Today's vase certainly displays the effects of the unusually frequent rains we've been having lately. It also shows the results of my efforts to ensure the hummingbird flowers return to full bloom. For instance, there are quite a few stems of Russelia equisetiformis "Big Red"...
...and there are more small, bright, tubular flowers from Cuphea ignea "Vermillionaire".
But the centerpiece is a small sunflower snipped from a side branch. I think this is either "Cutting Gold" or one of its seedlings.
Probably the most unusual flower in the mix is Asclepias subulata, the Desert Milkweed, whose seedpods contain the fluffy fiber typical of the genus. The flowers, however, are large and curious, with five-pronged blooms.
Another unusual flower is Calliandra californica "Baja Red", one stem of which came in for a vase. A single deep red "fairyduster" bloom is accompanied by a large pod.
But especially there is lots of lantana, which is just returning to flower thanks to the frequent, if shallow, rainfall over the past week.
This medley of flowers went into my handbuilt stoneware vase with the dark glaze.
Truth to tell, I nearly clipped a surprise bloom for this vase. Hippeastrum "Naranja" has just flowered - much to my amazement - and appears to have full four blooms set to open. It is just the right color, but I did not have the courage to cut it! It remains to grace the central bed.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting In a Vase on Monday each week!
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Cathy (Tuesday, 25 July 2017 12:27)
The white Lantana really lights up your pretty vase Amy. I love the fairy duster flower - what a lovely name for it too! :)
Cathy (Tuesday, 25 July 2017 16:04)
The 'shading' from red to orange to yellow maks the vase particularly successful when you look at is a whole, wheteher it was intentional or not - and of course your pots always work perfcetly with your choice of blooms!
Kris P (Tuesday, 25 July 2017 18:24)
Very pretty. What a difference a good bit of rain makes, eh? (Not that I've seen any of the wet stuff of late.) I'm impressed by the appearance of the Hippeastrum. None of my own made an appearance this year, despite our healthy dose of winter rain.
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Thursday, 27 July 2017 20:48)
Cathy@Words and Herbs - "Fairyduster" is one of my favorite flower names :) And the white lantana is making me realize I seldom use enough white in vases... Thanks so much, Cathy!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Thursday, 27 July 2017 20:52)
Cathy@Rambling in the Garden - Truth to tell, the shading only came about because of natural stem lengths, but I'm perfectly happy with some serendipity! ;-) Thank you so much!
Amy@smallsunnygarden (Thursday, 27 July 2017 20:57)
Thanks so much, Kris - I'm also wondering why that hippeastrum chose to bloom now... none of the others look all that good at the moment, though I don't really expect them to in late July! The one difference is that I dug this one in late winter and immediately replanted it with fresh compost.
It's been fantastic to have the rain; but it's requiring a careful balance with watering now, as the downpours look dramatic but don't actually soak very deeply into the ground! ;-)