In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens.
Since early childhood I have loved gladioli. Last year I planted Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’ and its rich red counterpart, ‘Espresso.’ In blooming this June the purple one leads the way by just a few days and is today’s featured flower.
Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’
I tried to partner it only with red Lilium ‘Black Out’ in a simple Ikebana design, but together the red and purple were so intense they needed relief. Soon I had brought in a host of other flowers.
Keeping the strong purple and red hues at center and left, I offset the design with lighter colors and varying textures on the right side near the base.
In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora
Materials
Flowers
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’
Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ (Lil’ Ruby dwarf Oakleaf Hydrangea)
Hydrangea macrophylla (passalong from blogger Jayme, 2013)
Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)
Foliage
Amaryllis
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Vase
Black Matte Dish With Red Interior
In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place in a vase this week. Peace to you.
pbmGarden 
You ‘partnered’ just fine – looking spectacular.
Thanks Judy!
What an incredibly regal colour! We plant gladiola bulbs in the spring here, and generally need to lift them in the fall if we want to grow them again the following year. A lot of work, but for a colour like that it would be worth it!
It is a good gladiolus color isn’t it? I admit I probably wouldn’t do that digging chore in fall.
The deep purple and red are indeed intense. I don’t think I have any flowers in my garden that intense. They certainly can make a statement with their deep jewel colors. A very lovely arrangement that requires center stage.
Thanks Cindy. Not sure how I’ve ended up with such strong colors this spring but I am enjoying their richness.
That is such a deep purple glad. We are just the opposite of Chris, as it is too hot and wet for them here.
But you have those wonderful rain lilies and pals.
Now that’s purple!
True. No mistaking it, Flower!
My goodness, what a dense spike of flowers the gladiolus has! And what a glorious colour! The amaryllis leaves really work to balance the height of the gladiolus and the dahlias certainly do soften the overall effect. Lovely vase, as always, Susie
Thanks Cathy. As much as I love glads I do find them difficult to arrange, so I’ve been enjoying this vase.
😊
I was laser-focused on that wonderful purple glad this week, Susie. It is magnificent. I recently planted glads in my cutting garden for the first time but I haven’t gotten all of the bulbs in the ground yet. Your beautiful specimens just encouraged me to get to it.
You are amazing. How do you have time for all the plants in your garden! Hope the glads do well.
Wow, that is some serious purple for a gladiola!
Happy to have found this one.
That’s stunning. I love G. ‘Expresso’, but haven’t seen Purple flora before. It’s wonderful.
Thank you. G. ‘Expresso’ is nice, isn’t it? Mine are unfortunately sited in too much shade but have finally started to open.
Oh, such a gorgeous, rich purple– a real knock-out!
I only got around to planting my dahlias in the garden this past week (such a cold spring) and here yours are blooming already!
Thanks Eliza. I planted some new dahlias too but they are way behind these that were overwintered in ground.
These rich colours make such an impact, and as usual you have got the shape just right for the vase. Love the Hydrangea flowers. 😃
Thanks Cathy for your kind words. I fret over the shape of the design each week.
Beautiful and such gorgeous colours Susie, these are late summer flowers in my garden.
The glads seem a bit early to me too but they were planted last year. I didn’t get new ones this year so I’m glad they returned in such good condition.
Somehow you manage to hit it out of the park every time.
Thanks Ricki, Hope you’re doing well Ricki. I haven’t been able to figure out your site lately. Are you still posting yourself?
The gladioli are quite regal. I have a hard time thinking of them as a plant to grow in the garden.