Happy 2nd day of summer everyone. With this great weather, and before it gets too hot, it's a wonderful time to be out in the yard. And with the start of a new season, I am looking forward to seeing what is growing in all of your summer gardens, how you are fitting it into your landscaping, and creative ideas in arranging them for indoor enjoyment. Here's one of my favorites to start the series. Lion's tail.
I cheated a little and posted a vase shot first, but here is the plant in the ground. It took me a couple of years to find a right spot for it, but once I did, it really took off. This was about a foot tall last year, about 4 feet tall now. It doesn't need much water and can take neglect and a fair amount of sun.
And here is the full vase shot. The common name is Lion's Tail, it is a Leonotus, but I am not sure which variety, maybe leonurus.
Happy Summer Dianne, Thanks for the new thread. Love your Lions tail plant! Is it a perennial?
Unusual flower for a pretty arrangement. Great start to the summer series.
Thanks, Terri. Yes, it is a perennial (most of my plants are - lazy gardener that I am). If you want any seeds, I'll try to remember to save some.
Oh yes please Dianne! Perennials for the garden are a must have!
that is really nice.
I love what I could see of the kitchen in your earlier pic.
I need a new kitchen mine is old & beat up...
but the bathroom is worse!
Thanks, Dalfyre. The thing about houses - there is always something that needs to be done. For me, it is to get the outside trim painted (along with having some of the rotting wood replaced). But, gardening is so much more fun and relaxing.
Terri - remind me in about 3 months to save you some seeds...and anyone else who would like some, let me know.
I have a couple of border dahlias - this one is a nice in between height - taller than the bedding plants and shorter than the dinner plants that needs to be staked. I took this photo at the end of May. It is growing in my tomato patch.
I normally let the plants stay out in the yard where they provide landscaping color and wait until they are slightly past their prime, but still presentable and then cut them. This is about a month after the yard photo is taken. I cut off most of the stalks, and hopefully there will be a second flush of bloom where they were cut. This photo was taken in the house with a flash and does not do justice to the color. The previous photo is more true-to-life - a peachy color. The flash makes the flowers look too yellow.
Very nice. I had some of that peachy color, I don't ever mark them when I dig them so don't know if it is one that survived in the bag over winter or not. So far I am not having much success with my dahlias or zinnias this year. The dahlia just bloomed but only one and the others are barely outta the ground?
Thanks, Candee. Your dahlias sounds like they are just delayed with all the cool wet weather that you have had.
I liked last year's arrangement better with them being mixed up with other stuff so I am repeating it here.
Marvelous mixed up mass there Dianne, had forgotten that one!
. In last years arrangement, you took most of the Dahlia leaves off, thought about what you were making and had a much better result. OOOOOps LoL!
Lovely peachy colour!
Hi Terri - you caught me on that one. This year's was a rush arrangement. My flowers in general are not as robust as last years. I got some zinnia seeds on special and though it is late, I may try sowing them nonetheless. I like how your lottie is a mix of flowers and vegetables!
Hi Dianne, Hope you get flowers with your Zinnias, they are so pretty, I'm just growing them for the first time this year.
I'll cut some and make some arrangements, I've been really bad lately and haven't made anything for ages. lol.
Keep meaning to take a container or two with me to the lottie so I can do a yard to vase there! Thought about using my boots the other day!
Terri - that would have been a boot-ti- ful sight LoL.
some good news and bad news - the sprinkler system is now fixed. Bad news - to fix it, a long swath was cut through my garden, to a depth of 2 feet, and my stokesia got mangled in the process. They would have been next on the summer series. So, I am going back and do a rerun on last year's plants. A yard shot.
the vase shot -
Oh what a shame! Were they flowering yet? Anyway, it's lovely to see your flower bed and arrangement from last year, I loved that bucket! I could leave a bucket at the lottie, if I remember lol.
Terri - they were on their last leg. But, I normally wait until then to pick my flowers to leave them in the garden as long as possible. Buckets are one of my favorite vases too. I got a really neat ceramic vase from another lab cleanup - can't wait to use it!! it is even numbered - 363/2000.
Yellows and oranges tend to dominant my garden during this time of the year. But, here are some pinkish flowers. I had a beautiful patch of glads for about three years, then the thrips got to it the last two years, thought about pulling them out, decided to leave them in, and this year, I got a few blooms that were actually nicely formed. These are planted in front of a rose bush which I always thought was a Cecil Brunner, but was told by some rose experts that it was the wrong color. Whatever rose it is, I love the coral/peach/reddish variations.
And here they are paired in a vase. I added a few canna leaves and leatherleaf fern. Not quite the balance that I wanted, but it'll have to do for now.
Terri - this is out of order, but this is the photo that I took of this year's stokesia. I was waiting for the ligher ones (towards the upper left of the photo) to open up more before cutting them for an arrangement.
I really know nothing about flower arrang., so could you tell me how you get the flowers to stand up? What are they stuck in?
Dianne, that is Beautiful! The contrast in size of flowers looks great, love the added foliage.Well done!
I like your sweet roses, they have such a nice shape. My glads haven't come up this year, strange!
ORDER ORDER>>>> get back in line LOL! 363/2000 where are you?
Hi Happgarden, On this thread... Yard to vase, all the arrangements are in a vase of water, no tricks or floral foam!
You can use some wire over the top of the vase to hold the flowers in place, if you so desire!
Thanks, Terri,
Happgarden, as Terri writes, I started this thread so that people can post photos of plants that are suitable as cut flowers and to also see what the whole plant looks like in the yard.. The stems have to be strong enough, heights may vary, but the really short stems would only be suitable for very small arrangements, and the life of the cut flowers should last at least 2-3 days, and the best ones last over 5 days.
The wire over the top as in Terri's example is a good idea. Having vases with narrow necks help to stand them up. I have also put smaller containers inside an larger opaque container to help the flowers stay together. You can also use frogs too to keep the flowers upright in shallow containers. Terri had a neat thread a long time ago - what is in your flower arrangers toolbox - I think is the rough title.
Mostly, I just stick the flowers in the vase, and the flowers tend to shine on their own. I do have fun going to thrift stores looking for interesting vases. Hope to see some of your garden and vase shots soon!
I haven't done very many vases at all, usually just iris and my big dinner plate dahlias cause otherwise it looks like a big mess....LOL
Maybe you all can help me, if I post with suggestions on how to make them better. I was off one day and a friend just happened to stop at a garage sale, I bought 3 vases, usually like neutral colors but there was a bright red one, thought it would look great with my white dahlias.
Dianne, I am doing an orange and white garden and just traded for some of the Lyon orange flowers like your arrangement. They were just tiny seedlings when I got them and only 2 look like they are going to make it. I don't think they liked being mailed. I have my fingers crossed. If they don't make it and produce seed do you suppose you can spare some seeds? I just think those are beautiful.
Are you growing Sunflowers Happgarden? we have a Sunflower contest going on, you can pick a raffle ticket number and have a sunflower of your own! Will post the link next!
I'd love to help with suggestions if I can. Looking forward to seeing the new vases too!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1009158/ Join us for a cuppa!
I only have what they call a "False Sunflower". I will go read and see what you are up to.
The stokesia is wonderful. Your glads are beauties as well. I haven't seen but a couple popping up this year, not sure what they will be.
What is a 'false Sunflower'? apart from the fake ones!
Happgarden - if the lion's tail seed like I think it should, I'll be sure to save you some too. My lion's tails had a slow start too - I lost one when it got to be about two feet tall, doing well, and then one day, all shriveled up and died. Never did figure that one out. Then another I had in a pot for a couple of years and it did not do much of anything till I decided to put it in the ground last year. And it is going gangbusters this year - the one that is in the photo above. So, yours may take off and do well soon too.
Candee - are you a new grandma again yet?
Question on Lions tail, do you grow it in a pot? or the ground? I am zone 5 so it may not come to maturity by fall here. I have 3 so far that are alive but sooooo very small.
False sunflower would probably make a pretty arrangement.
Happgarden - I had mine in a pot just as a holding place until I figure out where to put it in the ground. It did not do well for me in the pot. I looked up the info on the plant in the plant files section and there are people in zone 5 that has grown it successfully, some overwinter them indoors, others seem to grow them as annuals. One gardener did grow theirs in a pot. here is the link:http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1048
Thank you.
Hi Happgarden, the false sunflower looks nice, is it a type of daisy?
snip snip snip and lets see how it does in a vase. lol!
I think I will snip it not tonight, meeting tonight.
It stands about 3 or more feet tall (or) 91 centimeter(?). It is probably 10 years old, one of the first plants I put in that garden. If it gets very warm it wilts and the flowers will be haning down, but then after the sun moves past it will perk back up. It is good for a distance garden, it will catch your eye.
Happgarden - looking forward to seeing your arrangement. I'll like to know how many days they last as cut flowers too.
Crocosmias are very unpredictable in my garden - grows and spreads where you don't want them, dies off where I want them to grow. They have a mind of their own. I have about 4 patches, and some years one does well, other years another will do well. But, they never, ever, all four patches thrive and bloom all at once. This one is amongst my gingers - i did not plant them there, they got accidentally included when I was doing some transplanting of other plants, but they will be taking over soon LoL.
I cut back the Russelia equisetiformis way back this year, so it is quite small right now. I got some branches last year arching 2-3 feet high. That crocosmia patch next to this one did well last year, but only has about 4 blooming stalks so far..
