Category Archives: flower arrangements

In a Vase on Monday – Helfire and Romans.

The title sounds downright biblical. But it is not. I have seen Florida’s weather this time of year called Hell’s Front Porch – that seems pretty accurate currently. So I decided to see if I could do an all hot color arrangement. Using Hel – icona, Fire – bush, and Roman – Red Salvia. I think the Heliconia flowers lend a flame shaped touch to the arrangement.

I just found out there are dog day Cicadas in Florida. More unintentional biblical reference. They seem especially loud this year, lending their song to underline the heat and humidity. It is interesting how sounds can emphasize weather. Despite the heat the garden continues to thrive. This is largely due to consistent downpours from afternoon thunderstorms. The Firebush has grown almost three feet since May. They are foundation plants and I need to trim them back so I can see out the window! Expect more orange in vases in the near future.

A ‘Lady Di’ Heliconia (Heliconia psittacorum) bud looking flame like and surrounded by Firebush (Hamelia patens var patens)

A few sprigs of ‘Roman Red’ Salvia joins the crew. This is one of the best Salvias to cut, lasting longer than the the Tropical Reds and Mystic Spires. The greenery is from palms. A bit of Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) in the foreground and a trimmed Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal) providing a grey green backdrop.

The vase is a thrift store find. I may need to revisit that store, I have really enjoyed this vase.

That is all from South Florida. Where I am doing as little gardening as possible. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link for a vase tour of gardens.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Simple Summer S’s

I have been enjoying my “S” plants this summer. I noticed how big the Salvia flowers have grown with all the rain as I walking the dog this morning. The resiliency of plants continually amazes me, last summer it was very dry – I had the same flowers, they were just half the size.

The Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers are still blooming and have been since February. They are in a container in the sunniest part of the garden; seemingly not enjoying quite that much sun. They have grown over the side of the container into a shrub to get out the heat. The container features stems underplanted with groundcover bromeliads, a bit odd at this point, but I hate to disturb anything in July. Even the Lantana is taking a rest from flowering.

The vase reflects my simple scheme. The glass I drank my orange juice from was sitting on the counter when I came in with the flowers. It was rinsed and repurposed. I figured the flowers might enjoy a little OJ. I think this qualifies as a plonk.

Close ups:

The Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers and seedheads. I saw several vases with seedheads last week, loved them and went looking for a few for my vase.

The Salvias: in red with long flowers, ‘Roman Red’, shorter red flowers are Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea). The ‘Roman Red’ is definitely not as hardy as the native Tropical Red, it has stopped flowering and appears to be shrinking. Oddly, the armadillos are attracted to it and dug both up, that may explain their unhappiness! In blue, “Mystic Spires’ Salvia; in white, Tropical Red Salvia that reseeded white.

I am thankful July is half over, it is the hottest month of the year in my garden. Adding insult to injury are the bugs this year. I am swarmed by no see ums after about 15 minutes outside and have to retreat. There will be loads of prunings and errant weeds in a few months.

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. Visit her blog at ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Parrots and Poinsettias

Here’s another set of strange bedfellows from my garden. I would consider this an unlikely combination anywhere but South Florida. The parrots are Parrotflowers (Heliconia psittacorum) and the poinsettias are a native Floridian Euphorbia called Florida Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora). I like the little bits of red on the foliage accenting the colors of the flowers.

I have tried growing the usual Christmas poinsettia in the garden and failed. The Florida version is a wildflower that appears from time to time. Having read up on it a bit I should probably pull them out. It seems they are one of those perverse plants that is hard to grow from seed if you want it – but a prolific reseeder if you don’t. If I don’t act soon the next thing could be a mowed poinsettia lawn for the holidays. Not a festive look.

A closer view:

The Parrotflowers are orange and red and yellow. The orange ones are Heliconia psittacorum “Choconiana”; the reds H. psittacorum “Lady Di”. These are very tropical and did not appreciate the 30 degree temperatures in January and are just recovering. The flowers are smaller than usual for some reason. Yellow spikes are from the Thyrallis (Galphimia gracilis) shrub.

The Florida Poinsettia foliage. Another common name for this is Fire on the Mountain. Where they found the mountains in Florida we will never know.

That is all from sweltering South Florida.

Many thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. Follow the link to see more vases from gardens around the world.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Mystic Muscadines

It is somewhat of a mystery where all the @#! muscadines came from behind my house. The grapes are bitter, have huge seeds and the vines can grow 10 or 15 feet during the summer and once you start pulling it is impossible to find the end of them. I had these at my house in Atlanta and it took a few years to find them all but – I won. This time I am not so sure. So, every summer I have grapes in a vase or two. I love the chartreuse color of the unripe grapes. The vases have not reduced the vines, though it would be wonderful if they did! I need a large grapevine basket or wreath making business.

The Mystic here is the blue spike in the back of the arrangement. I love these. Mystic Spires Salvia. Amazingly long lived for South Florida, one has been flowering since March 2021. I realized I needed one more and then pulled myself back from planting anything in July.

Closer views:

The unripe grapes of the Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia). This is a native grape to a large portion of the southern and eastern US, there are some varieties that are good to eat or used in making wine. The white bracts are Miss Alice Bougainvillea flowers. Orange and sage green flowers are from Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria).

The spires of the Mystic Spires Salvia accented with foliage from Varigated Flax Lilies (Dianella tasmanica)

I have been baking with Thai dessert mangoes harvested from my tree this afternoon. I ended up with four ripe mangoes and decided to make vanilla cupcakes with mango filling topped with mango buttercream. Not to worry, these are actually vegan, not terribly unhealthy in the scheme of life and very good.

That is all from South Florida this week. No, I am not considering cake decorating classes.

Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. Follow the link to see more vases…

In a Vase on Monday – Lobster, Asparagus & Rose`

Lobster with a side of asparagus and a glass of rose` sounds like a rocking dinner. A large quantity of melted butter would be necessary for this gastronomic delight and another side dish, roasted potatoes, I think. Hmmm. Well, this vase is not for dinner, though the conceptual components are there and the rock was necessary to hold the plants in place.

I know summer is in full force when the Heliconias start to flower and the solstice was their day. There are flowers still opening and this is really the best Heliconia year to date. I am guessing the vast rain fall helped. These flowers are so dramatic they need little embellishment, kind of like lobster.

The flowers:

The Lobsterclaw Heliconia (Heliconia rostrata). These are planted outside my Living Room windows to give a rainforest vibe to the view. This is sort of a large, leafy plant but very linear and easy to see through so I have enjoyed the view.

The Asparagus Fern accents the Heliconia and is held in place by the rock. The vase is a rose` bottle from a dreadful bottle of rose` I bought from Aldi based on an internet rave review. The last rave review I ever bought wine from, though I have enjoyed the bottle as a vase.

The rock:

The rock. My father was a geology professor who loved crystals and especially tourmaline and quartz. This is black tourmaline and a quartz crystal likely found somewhere in North Georgia where I am from.

It is closing in on dinnertime in South Florida and I am wishing for the above ingredients! No such luck this week

Thanks to Cathy for hosting IAVOM, to see more vases follow this link http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Tropical Depression or not

Among my vases this one is not particularly exotic, though it has some tropical elements. I have been meaning to use this green cream pitcher as a vase for a while. It belonged to my mother, who got it from her mother. My mother was always miffed with me that I could not tell the difference between depression glass and pressed glass. I have an inkling this is pressed glass, though I could be remembering my mother pressing her lips together in frustration as I misidentified another piece of glass!

There is a 90 percent chance of a tropical depression forming in the Atlantic this week. Of course, it is headed my way. I am going to hope for rain and continue to enjoy the flowers, with or without depression glass.

The flowers:

Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) in pinks; ‘White Flame’ Salvia in white, and ‘Mystic Spires’ Salvia in blue. The purple spikes are Arabian Lilac (Vitex trifolia). I like the Arabian Lilac though it is growing into an odd flat shrub. More pruning fun for me.

Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers are still going, though they are seeking some shade by growing over the edge of the container.This seems strange, sunflowers avoiding the sun? The small yellow spikes are flowers of Java White Copperleaf (Acalypha wilkesiana ‘Java White’). More garden mysteries to contemplate.

That is all from my garden this Monday. Thank you to Cathy for hosting IAVOM. To see more vases visit Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Graptosalvia

Rest assured that the spell check did not like that word I made up, Graptosalvia. It still doesn’t, and would not even hazard a guess at what I was trying to type. Grapto for the grey graptosedum and salvia for the flowers.

The wildflowers in my garden have responded wonderfully to my haphazard fertilizing a couple of months ago followed by lavish rain showers over the past couple of weeks. I have never seen them so big or so green. Another home run for time release fertilizer. Osmocote may be the secret for gardening on sugar sand. The succulents, graptosedum and friends, are also enjoying the heat and food. I never do anything special to the succulents and they just keep multiplying..the instructions I read on the internet for succulents boggle my mind.

The contents:

The funky foliage in the vase – two cuttings of grey graptosedum, these things tend to shed leaves as they are moved, so I arranged the lost leaves into a fan at the base of the vase. The spiky green foliage is a frond from a palm seedling stuffed between the flower stems to make them stand up straight. It looks deceptively like a spike dracaena.

The flowers:

In red, white and pink spikes, Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea); yellow flowers are Thyrallis (Galphimia gracilis), this is one of my favorite summer flowering shrubs. It would probably be taller if I did not like to cut the flowers. There are a few white spikes of Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) and I managed to cut the Gallardias (Gallardia pulchella) off the bottom of the picture. The vase is a leftover florist vase from ..who knows where, but the perfect size.

Happy Summer Monday to all and thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting IAVOM. Follow the link to see more vases..

In a Vase on Monday – June Bride

I was inspired to cut some Tropical Gardenias after they started flowering in earnest. Several afternoon thunderstorms provided the inspiration for the flowering, I think. As I was gathering gardenias it occurred to me it felt like I was carrying a bridal bouquet and it certainly looks like one. This is not a proper hand tied bouquet – it is rubber band secured. The gardenias exude a sticky sap, I am not sure how good this would be to carry down the aisle. They also brown quickly like the more common gardenias. With the addition of the Sweet Almond flowers, the fragrance is amazing.

A closer view:

A closer view:

The vase is a thrift store find I have enjoyed for years. I love the sprays of buds on the Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana divaricata), they last longer than the flowers and rarely open. The white spikes are the very fragrant Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata). I cut these back about two months ago and they have grown four feet and need another trim. Abundant rain in South Florida is a plant stimulator, I am not sure I even fertilized these. Greenery is from the gardenia and Asian Sword Ferns.

I needed some color and also needed to deadhead the Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers, so I made another little vase. Continuing the wedding theme, these are for the tables at the reception..

The vase is a Pier One oil jar from who knows when. I trimmed the sunflowers as they needed some air to hopefully help with their tendency for powdery mildew. It has been raining too much to do anything else about the mildew. A few snips of Salvia are included: in blue, Mystic Spires; in white and pink, Tropical Red Salvia. Greenery is a bit of Asian Sword Fern and a few stems of Blue Lagoon Rosemary.

A closer view:

My wedding plans are complete! More than 30 years ago, anyway. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. Visit Cathy and find more vases to explore.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Celebrate Summer

I decided to celebrate summer with a colorful vase after the garden served up a batch of bright colors this week. I think the garden is celebrating a few soaking rains. The difference between hand watering and rain always surprises me – it seems all the plants enjoyed it from the fruit trees to the succulents. The mango trees are covered with fruit, I managed to give them their summer feeding before the rains started and now they are putting out new foliage. The mangoes are beautiful, but still hard as rocks. More gardening patience required. The Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers are back in action. I added them to two vases this week, this one and a birthday vase for my neighbor.

A closer view:

The vase is a crystal rose bowl that belonged to my mother. Gracing the rose bowl front and center are the BEG Sunflowers in yellow; salmon flowers with green tips are from Soap Aloe (Aloe saponaria); blue flowers are Black and Bloom Salvia.

The back of the vase has two colors of foliage from Pie Crust Croton, a mad tropical shrub about five feet tall currently. The yellow and green foliage is new growth and the darker is the mature foliage. The shrub resembles a psychedelic Aucuba. White flowers are from the stalwart Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea, the white version)

Thanks to Cathy for hosting In a Vase on Monday. For a summer garden tour from other bloggers visit http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Happy Gardening!

In a Vase on Monday – Plumb Wonderful

I am very pleased with my Plumbago shrubs this year, they have burst forth with a display of flowers like no other. Why this happened is another mystery of the gardening universe. They inhabit the “hell strip” – a dry area between the street and my driveway. There is no irrigation, I am pretty sure I forgot about the fertilizer and they are growing under some good sized trees. Yet they prosper. My neighbor gave me the original shrub about 10 years ago, offspring of the one her grandmother planted in the 60’s. I added a darker blue variety last year and that is what I have in the vase.

The two Plumbagos, the darker one on the left. The lighter blue one is at least eight feet wide and five feet tall.

A closer view of the vase:

I was taught in my college perennial garden design class (by a very old school design professor) that the classic Southern (the Southeastern US) summer color scheme for a garden is yellow, blue and white. I decided against the yellow in favor of grey green. I am pretty sure my professor wouldn’t consider Florida part of the south, so he is probably not spinning in his grave over the lack of yellow. The only yellow in the garden currently is daisies and the shape of the flower needed to provide some contrast as all the other flowers are daisy shaped.

The gray green flowers are the buds of the Adonidia Palm (Adonidia veitchii). The flowers eventually open, turn nearly white and then produce bright red fruit. The white flowers and glossy green foliage belong to the Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana divaricata). The vase was a thrift store find I have enjoyed immensely. It is my favorite for the Gardenias as they lounge over the side so well.

That’s all from my simmering summer South Florida garden. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting. To see more vases follow the link.

Happy Gardening!