It was hot yesterday, but I clipped a few blooms for some simple vases. I like to participate in the
In a Vase on Monday meme--especially when I have homegrown flowers to share. As I gathered the lot and assessed, I realized I had two simple collections: one warm and one cool. I used a small Dutch-themed vase for the warm group, with the deep blue complementary to orange on the color wheel.
Rocket Ligularia (
L. stenocephala) has been in this garden longer than I have (nearly 20 years), but I never thought to use it as a cut flower. That's embarrassing and too bad, because it works quite well, and some research told me it has a decent vase life. The flowers mature from the bottom up, and I've never liked the browning lower ones. So, I simply stripped them off before placing the stem in the water.
I always plant Zinnias for cut flowers, and my favorites are 'State Fair Mix' and 'Zowie! Yellow Flame.' The former give me large and tall blooms in a great mix of colors, while the latter are just delightful with their bright, hot colors. I also added Cosmos foliage to both vases.
The nice thing about Cosmos (
C. bipinnatus 'Sensation Mix') is that the foliage is as fun as the flowers. Actually, there are many nice things about Cosmos: long vase life, pretty flowers, buds for continuous blooms, foliage that holds up under water, plants that grow and rebloom very fast...so many things....
As the Cosmos buds open, they'll fill this arrangement with more blooms. Maybe I'll find some more "fillers," too. Companions in this vase are Blazing Star Liatris (
L. spicata) and a Tall Snapdragon (
Antirrhinum majus 'Rocket Mix') that was standing upright after a couple hours in cool water.
Oh, and some cool pink Zinnias.
Earlier in the week, I'd picked some Stargazer Lilies (
Lilium orientalis). I cheated with the background here, but they served out their time in a simple, single-stem glass vase.
In a Vase on Monday is hosted by Cathy at "Rambling in the Garden."
