Tag Archives: Dianthus

In A Vase On Monday – Flowery Impulse

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens. I confess this week only the box and gardenia foliage comes from my garden.

I have a new Amaryllis ‘Tres Chic’ stem exploding with blooms to share this week. Since this photograph was taken more buds have opened–now five of seven buds are fully open on this gorgeous Hippeastrum.

Second stem of Amaryllis ‘Tres Chic’ had 7 buds

A hurried shopping expedition ahead of the weekend’s winter storm altered my plans to feature only the amaryllis. At the grocery store I gave in to an impulse purchase of fresh cut flowers.

First I was smitten with the red Sweet William and green and white hydrangeas and I pictured they would look nice combined with the amaryllis. I chose a companion bundle of pink dianthus for filler to keep the arrangement from being just Christmas colors; nevertheless, green, red and white were the colors of the amaryllis so I stayed with them instead of giving in to some lovely and tempting orange roses. Green chrysanthemums looked very fresh and the offering of Gerbera daisies in rich red was irresistible.

A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain fell upon the garden all day Sunday. In the afternoon I entertained myself by preparing the flowers for today—bright splashes of color to counter the gray winter skies.

In A Vase On Monday – Flowery Impulse

Materials
Flowers
Chrysanthemum
Dianthus
Gerbera daisies (Gerbera jamesonii)
Hydrangea
Foliage
Boxwood
Gardenia
Container
Black metal suiban. 4 x 9.5 x 6.5 inches. Japan.
Floral foam

The container is the cast iron one introduced last week. It is a perfect shape and size.

In A Vase On Monday – Flowery Impulse

Thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for providing this opportunity to share our vases. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.

A Week Of Flowers – Day Four

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Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

Already we are midway into A Week of Flowers hosted by Cathy of Words and Herbs. She has invited us to share a colorful flower or two to brighten up these early days of December.

I finally purchased a few years ago a dianthus mix that is perennial here. It was blooming in early April this year and provided interest throughout the summer. Though not as showy now as in these images, after several weeks with nights below freezing the plants continue to flower. Our weather has warmed again this week and it really does feel spring-like here in piedmont North Carolina. It was actually a lovely day here yesterday, 73F. and sunny, but more cold weather is lurking before spring.

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

For an uplifting color boost this week visit Cathy in Bavaria at Words and Herbs to see flowers from around the globe.

Patience

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Season upon season gardeners are given opportunities to practice patience and, like plants themselves, to seek light even from amongst shadows.

Button Chrysanthemum (pass-along)

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

Iris germanica ‘Orinoco Flow’ (Tall bearded iris)

Garden Delights

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Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

Another busy week is done that left little time for the garden. There were warm, humid days, stormy days, bright days with the bluest sky imaginable and on this sunny first of October morning the air has a refreshing chill (before warming to 78°F).

On the last few days of September, in brief segments measured merely in minutes, I wandered the garden to recharge, each time finding some small delight.

I have had a few monarchs visit each year but Tuesday marked the first time I have seen a viceroy. Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is distinguished by the black line across the veins on its hind wings.

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

I spotted another yesterday (or perhaps the same one returned, but I think the black vein looks thinner).

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

My incarnations of Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ have not always been true to the catalogs but one plant in particular sometimes throws up a pretty one.

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’

There were several other butterflies of note, a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) and a Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). These are commonly sighted where I live but fairly infrequent in my garden.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

A few dianthus plants are blooming more easily now the weather is cooler. How is this for a colorful greeting?

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

The small skippers were everywhere midsummer but numbers have declined significantly in the past 5-6 weeks. iNaturalist is my goto source to identify skippers (mostly fieries, ocolas). I found another clouded skipper this week.

Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius)

An interesting creature, if not the loveliest, this grasshopper tried to hide from the camera.

Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis)

I will finish with a quick video of the black swallowtail, frenetically searching for sustenance among lantana flowers.

In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

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In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.

I had gathered all the dahlias the garden offered up on Sunday but didn’t have time to arrange them. I left them for our flower-loving neighbor to find. During a lull in activities I took a few quick shots of a clutch of dianthus I’d cut as an afterthought. For a bit of cheer and with a nod to host Cathy’s love of props, I staged the flowers with a miniature sugar bowl from our daughter’s childhood tea set.

In A Vase On Monday – Pinks

Materials
Flowers and Foliage
Dianthus Ideal Select Mix
Vase
Small white, elliptical ceramic vase

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.

In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

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In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

I am late, late joining the party this week, but wanted to acknowledge a milestone. For six years Cathy at Rambling In The Garden has been hosting In A Vase On Monday, encouraging us to share a vase highlighting what is growing in our gardens. Since she started this I have looked forward to Mondays as never before.

In celebration of the sixth anniversary this week, Cathy posed a challenge to create a miniature arrangement, no more than 6″ (15cms) in each dimension. I tucked Erysimum into a tiny white oval ceramic vase and Dianthus and Antirrhinum into a heavy glass purple dish for a simple presentation.

Happy Anniversary Cathy and thank you!

In A Vase On Monday – Celebrating Six

Materials
Flowers
Corona™ White Dianthus (Dianthus chinensis)
Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush Red’ (Wallflower)
Antirrhinum majus ‘Speedy Sonnet White’ (Snapdragon)
Foliage
Container
Purple glass dish
White ceramic oval vase

Special 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 explore all the small designs she and others created this week for In A Vase On Monday.

After The Rain

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Rosa (Rose) -Virgie’s Old-fashioned Rose

The garden was soggy yesterday after an afternoon storm that brought wind and rain. Temperatures were in the 80s F. this week, but will be 70s today after the storm. It has been a lovely, long spring in the garden. Often we move from winter right into hot summer days and the blooms don’t have a chance to linger.

My mother’s older cousin, Virgie, passed along many of her plants through the years. This rose is one she, my grandmother, mother, my daughter for a time (when she had a yard) and I think another cousin from my generation all have grown. It is sweetly fragrant.

Rosa (Rose) -Virgie’s Old-fashioned Rose

The underside of this heuchera shows reminds me of a young child showing her colorful petticoat. In back, hellebores continue to provide interest. What’s not to love about a plant that will bloom for months without demanding anything. The heuchera was purchased, but the hellebores were passed along by garden club friend Vicki.

Heuchera villosa ‘Big Top Bronze’ (Coral Bells)

Dianthus is an old-fashioned favorite and has been so perfect this spring. It is planted among Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood), both of which were purchased last spring.

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix and Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)

More irises have opened this week. Many of mine were passalongs from a former neighbor, Henrietta on Wave Road, circa 1977. (Columbine has spread to every corner of the garden, not always creating the best color combinations. Time to cut it back.)

Iris germanica (Tall bearded iris) (bearded German Iris) with Aquilegia canadensis (Eastern red columbine) in background

Iris germanica (Tall bearded iris) (bearded German Iris)

Though there are lots of bold colors in the garden, the soft fresh greens of spring are evident everywhere. The redbud in the southwest corner is another passalong from friend, Chase. I spotted two volunteers yesterday I hope to pot up and pass on to another gardener. Passalongs carry happy memories.

Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)

In A Vase On Monday—April’s Allure

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In A Vase On Monday – April’s Allure

Each Monday Cathy from Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase assembled from materials collected in our gardens.

After another busy week of non-gardening duties, I stole a few minutes here and there and now at day’s end, Monday’s vase(s) finally are ready.

The colors of the late April garden are rich and deep; the flowers offer plenty of fragrance. My irises are not blooming as well as they should, but I love each new one that opens.

In A Vase On Monday – April’s Allure

The purple anemones that survived the fall planting and winter rains are seriously beautiful, but there should be many more. None of the white ‘Bride’ seem to have taken hold.

In A Vase On Monday – April’s Allure

This is anemone is an oddity.

This Anemone De Caen ‘Mr Fokker’ has a crown of stamens on both sides.

Here are a few close-ups.

The yellow Iris germanica (Tall bearded iris) is a passalong from 1977

Iris tectorum (Japanese Roof Iris)

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

Anemone De Caen ‘Mr Fokker’ and Clematis ‘Jackmanii’

Anemone De Caen ‘Mr Fokker’

Materials

Flowers
Anemone De Caen ‘Mr Fokker’ – planted fall 2018
Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ – one of first purchases for this garden, 2001
Dianthus Ideal Select Mix – planted this time last year, overwintered well
Iris germanica (Tall bearded iris) – yellow pass-along from neighbor Henrietta in 1977
Iris germanica ‘Immortality’) – white rebloomer
Iris germanica ‘Orinoco Flow’) – passalong from down-the-street neighbor Gary
Iris tectorum (Japanese Roof Iris) – passalong from a historic old Chapel Hill neighborhood
Foliage
Clematis ‘Jackmanii’
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Blue Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)
Portmerion Botanic vase, made in England.

As we continue to deal with medical issues there is very little time for the garden or keeping up with blogging friends, but I sneak a peek at your posts when I can. We are finally back at home which makes us happy.

In A Vase On Monday – April’s Allure

Many 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.

In A Vase On Monday—Diminutive Treasures

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In A Vase On Monday-Sasanquas

Each Monday brings the chance to join Cathy’s In A Vase On Monday to share an arrangement using materials gathered from the garden.

Mornings now are frosty and very little is blooming in the garden. This past week I bought several flats of pansies and violas on sale and planted them out in the meditation circle. I hope they will quickly establish themselves; already a few tiny ones are blooming which I picked for today’s vase.

Viola

Other minuscule flowers, 3 red dianthus and a sprig of candytuft, were surprise finds, but almost too small to use.

Viola

Viola and Dianthus

I decided to round out the group with some stems of sedum, yarrow and a couple of camellia buds.

Yarrow

The camellias were larger in scale and became dominant, but the other tiny items add color and texture.

Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’

Materials
Achillea filipendulina (Fern-leaf Yarrow)
Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’ (Angelina Stonecrop)
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Dianthus ‘Ideal Select Red’
Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft)
Viola

In A Vase On Monday-Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ and Dianthus ‘Ideal Select Red’

These cyclamen and green chrysanthemums are flowers I purchased to use for some early holiday entertaining, so thought I would share them today also. The cyclamen will be used to decorate the fireplace and may eventually make their way into a vase.

Cyclamen

These versatile glasses were a wedding gift from a college roommate and still good friend. When not in use for serving liqueurs, the glasses work well for holding flowers.

Chrysanthemums

Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly flower arranging addiction. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday and feel free to join in.

In A Vase On Monday—Snapdragons

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In A Vase On Monday – Snapdragons

In A Vase On Monday is a weekly opportunity to fill a vase using materials gathered from one’s garden and share it through Cathy’s Rambling In The Garden. Juggling a busy schedule today I almost skipped making a vase, but it nagged at me at bit. If Cathy could make the effort while away on vacation I decided I wanted to find a few minutes for one too.

Snapdragon

For many weeks the red snapdragons planted in the meditation circle have been simply a pleasure, but the color is heavy for this time of year. I purchased them last October at a greatly reduced price. The dark color, perfect as winter was coming on, now seems too rich and velvety for spring.

That said, there is little else to complain about. The snapdragons overwintered beautifully and are quite long-lasting indoors and out. I collected about 2 dozen of them for today’s vase and also added a few sprigs of white Dianthus to try to brighten the arrangement a bit.

Dianthus and Snapdragon

For the container I finally settled on a red pitcher with white hearts, a sweet gift from my late mother-in-law after she saw me admiring it in a kitchen store oh so many years ago.

In A Vase On Monday – Snapdragons

Materials

Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Dianthus ‘Ideal Select White’

In A Vase On Monday – Snapdragons

I took several pictures outdoors on the back porch to try to capture the contrasting colors better, but my camera battery ran out before I could experiment much. I am glad to have the flowers to enjoy this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Snapdragons

Many thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Please visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

Yinyang Of The Morning Garden

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Shady Side, Sunny Side-Meditation Circle on Frosty New Year’s Day

They are complementary opposites. Slowly across the meditation circle Yin (darkness) defers to Yang (sunlight).

Happy New Year! The first day of 2015 began frosty cold, but ice crystals on plants in the labyrinth quickly disappeared once discovered by the rays of the morning sun.

Dianthus ‘Ideal Select White’

Pansy

Thymus serpyllum ‘Pink Chintz’ (Pink chintz thyme)

I have been dreaming my way through garden catalogs and making plans to fill gaps in the hedges bordering the fence with gardenias, camellias and yet unknowns.

Meditation Circle on Frosty New Year’s Day

There is a Christmas gift of tulip bulbs to plant this weekend, even as many daffodils are already emerging.

After A Rain

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Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)

All around us for weeks there have been tremendous downpours, but we have been missing most of the activity, just had lots of gray sky. There was a nice rain last night though. I need to invest in a rain gauge someday. We usually just measure by whether the big dip in the street’s pavement in front of our house is full of water. It is a pretty reliable measure. Although this morning it was not full, I was happy we had not been passed by completely.

The sun was back out today. I had time for a very quick tour of the garden this morning and enjoyed seeing the Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea) in the early light.

Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)

An Echinacea purpurea mysteriously appeared in the meditation circle this summer. It is compact, only a foot tall, and has rather oddly formed flowers, as if it is trying to be a double.

These older flowers are the ones that first caught my eye a few days ago.

Echinacea Purpurea

This morning there were several freshly blooming flowers.

Freshly blooming Echinacea Purpurea

Also in the meditation circle’s path, the pinking shear circumference of this rain-washed white Dianthus flower caught my eye.

Dianthus ‘Ideal Select White’

In A Vase On Monday—Roses And Lavender

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Roses and Lavender

It is the first Monday of May and I am joining Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday to create a floral arrangement from materials gathered in one’s own garden.

This weekend when I saw my old-fashioned rose had begun blooming I immediately decided to feature it in my Monday vase. It is a sentimental favorite.

A pass-along rose

I brought this rose from my previous garden when we moved here thirteen years ago. It was a pass-along from my mother’s cousin, a sweet woman whom I consider my gardening mentor. She was the source of many other pass-along plants as well. My mother had also grown this same rose, as did my maternal grandmother, so each spring when I see these deep pink buds, they bring tender memories.

Lavender branches seemed a perfect choice for greenery and for contrast included Salvia Dorada ‘Aurea’ (Golden Sage). I selected a few salmony-pink Dianthus as filler flowers.

When doing formal arrangements I always underestimate how much material is required. With a bare spot still needing to be filled I remembered a piece of Allium Nigrum had broken off in the garden the other day before it even had opened, so I had brought it inside. It worked fine to finish this week’s vase.

White flower of Allium Nigrum was a last minute addition to the arrangement.

Materials List
Old-fashioned Rose
Lavender
Dianthus ‘Ideal Select Salmon’
Salvia Dorada ‘Aurea’ (Golden Sage)
Allium Nigrum

This design is my loose interpretation of a traditional round design. The rose stems were not strong enough to work with easily, but the arrangement went together without too much fretting. I used floral foam set into a 4-inch diameter, shallow dish to hold the flowers, envisioning that the arrangement would sit atop a crystal vase. Because I had not been careful to conceal the sides of the plastic dish, the effect was imperfect though. I tested the arrangement on a round, straight-sided black ceramic pot and also without an extra vase. In the morning perhaps I will gather a few concealer leaves or flowers to resolve that issue.

The roses and lavender are wonderfully fragrant. My husband remarked how nice the house smells tonight.

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Visit her to see what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

Autumn Blooms

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Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp Sunflower)

There are several new notables in today’s garden. The Swamp Sunflower has grown way up into the sky, reaching ten feet or more during the past couple of months. Today, the first full day of autumn, a few of the yellow flowers finally emerged. This Helianthus is a native plant but it can spread aggressively so I try careful to watch it closely.

Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp Sunflower)

This little yellow spider, perhaps a flower crab spider, may be the same one I saw a week ago on this Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower).

Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

A white-flowerd Alyssum was a garden star last summer and fall but this Easter Bonnet Violet has been quite the opposite this year. Planted in late April, it is only now gaining some confidence.

Alyssum ‘Easter Bonnet Violet’

An unknown variety of Aster added to the garden when new, soon became unruly and spread so much I tried to remove it from the garden. It is defiant though and shows up year after year.

Aster sp.

Salmon-hued Dianthus did well last year in the meditation circle. This year it did fine in spring, languished in summer and is now looking refreshed.

Dianthus

I came across an olive-green grasshopper standing firm and erect against an Echinacea stem and have tentatively identified it as a Differential grasshopper.