In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
May flowers. I began with brilliant orange Asclepias tuberosa, leaving plenty for any monarchs that might show up. (The umbel is a variegated form of Aegopodium, an attractive groundcover but unfortunately invasive.)
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
The color emphasis shifted when gathering other flowers I came upon a second and final bloom of Paeonia ‘Pink Parfait’, the only one of the peonies that did not produce lots of flowers this year.
Paeonia ‘Pink Parfait’
The other peonies in today’s vase, two ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ (below) and one ‘Festiva Maxima’ (lower left corner above), have been stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks. It was time to bring them out.
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
The first of the returning dahlias, along with achillea, snapdragon, gaura, hydrangea, dark red clematis and even a bright orange nasturtium all were enlisted as companions to bridge the gap between orange and pink.
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
Materials
Flowers
Achillea filipendulina (Fern-leaf Yarrow)
Aegopodium podagraria(bishop’s weed)
Antirrhinum majus ‘Speedy Sonnet Bronze’ (Snapdragon)
Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)
Clematis ‘Niobe’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’
Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Rose)
Hydrangea macrophylla
Nasturtium ‘Vesuvius’
Paeonia ‘Festiva Maxima’
Paeonia ‘Pink Parfait’
Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)
Foliage
Dahlia
Peony
Container
Ceramic Urn Stamped “Vintage 4”
6-inch clear Lomey dish
eco-friendly Oasis floral foam
In A Vase On Monday – Last Day In May
As always thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for providing this opportunity to to share our vases. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.
pbmGarden 
The first thing I noticed was the effect of the wispy Aegopodium which adds another dimension to your astonishing array of blooms – makes me realise how conservative I have been with my vases recently!! Despite the wide range of species and colours somehow everything works together so well – thanks for sharing it with us
The Aegopodium started flowering last week and I decided to remove the flowers to try to keep it from spreading. I did enjoy its wispy quality for this vase. I purchased seeds of fennel and flowering carrot but then hesitated to plant them. Already have so many “aggressive” to “invasive” plants in the garden and I wasn’t sure how these would do. I really liked your dark and moody theme this week.
In the UK we call it ground elder. It comes under the fence from one of my neighbour’s and very easily beacomes establish. I think it’s wise not to introduce prolific self seeders – I once had a lovely dark fennel, but removed it once I realised how much it would seed around. Euphorbia too, althugh that is easy to pull out
I bought fennel seeds this spring but decided against planting, wanting to attract butterflies but concerned about controlling the plants. I grew euphorbia in a pot but it didn’t do well.
You’ve created a varied and beautiful confection this week, Susie. I’m amazed that, along with your magnificent peonies, you already have dahlia blooms too. Despite the fact that I started my dahlias early this year (in plastic pots until room opens up in my raised planters), the tubers have been agonizingly slow to germinate and some still haven’t sprouted, making me think that its best to put them directly in the ground as I did in earlier years. I look forward to seeing more of yours while I await mine. I’ll count myself lucky if I have dahlia flowers by August.
Thanks Kris. That dahlia stayed in the ground over winter so had an early start, but it surprised me also blooming already. My others are slower. I still have a few to plant out! Hope yours get their feet soon and get growing for you.
A beautiful arrangement Susie. Pink and orange is a colour combination I love and you have brought them together in a subtle way today. The Bishop’s Weed and the Gaura add a lightness and liveliness to the whole thing. 😃
Thank you Cathy! This feels like an “everything but the kitchen sink” arrangement but it was a good challenge to try to work with so many different flowers. My gaura always flops over so I was glad to catch some that was still in good condition.
Lovely, large variety of beautiful blooms.
Thanks Judy. Last week I just used everlasting sweet pea so guess I was ready for more variety this week.
A very lush and diverse arrangement which is very different from your usual, reduced bouquets but still you have managed to arrange them in a cohesive way, it looks so pretty, like a “gentle stroll through the garden”. The umbellifer adds lightness. In Europe people are afraid of the species. Had it in my last garden, it was a nightmare. Brought it into my new one with another plant but spotted it in time, thankfully. Happy June days 🙂
Hi Annette. Last week I felt little was blooming that was suitable for a vase, but this week it felt like a different garden. That Aegopodium is a nightmare here too. I’ve been trying to get rid of it for 20 years. Glad you caught in time the errant one piggy-backing into your garden.
Nice – I love that you use the Butterflyweed.
The butterflyweed is having a good year. I saved plenty for the insects.
Wow, that a lot of . . . stuff! When I did mine, it was just four roses.
Gaura and yarrow are popular here because they are happy with the chaparral climate. It is interesting that they are as popular as they are where so many other flowers bloom, like peonies. I would not waste space on gaura if I could grow peonies! (I intend to eventually try peonies though.)
Gaura is lovely. I haven’t found a good location as it flops, but at least it comes back every year.
The main problem I experienced with them in landscapes ‘maintained’ by so-called ‘gardeners’ is that they do not get cut back in winter. So-called ‘gardeners’ just shear them like hedges. Of course, the old growth dies and looks shabby as new plants try to replace it. Of course, so-called ‘gardeners’ pull the seedlings like weeds while trying to preserve what should be removed.
I love the wild hairs in the arrangement and pink and orange…odd to me people freak at the suggestion of the color combination. Think the textural differences and white make it work?
Pink and orange are a funny combo, I must admit. Tried to distract with enough variety!