Tag Archives: Brown Eyed Girl Sunflower

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 – Suntini

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful sunny and breezy day. The Brown Eyed Girl Sunflower was covered in flowers again, so I decided to cut them. For some reason, the stems were really short. It seemed like a good idea to utilize the short stems by hanging them over the edge of a martini glass. A Suntini was created to celebrate an abundance of sunflowers on a sunny Sunday.

The crystal martini glass is from my mother’s formal crystal used for holidays. To my knowledge, there has never been a martini in the glass. My mother was a prissy Southern lady who insisted these were fruit compotes. Southern ladies of her generation can only admit to drinking under certain appropriate conditions. I have never been able to work out the appropriate conditions; what has always seemed odd to me is this generation came up with the strongest drinks possible. Another mystery to ponder.

There are two plants in this mocktail. The Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers in yellow and flowers and a going to seed flower from Lotusleaf Begonia (Begonia nelumbiifolia)

The swizzle stick is a stem from the Begonia with a sunflower at one end and a baby mango at the other.

Thank you to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. Follow the link to see more vases.

Cheers and Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Rustic Endeavors

I have been baking a lot lately and getting in touch with my rustic side. My husband had to cut down on dietary fat dramatically and is a dessert lover, so lower fat cupcakes have been an ongoing project. The latest, Gala Apple Pecan with Light Caramel Frosting. I am not a neat baker nor a cake decorator. The cupcakes never turn out quite the same size and the frosting is always a bit globby, so the house joke is that we have rustic desserts.

The apple cupcake. Moist, delicious and downright rustic. I find vegan butter makes a good caramel frosting.

The vase is rustic in the selection of the mason jar with a raffia bow and the old fashioned contents.

A closer view:

The flowers, in yellow, Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers; shades of pink, Giant Dianthus; blue spikes, a few Black and Bloom Salvia on the left side and Mystic Blue Salvia on the right; white spikes, White Flame Salvia; yellow balls, Golf Beauty Craspedia; a few sprigs of Asian Sword Fern complete the vase.

I’ll be in the garden endeavoring to enjoy a cupcake.

Thank you to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly garden meme. To see more vases , follow the link.

Happy Gardening!!

In a Vase on Monday – Brown Eyed Girl

One of the new plants I am trialing may be a new favorite, the Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus. I have had this plant for a little over a week and have already cut enough flowers for 3 vases. Officially called the SunBelievable Brown Eyed Girl Helianthus, the marketing spiel states it will produce a thousand flowers over the summer, it is a warm season annual everywhere. It will be interesting how long it will last in South Florida. August triumphs over many things in the garden. Though I can believe it will produce a thousand flowers.

The weather is wobbling between spring and summer already, but fortunately the humidity is still lurking in the Atlantic Ocean. I have finally figured out what to do with all the new plants and will hopefully get them settled in before the inevitable summer heat.

A closer view:

Brown Eyed Girl is stealing the show. The three new Salvias are the back up singers. I am hoping they will all be garden stars. The Salvias are: in white, ‘White Flame’; in red, ‘Roman Red’; in blue, Black in Bloom. The foliage is ‘Lagoon’ Rosemary and Varigated Flax Lily (Dianella tasmanica ‘Varigata’).

That is all from South Florida this Monday. Thanks to Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com, to see more vases follow the link.

Happy Gardening!!