Wintry weather has arrived in South Florida. Having had a warm and too dry winter thus far a bit of rain was welcome, my suspicion is the wind following the rain will blow the moisture out of everything. Myself included.
Seems like a really good time for a cup of tea. I brewed a cup of English Breakfast and got the antique teapot from Rington Limited Tea Merchants down to serve as my vase. It seemed there was not much blooming, after the rain stopped and the sky cleared I went out and looked. To my surprise, I shortly had assembled a vase with an unusual combination of plants.
The pink balls are from the Dombeya (Dombeya wallachi); white flowers spilling over the edge are Sweet Begonia (Begonia odorata); a few purple Ground Orchids (Spathoglottis ‘Cabernet) are peeking out about above the Begonias; the yellow daisies are Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); the purples are Lilac Emperor Zinnias and Tampa Verbena (Glandularia tampensis); the backdrop of burgundy leaves is Red Giant Mustard ( I don’t eat it, I use it in winter containers) other greenery is another form of Asparagus Fern that pops up in the garden.
We have added a new family member, meet Fiona the greyhound. She is going to be a garden hound, I think. She waits patiently by the gate while I putter around in the garden.
The Shrub Queen 
What a lovely summery concoction – such pretty colours!
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Thanks, Cathy.
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Well, yours is the most elaborate I have seen for today. (There were only two others that I saw.) That red mustard sure is dark. It looks like red lettuce.
I really should ask if dombeya grows in Southern California.
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Thanks, Tony..It is much darker than red lettuce. Similar leaf. You really need a Dombeya, ask around. They are absurdly easy to grow.
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Well, I probably would not grow one here, but dombeya seems like something that should be added to Brent’s garden in the Los Angeles region. Besides, he likes to think of himself as a trend setter, and is convinced that he popularized the spiral junipers by installing a pair on the front porch of the Osbourne Residence where television show ‘the Osbournes’ was filmed. (They supposedly became popular after so many people saw them there.)
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Spiral Junipers? Ugh. Golden Euonymous comes right after that.
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Fiona is adorable! Congratulations on your new friend. Your arrangement is glorious.
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Thanks, Peter. Happy Monday.
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Hello Fiona. What a pretty face. So much colour in your vase today, so different to what I have in my garden
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Thanks, no Primroses or Pink Viburnum here.
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Welcome to the blogosphere, Fiona! She’s a beauty and nice that she will be a garden companion. Is she settling in well?
Very pretty combo today. I like that dark mustard leaf. Both you and Kris say there isn’t much in the garden and then you come up with these lovely bouquets!
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Thanks, Eliza, she is settling in, but still a bit skittish about meeting people and noises. I think I watch for things so intently I forget what is already there…
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Just love Fiona….and the tea pot is sporting some wonderful flowers.
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Thanks, I love Fiona, too. And am enjoying my flowers.
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Fiona is cute and will make a nice companion. Nice arrangement, I love your teapot. It got down to 39 this morning in Vero Beach but the wind made it a feel a lot colder.
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Thank you, Fiona is a bit shy at the moment, but I think she will be a good,friendly companion in the long run. Only a year and half. It was 44 here and we realize we have been Floridized.
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You did well in finding enough flowers for your vase. We have had enough rain that the sprinkler has been off for weeks.
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Thanks and wow! Dry as a bone here.I have been hearing the same about the rain from friends in Atlanta.
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I love the addition of the mustard leaves in your arrangement. And congratulations on the new addition to your garden crew! An attentive assistant that doesn’t eat your plants is a very good thing (and, unlike my cat, I bet she’d bark to discourage raccoons if she saw them digging in your garden in the wee hours). We got pounded by nearly continuous rain last week ourselves but now we’ve also got a flurry of intense wind, which literally woke me up several times last night with its intensity. Mother Nature really doesn’t have an even-tempered disposition.
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Thanks, Kris..the dog was eating a hole through the fence today! They can think of such weird things to do. And she does bark at something in the wee hours. It is windy here this week. Agree about Mother Nature. In the great words of Billy Joel ‘She’s always a woman to me”!
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Fiona is lovely, great to gave a new garden companion. What a good idea using mustard leaves, your arrangment is so fresh and sumnery. A tonic on a cold January day.
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Thank you, she is lovely, but so shy. I, too, like the dark mustard leaves, have them in a pot with hot pink and white Dianthus, Marigolds, Dusty Miller and Chartruese Sedum.
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Cathy’s right, your lovely teapot vase seems much more a summer arrangement than a winter. I’m fed up with winter already so seeing your vase is like a sip of hope.
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I know,it seems odd to me these Hydrangea like flowers appear in January. Love that this is your sip of hope. Have been eating Lime Basil seed heads in salad! good.
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Fiona is a flower!
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Indeed, with perfect eyeliner.
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Okay, amy — that arrangement is absolutely gorgeous. Though Fiona is the star of this piece. Hello, Fiona!
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Thanks, Cynthia..I think you are right! Unfortunately, she would probably eat the arrangement.
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