Tag Archives: Hydrangea macrophylla

In A Vase On Monday – June Song

Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement every Monday using materials collected from our gardens.

June days are swirling past, each day in the garden brings new blooms or promise thereof. Gladiola swords stand tall, ready to step into the limelight in the coming weeks; meanwhile Calla lily, monarda, dahlia, echinacea and shasta daisy all are flowering.

Taking advantage of the variety I gathered such a mix of materials it made creating a vase daunting. To simplify seemed the best solution.

So for today a blue Ikebana vase holds Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ fronted by pink hydrangea, softened by drapes of passalong Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea).

In A Vase On Monday – June Song

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ is a reliable bloomer when there has been adequate rain. It has spread nicely in the southeast border.

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’

The sweetpea is a sentimental addition—a passalong from my mother’s cousin and garden mentor. It has been in this garden for 17 years and grew at my former home for many before that. It also has appreciated the wet spring.

Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)

Materials
Flowers
Hydrangea macrophylla
Lathyrus latifolius (Perennial Sweet Pea)
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Foliage
None
Vase
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Ikebana Blue Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H inches)

I have filled lots of little vases and glasses with the leftover blooms from this week’s foraging, making the house colorful and cheerful.

Some leftovers: Echinacea ‘Big Sky Sundown’ and Monarda didyma (Scarlet Beebalm)

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 – Vase With Lily

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In A Vase On Monday – Vase With Lily

Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share an arrangement every Monday using materials collected from our gardens. I’ve been eyeing these lilies for a couple weeks and finally they are ready to share.

Described as carmine red, these lilies were planted in a patio container several years ago. This year they have responded to the wet conditions with enthusiastic abundance.

Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)

I envisioned today’s design with just two stems of lilies but they seemed to need something more. I added one hydrangea to fill out the shape of the arrangement. The cold killed most hydrangea buds, but a few stoic ones surprised me this week with 5-6 rather small, yet welcome blooms.

In A Vase On Monday – Vase With Lily

Next I added a second stem of hydrangea to the back and right of the lilies and a single, perfect young echinacea to the design.

Hydrangea macrophylla

The echinacea played happily with the pink hydrangea, but not with the lilies.

Hydrangea macrophylla

After trimming the echinacea to different heights and placements, eventually I removed it, deciding it did not contribute to the overall design.

In A Vase On Monday – Vase With Lily

Perhaps it would have worked placed lower toward the lip of the vase and slightly to the left.

The second cluster of hydrangea seemed to be enough on its own to balance out the design.

In A Vase On Monday – Vase With Lily

Materials
Flowers
Hydrangea macrophylla
Lilium ‘Black Out’ (Asiatic lily)
Foliage
None
Container
Porcelain Ikebana vase, Georgetown Pottery, Maine. Triangle Black Wave (6.5 W x 6.5 L x 2H)

In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

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In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

As the week begins it is always fun to join Cathy for In A Vase On Monday. This is an opportunity to share an arrangement using materials collected from the garden.

First I apologize for not responding to comments lately or finding time to check out your posts. I have been helping my husband through some back surgery and now rehab. Recovery has been slower than expected but each day is a little better.

Knowing I would not be around to prepare an arrangement for today I took the liberty of putting one by. The phrase putting by usually refers to preserving food but seems appropriate for flowers as well.

In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

These hydrangeas were featured last summer in Monday vases when they were fresh and at their prime. Then they were allowed to dry (or more accurately I stopped remembering to replenish their water). The vases were moved into a window and photographed during a snow storm in early January.

The pistachio-shell colored flowers are mopheads (Hydrangea macrophylla) from my own garden.

In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

The more richly colored green, pinky-red and aubergine clusters came from my sisters’ garden and I do not know the variety.

In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

Materials
Hydrangea
Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’ (Gold Dust Aucuba)
Ceramic containers by local potters

In A Vase On Monday – Putting By

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us a chance to express our flower arranging passion. Visit her to discover what she and others found this week in their gardens to place In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday—Welcome

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In A Vase On Monday – Welcome

Today brings a welcome chance to share the garden by participating in Cathy’s weekly call to display our cut flowers In A Vase On Monday. My vase was prepared several days ago.

This past week I finally cleared the Southern Side Path of grass, pruned a couple of overgrown shrubs to make it easier to pass by, and deadheaded lamb’s ears, echinacea and more. The fence gate in the photo below belongs to my neighbors. Mine is not visible, but the slate path curves to the right, leading visitors through the gate and into the main garden.

Southern Side Path – After clean up

At the right corner guarding the back entrance, a large Green-Headed Coneflower had been taking its job much too seriously, reaching out from the house and blocking traffic from both directions. I cut away and removed all of the overhanging stalks, which were still covered in golden yellow petals and pollinators galore. (Can’t remember the last time I wrote “galore.”)

This plant, Rudbeckia laciniata, grows 6-7 feet tall and begins blooming early to mid-July. Although the trimmings were generously oversized, I decided I could use them for a Monday arrangement if I left them outdoors. Normally left unadorned by the front door, a large periwinkle ceramic urn made the perfect container.

In A Vase On Monday – Welcome

A tall glass vase of water was placed inside the urn to hold the the rudbeckias. The flowers sit cheerfully at the front door to welcome company. I was too tired to worry about arranging them carefully, but now wish I had taken a few more minutes to pose them.

That the pollinators would not mind being relocated was one thing I had not anticipated. When dinner guests actually did arrive Saturday, dozens of bees and other insects were hanging around. Entering the front door required calculation and prowess.

Bee and Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)

I tried to identify this skipper and thought I had found a match on Jeff Pippin’s site, until I read the description: “Indian Skipper (Hesperia sassacus): In NC, this butterfly is rare to uncommon and found only in the mountains. Indian Skippers are single brooded, flying in May/June. The host plants are various grasses, and this species is commonly found nectaring on Red Clover.”

So much for my skipper skills. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong plant. If anyone recognizes this insect, I would like to know what it is.

Unknown Skipper on Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)

This one I believe is Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus).

Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower) With Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Materials
Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
Ceramic Urn

In summer I love to fill the house inside with flowers as well, not formal arrangements, just colorful blossoms lining the counters and tables, tucked into window sills and corners. These are a few from the weekend dinner party.

More Vases

Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy) and Angelonia ‘Serena White’

More Flowers

Many thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly floral arrangement celebration. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and other gardeners are placing In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday – Four For Fourth

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In A Vase On Monday – Four For Fourth

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

Each July Fourth America celebrates Independence Day, acknowledging the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Eschewing classic red, white and blues I opted for subtler, yet still bold, variations of the traditional colors. In several attempts I could not get reality aligned with my design ideas, so I ended up with four very different arrangements.

The shasta daisies are the fourth effort and my favorite. Creating this simple grouping was made easy using the colorful multi-stemmed vase.

Shasta Daisies, from above

The third try was a loose display of purple coneflowers, Blue Sky salvia, red dahlia, shasta daisies, and starring a lovely lavender gladiolus.

In A Vase On Monday – Four For Fourth

The second vase was composed of two coral gladioli among two hydrangea blooms. I liked this one also.

In A Vase On Monday – Four For Fourth

The first arrangement of gladioli, phlox, hydrangea and Blue Sky salvia was more formal.

In A Vase On Monday – Four For Fourth

The house is filled with flowers today—four arrangements for the Fourth. Have a happy day wherever you are.

Materials
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)
Gladiolus
Hydrangea macrophylla
Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy)
Phlox paniculata (Garden Phlox)
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)

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

In A Vase On Monday—Hydrangea Gift

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In A Vase On Monday – Hydrangea Gift

Monday brings the chance to share cut flowers from the garden by joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday.

I confess the hydrangeas in my vase today are not actually from my garden but still are quite local. They grew just a couple of houses away at my neighbor Eileen’s. She showed up at the back gate several days ago bearing freshly cut blooms.

Eileen said she remembered how much I have admired them in summers past and that, like mine, her hydrangea bushes had not bloomed the previous two years. This is a good year for hydrangeas though and what a wonderful surprise to enjoy these richly colored flowers from a friend.

In A Vase On Monday – Hydrangea Gift

Hydrangeas seem to arrange themselves. They are quite adaptable and pleasing in any vase. I chose the light mint green ceramic one acquired at the spring neighborhood yard sale. It has a lid with holes, a sort of built-in frog to hold the stems in place.

In A Vase On Monday – Hydrangea Gift

Many thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly flower obsession. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and other gardeners are placing In A Vase On Monday.

In A Vase On Monday—Vertical Challenge

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