In A Vase On Monday – April Charms
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement using materials collected from our gardens.
In A Vase On Monday – April Charms
Exceptionally cold weather this winter seems to have invigorated the peonies—first to open is Coral Charm. Its magnificent show this spring is the inspiration for today’s design. Planted in the western border May 2015, it has achieved six blooms this year.
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Coral Charm’ (Coral Charm Peony)
I selected the oldest of the blooms to cut. Usually I do not mind cutting anything from the garden for use indoors, but I did think twice about this one.
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Coral Charm’ (Coral Charm Peony)
It was a busy week here with obligations that kept me away from my own garden, but I did manage a few hours of weeding and each day I explored to see what might be blooming. It was the kind of week when new flowers suddenly appeared, each with their unique charms. One such wonder, Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke,’ is just a lovely plant. Its pea-like blossoms seemed ideal to include in today’s vase.
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ and Iris tectorum (Japanese Roof Iris)
Many kinds of iris are in bloom this week also. I chose Iris tectorum (Japanese Roof Iris) for the way it complements the baptisia, though its delicate demeanor enhances all the other flowers in fact. The gentle foliage belongs to the baptisia.
In A Vase On Monday – April Charms
Snapdragons are slowly opening in the meditation circle where they have survived several years. I clipped one of their first blooms to add a bit of sass.
The deep red adds impact to the arrangement overall; the interior of the peony carries a red punch of its own.
In A Vase On Monday – April Charms
A stealthy come-along from a plant exchange a couple of years ago, Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose) is deceptively pretty. After its showed up last spring I was warned last year this is a thug that deserves no mercy. It is in like-minded company–there is a waiting line of plants that need to be eradicated from this particular border where the Oenothera has made its home. What a dream it would be if these hard-hitters could compete with each other so aggressively all could be kept in check. Meanwhile the oenothera has to earn its keep by participating in Monday’s vase.
Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose)
Materials
Flowers
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Iris tectorum (Japanese Roof Iris)
Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose)
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Coral Charm’ (Coral Charm Peony)
Foliage
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Vase
Hand painted Fenton Glass Vase – USA
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Coral Charm’
In A Vase On Monday – April Charms
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower designs across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place In A Vase On Monday.
pbmGarden 
A deliciously mixed theme for today’s vase Sussie. The peony is a gorgeous colour.
I’m excited to see this Coral Charm doing well. The other peonies around the garden have yet to open but are absolutely covered with buds.
What a beautiful peony. I can see why you paused before cutting it. It is perfectly offset by your Baptisia and irises.
It only hurt once! I’m enjoying the peony so much indoors.
Coral Charm, indeed -the petals look almost like water color paining. I love the combination of this peony and the evening primrose. They are so pretty together.
Oh thank you Pris. I showed more than enough photos but I had so many more of that peony. It is making my day!
Gosh, this week is vintage IAVAM! I love this combination! The snapdragons are just lovely – they pick up the cherry pink inside ‘Coral Charm’! ‘Coral Charm’ is one of my favourites – I am eagerly awaiting the buds on my own peony.
Thanks Ali, I think Coral Charm is finally at home in my garden. Hope your peony gives you a wonderful show!
I think Coral Charm is one of the most gorgeous Peonies one can grow. So many color variations all in one flower. It was bred by Roy Klehm of Song Sparrow Nursery which is not too far from where I live.
Coral Charm is amazing. Looks like it is going to survive in my garden, so I’m thrilled. How nice to learn the history of this pretty flower. Hope you indulge yourself and visit that nursery often!
Beautiful as usual. We cannot grow peonies down here and I never realized they came in colors other than pink or white.
Thank you! There’s also a lovely yellow Itoh Peony, Bartzella, that is swoon-worthy.
And of course, a red one. I’m fairly new to peonies but saw a red one this past weekend on the local garden tour.
Are the colours I can see in the vase what has been painted, or are they a reflection of the blooms? Either way it looks most effective – as do the blooms themselves which each seem to be in just the right shade of their individual colours. Very subtle and vey pleasing, Susie
Hi Cathy. The vase is painted with flowers. You may be seeing some reflection also as the sun was shining in the window from the west. My sister gave me the vase many years ago and it is perfect sometimes, other times unresponsive. Today it worked well with the flowers I picked. Thanks for hosting. It’s always so fun to check out everyone’s vase on Monday and more so as the spring increases possibilities.
Ah, I thought it was probably the reflection. Interesting how sometimes a vase is perfect and sometimes it just isn’t!
Oh Susie that iridescent vase is stunning and the flowers you chose are perfect and picked up in the many colors of the vase. I especially love the coral peony…..I have always wanted to grow one.
Thanks, the vase is a gift from one of my sisters. The peonies outdoors opened further today as well as the one in the vase. Peony heaven right here.
Wouldn’t peonies grow well where you live Donna?
Wonderful luck with the peony and what a lovely color. The touch of sass is perfect.I am trying the compettion concept in my garden to cut down on weeds!
My strongest competitors are in cahoots with each other, crowding out the most desirables. Hope the competition is going better for you.
Interesting,I think we had a similar idea. I am planting groundcover/perennials to overcome the weeds…still pulling the weeds!
‘Coral Charm’ is a gorgeous color and works beautifully with the purples. Fabulous arrangement as always!
Peter, I like that coral against the purples too. Thank you.
This is so beautiful and feminine without being fussy. And I am having serious garden envy because mine right now is just dirt– we are so behind because of the weather.
Maria, thanks for you lovely comment today. Hope the weather starts behaving better so you can enjoy your garden.
Well of course, I expected to see irises in there somewhere! The peony is sumptuous and the whole arrangement is just lovely.
Thank you. It’s hard to stay just with irises when so much else has opened up. The spring lovelies seem to bloom and disappear too quickly, but for the next couple weeks the garden should be quite rich.
I’ve become used to greeting each of your IaVoM posts with a deep sigh, Susie, but you upped the ante 100X with a peony today! All peonies are beautiful to my eyes but this one is an exceptionally lovely color and you complemented it well with the Baptisia (yet another plant I’ve tried and failed to grow) and the Iris. Oenothera speciosa is currently blooming in my garden as well. I was also warned about it and can report that it spreads freely but it’s never become a nuisance (although our drought conditions may help keep it under control).
I’m off to give my Itoh peony another good talking to. I’ll miss you this week at the Fling.
Thanks Kris. Hope you itoh peony listens up! I was stationed in a garden during our club’s tour this past weekend that has a rock garden with cacti that are hardy here. Thought of you and took some pictures to share. Hope to see lots of photos from the Fling. Have a great time!
Some beautiful colour coordination there with the red middle of the peony. And that peony flower is gorgeous! 🙂
The peony is quite intricate inside–couldn’t resist using the red for today.
This is a beautiful delicate arrangement and nicely balanced. It is good to be discovering new things every day. Coral Charm really is charming and I would think twice about cutting it too. It looks great here and will give twice the pleasure, inside and out.
Thanks Alison. The other Coral Charm buds opened outside today, so it worked out ok to cut this one. Enjoying it both places.
Love the Iris and Baptisia. Our Baptisia still hasn’t broken out of dormancy.
Maybe it won’t be too long. I saw quite a few yellow Baptisias on the local garden tour this past weekend. I prefer the purple one.
I so wish I could grow peonies! Some people do grow them here; but we can not seem to figure out why they grow in some spots and not others. The climate is marginal. However, they might grow better in milder microclimates than in cooler spots. It makes no sense! I have seen them doing better in coastal spots than in nearby mountainous spots that get cooler in winter. Supposedly, they ‘can’ be grown in the hills around Los Angeles!