Best wishes for a wonderful spring weekend!

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

Bloom Day from A to Z - April 2024 (Late Edition)

As abundant as spring can be here in coastal Southern California, this year is more exuberant than most.  I've an embarrassing volume of plants in bloom.  I carved out some of them, the so-called African daisies, in a separate post last Friday but this is still going to be an obnoxiously long post even though I've excluded all succulent flowers as well as ignoring the most recent blooms.  I've organized my photos into collages alphabetically by genus and I've limited my usual commentary to the bare minimum necessary to identify the plants for readers who may have an particular interest in one or another of them.

A is for Ageratum, Alstromeria, Antirrhinum, Argyranthemum & more

An exact ID for the white-flowered Ageratum (aka floss flower) on the left and upper right isn't available as I've no record or recollection of ever planting it.  The plant on the lower right is Ageratum corymbosum.

Clockwise from the upper left: Alstroemerias 'Inca Lucky', 'Inca Vienna', noID pink variety, 'Claire', and 'Indian Summer'

Left to right: Antirrhinum majus (snapdragons) 'Chantilly Peach' and 2 noID varieties

L-R: Argyranthemum frutescens 'Pink Comet', Grandaisy Dark Pink', and 'Angelic Maize' (aka Marguerite daisies)

Clockwise from the upper right are: Abelia floribunda 'Chiapas', Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Allium neopolitatum, and Anemone coronaria 'Rosa Tigrato' 

B is for Babiana (and Bauhinia, which defied attempts to be photographed this month)

Thus far, only Babiana stricta is blooming

C is for Calliandra, Ceanothus, Cercis, Cistus, Coleonema, Cuphea & more

Calliandra haematocephala (aka red powder puff)

NoID Ceanothus hedge shrub

Cercis occidentalis (aka western redbud)

Clockwise from the upper left: Cistus 'Grayswood Pink', C. landifer 'Blanche', C. 'Little Miss Sunshine', C. x skanbergii (in wide shot and closeup), and C. 'Sunset' (aka rockroses)

L-R: Coleonema album and C. pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' (aka breath of heaven)

L-R: Cuphea 'Honeybells' and C. 'Starfire Pink'

Clockwise from upper left: noID Calibrachoa (with succulents), Cotula lineariloba, Campanula portenschlagiana, Centranthus ruber, and noID Cyclamen

D is for Digitalis & more

NoID peach and pink Digitalis purpurea (aka foxgloves)

L-R: Delosperma cooperi and Dianella tasmanica 'Tasred'

E is for Echium & more

Clockwise from the upper left: Echium handiense, Erysimum 'Wild Orchid', Euphorbia characias 'Black Pearl', Euphorbia 'Dean's Hybrid', and Euryops chrysanthemoides 'Sonnenschein'

F is for Ferraria & Freesia (and Felicia, included in the earlier April Bloom day post)

Ferraria crispa (aka starfish lily) isn't prolific but it's unusual enough to deserve notice

Freesia in a variety of colors

G is for Grevillea & more

Top: Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia, G. 'Peaches & Cream', and G. Poorinda Leane'
Middle: Grevillea sericea and G. 'Scarlet Sprite' (wide shot and closeup)
Bottom: Grevillea 'Superb' (all aka spider flowers)

L-R: Geranium 'Tiny Monster' and Gomphrena 'Itsy Bitsy'

H is for Helleborus and Hippeastrum 

Clockwise from the upper left: Helleborus 'Blue Lady', H. Pacific Frost', H. 'Wedding Bells', and  shots of 2 plants labeled as H. 'True Love'

L-R: Hippeastrum 'La Paz' and H. 'Luna' (aka amaryllis)

I is for Iris

Left: Iris douglasiana (aka Pacific Coast Iris) 'Santa Lucia' (top) and I. d. 'Wilder Than Ever' (bottom)
Right: noID Iris germanica (aka bearded Iris)

Clockwise from the upper left: Group shot of Iris hollandica (aka Dutch Iris) in my back border followed by closeups of  'Mystic Beauty', 'Eye of the Tiger', noID selection from 'Tiger Mix', 'Pink Panther', 'Sapphire Beauty', and 'Casa Blanca'

I've no Js or Ks in bloom at the present!

L is for Lathyrus, Lavandula, Leucadendron, Leuccospermum & more

Although I planted seeds of 5 varieties of Lathyrus odoratus (sweet peas), only these 2 have bloomed.  They may be from either the 'Mermaid's Dream' or 'Jewels of Albion' mixes.

L-R: Lavandula dentata, L. multifida, and L. stoechas

L-R: Leucadendron 'Cloudbank Ginny', L. 'Summer Red', and L. 'Safari Sunset' (aka conebushes)

Clockwise from the upper left: Leucospermum 'Royal Hawaiian Brandi', L. 'High Gold', L. 'Spider Hybrid', and L. 'Sunrise' (aka pincushion plants)

Clockwise from upper left: Lantana montevidensis, Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl', Limonium perezii, and Lobelia laxiflora

M is for Melianthus & Metrosideros

L-R: Melianthus major (aka honeybush) and Metrosideros collina 'Springfire' (aka New Zealand Christmas trees)

N is for Narcissus & Nemesia

L-R: Narcissus 'Beautiful Eyes', N. 'Geranium', and N. 'Sunny Girlfriend' (aka daffodils)

L-R: Nemesia 'Sunglow Bicolor' and N. 'Nessie Plus Pure White'

O is for Oncidium (and all those Osteospermums included in my earlier post on African daisies)

Left: noID red Oncidium.  Right: A mourning dove nesting close by, the reason I didn't get a better shot of the orchid. 

P is for Pelargonium, Phlomis, Polygala, Pyrethropsis & more

These are only a few of the Pelargoniums (aka geraniums) in bloom.  Clockwise from the upper left are: Pelargonium peltatum 'Lavender Blizzard', a noID variety, and P. 'White Lady' in a wide shot and closeup.

Phlomis fruticosa (aka Jerusalem sage)

Robust self-seeder Polygala myrtifolia (aka sweet pea bush)

Pyrethropsis hosmariense, which I understand is now officially called Rhodanthemum hosmariense (aka Moroccan daisy) even though both names are included in the WFO Plant List

L-R: Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' (aka mint bush) and Prunus persica (aka peach tree) 

Q is for Quercus (oaks) but I have none

R is for Ranunculus (and lots of other plants like roses that aren't currently in bloom)

This clump of Ranunculus popped up unexpectedly from a tuber planted last spring

S is for Salvia & more

Left and upper right: Salvia 'Bee's Bliss', a California native.  Lower right: Salvia africana-lutea.

L-R: noID Scaevola, Sparaxis tricolor, and Stachys 'Lilac Frost'

T is for Teucrium and Tulipa

L-R: Teucrium fruticans 'Azureum' (aka tree germander) and Tulipa clusiana 'Cynthia'

U is for nothing I have in my garden

V is for Viola

Viola cornuta 'Penny Peach'

W is for Wahlenbergia (which I failed to photograph)

X is for Xylosma, which isn't in bloom yet

Y is for Yucca, also not yet in bloom

And, finally:

Z is for Zantedeschia (and the rain lilies, Zephyranthes, that refuse to bloom despite all our rain)

Zantedeschia aethiopica (aka calla lilies)

Whew, that's a long post even for me!  If you need more of a flower fix and you haven't yet visited Carol, the host of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, you can find her more timely Bloom Day post here at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2024 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party