Tag Archives: Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’

In A Vase On Monday – Resilience

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In A Vase On Monday – Resilience

Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens. Summer in North Carolina is always hot and humid but this past week felt like summer was being served deep fried. Dahlias buds are drying up or developing malformed flowers, but zinnias are just getting started and enjoy the heat.

Oppressive humidity, temperatures above 100 and heat index warnings several days amplified the severe drought conditions. For weeks while some areas nearby were getting severe storms with plenty of precipitation, we had none. Then Friday night, at last, a strong steady rain poured out from the clouds.  Although I have hand watered frequently the results of my efforts cannot compare to the refreshment this rainfall brought. Early Saturday morning I relished in the garden’s rehydrated state. Nice rain fell again on Saturday evening and all through the day on Sunday, a soft watering.  Ahh!

Today’s flowers were prepared Friday prior to the nourishing rainfall, thus the title Resilience to emphasize respect for those garden stalwarts that carry on under dire hot, dry conditions. I’m curious what you count on to carry the garden through tough times.

In A Vase On Monday – Resilience

In A Vase On Monday – Resilience: Clusters of tiny yellow Tansy flowers and fernlike foliage with cactus zinnia

In A Vase On Monday – Resilience

In A Vase On Monday – Resilience

Materials
Flowers
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Dahlia ‘Totally Tangerine’
Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora ‘
Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Zinnia -Cactus Flowered Mix
Foliage
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Container
Dark blue matte ceramic jar

Thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for encouraging us to create and share our vases. Visit her to discover what is blooming in her UK garden and across the globe this week.

In A Vase On Monday – Purple And Other Flora

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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.

Between Morning Showers In Early June

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Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’

A series of light showers this morning were welcome after the previous two days of temperatures in low 90s. Gardenias are fully awake today; a few more red lilies shout their presence.

Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’

Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’

Gardenia jasminoides ‘August Beauty’

Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)

American Goldfinches keep us entertained. Today I watched one floating from flower to flower on Blue Sky salvia, the slender stems arching gracefully downward with the bird’s weight, then popping upward, the goldfinch having moved on to the next flower effortlessly, like an acrobat on a trapeze .

Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)

Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)

I do not have an adequate camera to film birds but you may be able to see four goldfinches sitting atop sturdy stalks of echinacea in the meditation circle yesterday. All too soon one signals, “let’s go.”

Verbena bonariensis is going to seed and needs to be trimmed back. The finches love it at this stage so I will leave it a while longer.

Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)

Among the signs of early summer in the garden are this lusciously deep, purple gladiolus just coming into bloom.

Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’

Gladiolus ‘Purple Flora’

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’ embraces the hot weather.

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’

From the back porch I spied a black swallowtail, I think, on this bush. I searched later but the butterfly had moved on.

Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)