This week my garden is sporting many different types of flowers, from classic cottage style to over the top tropical weirdness. I decided to simplify and cut a few Heliconias accented with the buds of a succulent. It is a bit calm in the face of the exuberance of spring.
March is proving to be its usual windy, showery self, so a quick garden tour and a few snips was a good thing this Sunday morning. I used one of my mother’s heirloom vases to set off the simple flower selection.
Heliconias are one of my favorite tropical flowers, last a week in a vase and are very easy to grow. These are Heliconia psittacorum “Lady Di” in red, and “Choconiana” in orange. They have a mind of their own and tend to grow and flower under shrubs, which is annoying if you want to see them or cut them.
This is a bit of Senecio barbertonicus, in bud. The flowers look like the promise of an aster that never quite makes it into a yellow daisy, followed by a pseudo dandelion. Pretty weird, but I do love the foliage and the fact these can be left laying around the garden for weeks and are unfazed as long as they are replanted.
That’s all from my garden this Monday, to see more vases visit Cathy’s blog and follow the links in the comments.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Nice warm Florida flowers. Not much happening here, still waiting for the heat to hit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am waiting for the blast furnace to start here. It is pleasant but a bit windy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Heliconias make me think of warm places, so thanks for that! And I like the foliage and buds you used too. You have some lovely vases – narrow necks are always useful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Cathy. It is surprising how much I can stuff into that vase.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heliconias are easy to grow in your climate but regrettably not in mine :( I don’t think I’ve even seen the plants for sale here. I’d love to have some of those exotic blooms even if I had to grow the plant in a pot and water it by hand to keep it happy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I am at the far northern end of Heliconia land. Some of the more tropical ones just won’t do here.
LikeLike
The Senecio barbertonicus makes a great foil to the dramatic heliconias. I like the reductive nature of this one and the vase is really nice too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Susie. I love it ‘reductive’
LikeLike
These blooms are beautiful, Amelia, and even a single one would look dramatic on its own, so a grouping of them is inevitably stunning – thanks for sharing them! 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Cathy. It is a favorite.
LikeLike
Beautiful Heliconias. So interesting as are the buds which I at first mistook as an evergreen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, the buds look a bit like yew.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Heliconias, too. Great way to show their unique beauty!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely shapes and colours.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I want to squeal “Wow!!” looking at those heliconias! They are spectacular and show so nicely in that vase. Your Senecio barbertonicus reminds me of how much I wanted S. mandraliscae to survive in my earlier garden. It did not… sigh. I might try it again here as conditions are rather different despite the ever-present intense sun and heat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I like the other Senecio M. pretty sure that it would not be happy here, though the Sb will grow in the garden? Just seems strange to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe it’s not just me, then–ha! I’d love to find a way for it to grow happily, as those foliage colors are hard to come by in this climate.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Senecio is such a weird genus. It is about as diverse as Euphorbia. Some of the species do not seem to be of the same genus.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, Euphorbia is especially puzzling to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, anatomically, it is like science fiction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
From Pencil Cactus to Crown of Thorns?! so weird
LikeLiked by 1 person
From Euphorbia ingens to poinsettia.
LikeLiked by 1 person