It’s been a chilly, wintry week. By South Florida standards this means temperatures in the 40’s F/4C and covering the tomato plants at night. We have also (gasp!) had the heat on in the house. It was a very good morning to don battle gear and prune my lime tree. After completing this thorny task, I went in search of warm colors for a Monday vase. I was heartened to find wildflowers in bloom. I also found a weed and some obliging perennials.
The weed in the vase is the Green Shrimp Plant (Ruellia blechum). I like these for their green sculptural oddness. They are considered an invasive plant also a larval host plant for the Green Malachite butterfly. I leave a few around for this reason. However, I have yet to see one of these spectacular green butterflies.
Wildflowers are in yellow, Beach Sunflowers (Helianthus debilis); peach spikes are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) is in the background in fluffy, beige glory.
Both in red, a couple of sprigs of China Hat (Holmskioldia sanguinea) and Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformus) amp up the warm colors in the vase.
I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying some cozy winter fun. To see more vases, visit Cathy at RamblingintheGarden.
The Shrub Queen 
Are Canna flaccida and Canna glauca wildflowers there? I get the impression that Canna glauca is rare even within its native range. I suppose that, even if they grow wild, they are not good as cut flowers. Although some weeds are pretty, wildflowers generally seem to be more regionally appropriate. I mean who is familiar with your wildflowers might be able to guess the location from where they were obtained.
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Both are native, C. glauca is very rare. I do not have enough moisture in the soil to grow cannas. The wildflowers here have a wide range in Florida and people grow the Sunflowers as annuals further north.
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Well, yes, some of the best perennial sunflowers end up that way. All of ours (in our landscapes) really are annual.
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Well, your weeds and wildflowers are perfect together and perfectly arranged! And the vase, itself, is charming, too. Happy IAVOM!
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
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Thank you, Beth
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Your arrangement looks anything but “wintry” this week, Amelia! Your green shrimp plant weed is also very attractive. Temperatures in the 40s are considered miserably cold here too but we have the heat on even when our temperatures are in the 50s as was the case this morning.
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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Thanks, Kris. We are cold wimps!
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I love your vase of weeds and wildflowers. Had you not confessed I would never have realiased.
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Thank you, filled with things not planted by the gardener!
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The shrimp plant is a pretty nice looking weed. We have also been in the freezing 40s.
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I know, I like them but also fear them! I have been reading Stanley Tucci’s new book..thought of you, have you read it?
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No I haven’t read it. What is in it that I would like?
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It’s called what I ate in one year.. interesting lots of Italian food, didn’t you like like his Italian series?
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Yes, I watched his show and enjoyed seeing all the places he visited. But I have to eat gluten free so no pasta for me. The GF kind is not very good.
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I’m in a soup phase and trying his recipes!
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Let me know how they are. Soup is good on these cold days. We are supposed to hit the high 20’s next week.
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Ugh that’s too cold I just bought ingredients for string bean minestra.
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I just looked it up and it is quick and easy. Let me know how it tastes.
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Well, this is good, but I ended up with what I would call succotash, not soup. The zucchini gives it a nice squashy flavor.
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Weeds and wildflowers… my kind of vase! Mother Nature gives generously. 🙂
40s sounds good to me… 😁
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It’s always surprising what can be found if you really look. LOL, coming to Boston later this month…popsicle from Florida!
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Is that daytime temperatures or nightime? It’s certainly not what I would imagine in Florida, and it’s really interesting to learn more about the places other bloggers live. Today you have combined wild and cultivated plants to great effect, not that many of us outside Florida would be aware of the distinction! What sort of lime is thorny?
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The average low temperature here is around 40F. I have never seen a frost, though it can happen. Most citrus trees have thorns, there are a few thornless varieties. The wood smells wonderful when pruning as does the foliage. I took some photos of the thorns, will share them is SOS this week. Do you have Pyracantha there? The thorns are bigger than that.
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That’s really interesting about the thorns, sonething I would not have imagined. Yes, we do have pyracantha in the UK, very much a shrub if the 60/70s in my mind! Can you have daytime temps of 40F?
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Same with the pyracantha here. Kind of a long ago fad eaten up with black spot. 40s are night time low.It has been 80F yesterday and in the 60s today for a high.
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Oh dear, that is cold for your part of the world. And yet you have those beautiful flowers still thriving! The ‘weed’ is very attractive. I hope it warms up for you soon Amelia. And fingers crossed this will be a green butterfly year. 😃
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I’ve been wondering how you and your garden were faring during this cold period. Your vase is delightful and looks fresh as spring. I do hope you get to see a Green Malachite butterfly visiting someday. The host plant looks great in the vase.
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Thanks, Susie. It’s not really abnormally cold. I still have zinnias and tomatoes. We just hate it! I have been looking for that butterfly for at least 10 years. I am probably just a bit too far north.
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This is a good cheery arrangement, hopefully the Green Malachite butterfly stops hiding from you!
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Thanks. Me too
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The arrangement is lovely. I like how you used both “weeds” and garden flowers.
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Thank you
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Nice flowers 💐
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