Monday, July 9, 2018

In a Vase on Monday — I'm back, not that I ever really stop filling vases

If you read last Wednesday's post then you saw the stock tank full of Lilium tigrinum 'Splendens'. There were black lilies too (they've finished up), and a few seed grown Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis). When you're short on space a cutting garden is wherever you can make one.

The lilies have been coming into the house for weeks now.

They haven't been done up in an arrangement, but rather just stuck in a vase to be enjoyed.

Well I've been enjoying them.

They make Andrew nervous, he's afraid he's going to come in contact with that shirt-staining pollen.

Never having grown tiger lilies before this was completely new to me.

The plant makes little bulbils that will fall to the ground and go on to become blooming size bulbs someday. How cool is that?

The mantle vases got a long overdue refresh with Fatshedera cuttings and Yucca flowers.

My common Yuccas (dug from Spokane and moved with me, I have no idea what they are, maybe Y. filamentosa?) are glorious in bloom.

Inevitably some of them grow up into the hellstrip trees so I topped a couple of them to bring inside.

They have a long "shelf life" in a vase, a couple of weeks at least.

Did you spot those long spikes in the photo above? The were a gift from Andrea who brought them to Austin for me, along with an Opuntia pad that's planted in the back garden. These monsters are from a Hawthorn tree on her new property in Texas.

The mantle isn't all flowers, but everything fits the color scheme (Monvillea spegazzinii here).

Don't the individual Yucca flowers look like you could make a lei with them?

Out on the patio table there's another arrangement. This one made of a couple Agave pups, a homeless Haworthia, and several sprigs of lavender — Lavandula x intermedia Phenomenal to be exact (the plant was swag from the 2017 Garden Bloggers Fling).

For links to other bloggers sharing homegrown vases on this Monday visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.

Weather Diary, July 8: Hi 87, Low 58/ Precip 0

All material © 2009-2018 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. Most of my so-called arrangements are just one or two sprigs of the same plant stuck in a vase together. I kind of suck at putting multiple flowers together. Did you plant your Phenomenal Lavender in the ground? I've been curious what others did with theirs. I made mine the centerpiece of a new knot-style herb bed, which I've never posted about. It kind of sulked over the winter, but now that the warm weather is here, it's taking off.

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    1. I did plant my lavender. I had a gorgeous double purple Datura last year and I planted the lavender nearby (front garden), thinking they'd look nice together. Only one problem, the lavender didn't bloom last year and the Datura died over the winter (as I expected it would). I gave Ann Datura seeds and she started several plants, one of which is now planted near the lavender. We'll see if it blooms or not...

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  2. Oh those lilies look SO lovely however they are presented,and what odd little bulbils they have! Excuse my ignorance, but what is a 'lei'? Those spikes are astonishing to see - thanks for sharing them as well.

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    1. A lei is "a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. The most popular concept of a lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection. This concept was popularized through tourism between the Hawaiian Islands and the continental United States in the 19th and 20th centuries." (from wikipedia) I should have said a "Hawaiian lei"...

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  3. The mantle looks beautiful but those orange lilies are your flower for sure. I always pull those staining pads off so I don't have to worry so much as I have ruined clothes. I am guessing that Hawthorn spike is from Craetgus crusgalli aka cockspur Hawthorn which was famously used by Jens Jensen in prairie plantings around here.

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    1. I usually do pull them from all lilies I put in a vase, but they seemed such a part of these flowers, they wouldn't be as cool without them...

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  4. Your mantle is stunning as ever. Good to know about the long shelf life of Yucca blooms. They're so spectacular! Alas, I've none in bloom this year. Those lilies are a delight!

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  5. Your tiger lilies make an exotic decoration and I love the idea of bringing yucca flowers indoors.

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  6. Your summer mantle arrangement is wonderful, as they always are. I didn't know that tiger lilies made bulbils, not that I have much of a chance of growing them here. Yuccas are another matter, although the recent loss of several 'Blue Boys' to what I think must be agave snout weevil has me second-guessing a plan to invest in more of those even though I love the flowers.

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    1. Oh no!!! Have any of your Agaves fallen to the evil weevil?

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  7. AnonymousJuly 09, 2018

    Amazing how perfect the lilies are with your color scheme...no arranging necessary.
    rickii

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  8. Welcome back Loree. I feel like an old-timer now that I've participated a few times..but Jeez, you always raise the bar-that mantle ! I can't bear to cut any of my lilies from the garden so I'm thinking about growing a bunch of them in pots in my (loathsome) utility area just so I can use them in vases.

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  9. I love the way you take cuttings and arrange them so nicely on the mantle and in various places around the house. I tend to do that, too--whatever is floppy or needs deadheading (or something I'm simply admiring). You have a designer's flair, Loree. Lovely combinations!

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    1. Thanks Beth, and I am glad to read that you do the same. How can anyone throw something away that could go in a vase?

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  10. Your mantle is looking fabulous, Loree. Tiger lilies self-sow all around my garden and are a favorite of my husband's. Unfortunately, for the past few years, I've struggled to keep the dreaded European lily beetle from decimating them. Constant vigilance (and squashing) is required.

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