Fiona the Greyhound refused to walk around the block with me on Sunday morning (she prefers that my husband holds her leash and arguing with a 65 lb recalcitrant dog is not my idea of an enjoyable walk) We ended up walking through the garden and after seeing all the flowers accented by the pale blue Plumbago shrubs dotted through out, I decided to snip and plonk a little bit of everything. I had not considered pale blue a neutral color in the garden, but the Blue Plumbago seemingly goes with everything. Or, most things, the red is a bit much with the Plumbago. Plumbago is like a lighter textured Blue Hydrangea and flowers at the same time – an added benefit, it is virtually indestructible and needs no irrigation after establishment.
The Blue Plumbago:
The vase:
There are a lot of players in this plant palette:
In pale blue, the Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata); deeper blue spikes, ‘Mystic Blue’ Salvia; red and yellow flowers, Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Lady Di’); white daisies, Bidens alba; pink Cactus Zinnia; red and yellow daisies, Blanketflower (Gallardia pulchella); red flower hanging over, Nodding Hibiscus (Malvaviscus arboreus)
Another view:
Orange flower in back, Chocochiana Parrotflower (Heliconia psittacorum ‘Chocochiana); Green Envy Zinnia in background; peach spikes, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); orange flower in front, Mexican Honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera)
The vase is a candleholder inherited from my parents with a jam jar inside to hold the water.
The dog?? She went for a run in the back yard, ate breakfast and….
This is what Greyhound people call roaching..who needs a walk anyway?
Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting IAVOM. To see more vases, follow the link.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Beautiful!! Love the soft blue with the various orange hues. That Fiona is a character! 🙂
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Thank you, Eliza. Fiona is something.
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That is a really great vase. You have so many flowers blooming. I have a crazy deer that has eaten all my Blue Plumbago to the ground.
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Deer? they will eat anything, though I can imagine the foliage might be tasty.
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There is something wrong with that deer. It eats anything and just finished off the neighbor’s new landscape.
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Very hungry? I have a new plant that smells really weird that deer are supposed to hate – Copper Canyon Daisy, (Tagetes lemmoni) supposedly deer proof. Bet your neighbor is unhappy.
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That deer has been hungry for two years. We all have beautiful lawns for it to eat, but oh no it prefers delicacy of exotic flowers. Are you getting any rain from the hurricane?
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Oh well…we are getting rain from before the hurricane, tropical storm is due on this side late Friday into Saturday…35 mph winds gusting to 50 so far maybe or maybe not…
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Plumbago has eluded me–can’t seem to get it established here but I agree the pale blue makes a great foil for your many magnificent blooms. Have a happy weekend.
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Thanks, Susie.
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What a good idea to use a jar inside the candle holder – must remember that, or at least the concept of it, as I don’t think we have any candle holders of this type! Your summery medley looks lovely, and makes me look forward to creating an ‘everything goes’ vase myself in due course. What an obliging plant the plumbago is 👍
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I have never used it to hold candles, but as a vase a few times, I like the color. Obliging is a good description of Plumbago.
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Fiona knows a good thing when she has it! Plumbago is known for running rampant here so I’ve been reluctant to put it in the ground, and it puts up with a pot (even a large one) for only so long, but I agree with you that it goes with almost everything. Your arrangement is a great salute to our unofficial start of summer.
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She does and is a bit spoiled. The Plumbago runs rampant here too, but I am okay with it and give it a whack every now and then.
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What a gorgeous exuberant bunch (definitely not a plonk!). Love all those warm colours playing against the blue plumbago. Your Fiona is hilarious!
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Thank you, Fiona is a joy.
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You make a gorgeous vase…I agree much more than plonking I think. That blue Plumbago is stunning in the vase.
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Thank you, Donna..
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Oh my, . . . Why is that known as ‘roaching’?, . . . or do I not want to know?
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Roaching indicates a very happy greyhound. It is called that because they look like a dead cockroach. Fiona sleeps like that a lot.
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That is what a dead cockroach looks like?!
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at my house
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That pose your dog is in is just how our dog lies too… mostly when demanding attention! 😉 I really love your plumbago. That blue is so perfectly blue and it adds such a softening and cooling effect to the hotter colours. I hope it has a cooling effect on the gardener too! The peachy pink zinnia goes especially well with it. 😃
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Dogs are such fun. I enjoy the plumbago as well, maybe it does have a cooling effect, I like that…
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