In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
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 – Summertime
Summer weather has been with us for a while and now the season itself is officially here. The intensely rich palette of today’s vase evokes a sultry, sensual mood befitting of summer.
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
Gladiolas began flowering last week and I have been eyeing them to feature in a Monday vase.
The rich purple Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’ and satiny burgundy G. ‘Espresso’ were planted in 2019. Disappointingly few of them returned this year but the let-down was buffered by the appearance of a bright red glad from some prior year’s value bag.
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
Calla lilies planted in ground have not performed well for me so this year I tried one in a terracotta pot. The nearly black Calla Lily ‘Odessa’ has been striking since opening a couple weeks ago and continues to send up new shoots.
Calla Lily ‘Odessa’
I think I did wince when I snipped four calla stems to use for today but the unique flower shape and complementary color were compelling factors.
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
I arranged the flowers into a moderately shallow bowl filled with floral foam to help firmly support the heavy gladioli. Baptisia foliage around the bowl’s rim covers the foam.
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
A mix of other shorter stemmed flowers were used to anchor the design at the base.
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
Materials
Flowers
Anthurium
Calla Lily ‘Odessa’
Chrysanthemum
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Gladiolus ‘Espresso’
Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Dutch’ (Dutch Lavender)
Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)
Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm)
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Foliage
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)
Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’
Oak seedling (squirrels?)
Penstemon digitalis ‘Husker Red’ (Beardtongue)
Container
Black Matte Dish With Red Interior
In A Vase On Monday – Summertime
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 
Now, that arrangement POPS! It’s beautiful, and I hope it allowed you many smiles.
Thanks Judy! Have to admit it does make me smile. Some of my favorite flowers and colors.
Those colours shout out high summer, but in a very sophisticated way.
I appreciate that. Thanks Noelle.
I love those dark, sumptous shades, they’re gorgeous and look even better in the company of brighter red. As Judy says, it pops! Is the Calla growing in reasonably fresh soil? Have a good week 🙂
Thanks Annette. I agree the brighter red helps. The calla is in a pot I filled with fresh compost and soil mix. Do you grow them? I don’t really like to grow things in pots because I’m so erratic in watering. We finally had a nice long rain yesterday, much needed. Take care.
Sultry and sensual indeed – it makes me think (ahem…) of silk underwear! The texture of the main blooms just adds to this impression, Suzie! Lovely indeed (and no, I have no silk underwear of any description…)
Can you hear me laughing from across the Atlantic?
Glad it produced a giggle, Susie!! 😁
Those sultry summer colors make a dramatic arrangement, Susie. Gladiolas are very satisfying bulbs. I planted this year’s “crop” of glads earlier this month and the plants are already rising en masse from the soil. I’ve been tempted to buy calla lily bulbs to join the white ones that came with the garden but their performance seems to be very dependent on the amount of rainwater here and, as I had precisely one bloom this year (whereas normal rainfall yields dozens), new bulbs might be a poor investment as long as we remain mired in drought.
I bought some bulbs that turned out to be very poor quality and the last of them just turned brown and gave up the ghost. Was hoping for an array of white glads but now will have only a couple that came back from last year. Kris, it was such a relief here yesterday to get some rain after a couple of dry weeks–really hope you get some soon!
Such rich, passionate colors! ‘Odessa’ is a star – I love that smoky burgundy.
Thanks Eliza. Odessa is doing better than I could have hoped. Sometimes the catalog color doesn’t prove to be accurate but this was spot on.
Your color combination is stunning. I love the color of the calla lilies.
Thanks Judy. The calla was a good surprise. So glad it did well.
Oh my! Seasons are so different! Most of our lilies finished a long time ago. The last of them finished . . . maybe one or two weeks ago. However, the gladiolus have not bloomed yet. I do not plant gladiolus because they are not reliably perennial, but there are some that have been blooming for several years. They are so enviable in other gardens.
Glads aren’t terribly expensive so I just adding more. Some come back but as you say, not reliably.
The last time that I planted them many years ago, I got the cheap sort from a big box store in San Jose, and they were SO worth it. Well, cheap = not expensive. I would do it again, and could do it regularly.
Love these rich colors!! Your flowers are a treat to begin the week! Thanks for posting. Jane
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Thanks Jane! And always a treat to hear from you.
My goodness, you nailed it. Sultry and sensual.Think Kathleen Turner in Body Heat! What would your Southern relatives say? That Baptisia always throws me off as I just don’t recognize it and love it.
That says it all! The purple Callas are really special. I have some reddish orange ones that I’ve been able to overwinter now for several years. I love them! I don’t get very many blooms on them, but even a few are special. And the Calla foliage is really special, too! Beautiful arrangements!
Thanks Beth. That’s great to know your callas overwinter. There’s hope for mine then as you’re much colder.
There is so much to love in that arrangement Susie! Congratulations on managing to cut the Calla lilies… I felt the same about cutting peonies from my young plants this year! The velvety and glossy textures and the variety of materials add so much depth to the vase today.
Thank you Cathy. It didn’t hurt for long when I cut the calla. Probably same for you with the peony. They take on a new life once cut.
So colorful and tropical-looking with the Gladioli and Calla.
Thanks Jason! Both native to S. Africa. I grew up watching my grandmother arrange mixed colors of gladiolas and I hadn’t thought of them as anything but North Carolina!