Flowers from Yard to Vase - CA series

I can't really consider them good cut flowers since they last only a short time when cut, but I cut them anyway for short-term arrangements.

Flower of the week for wk 36 - rubeckias. There is a large variety of rubeckias, and they bloom over a long period. I got this one from my sister last year, and do not know the variety.

And the vase shot. These flowers do have a long vase life. In the planter in the background, you can see one of those stray purple japanese anemones that I have been trying to get rid of from that planter.

This message was edited Sep 7, 2010 7:38 AM

Week 37 - White Japanese anenomes! I let it wander throughout my front perennial bed and is quite easy to tug out if they get too much. They are not nearly as aggressive as the purplish-pink ones.

They can get over 8 feet tall. The Pennhill Dark Monarch dahlia is about 6 feet tall, the swamp hibiscus (with the red flowers) is about 8-9 feet tall, and some of the white Japanese anemones get right up there. I like how they add a lacy look to the garden. When I was out in upstate New York a couple of weeks ago, these white Japanese anemones were in full bloom in many of the gardens out there. Looks like it is a fall favorite back East.

And a vase shot. You can tell that this metal vase is the one I use a LOT for my taller flowers. The white JA lasts a tad longer than the purplish-pink ones when cut.

Happy Autumnal Equinox, everyone.

Dahlias continue to be the queen in my garden at the start of Fall. Here is one of my favorites - Karma Bon Bini. It stands about 4 to 4.5 ft tall, and a good bloomer.

closeups

And, especially because it is the first day of fall, I wanted to celebrate with a vase of flowers at work.
Mostly Karma Bon Bini, with a few Camano Ariel, Fool's Gold, and one Karma Chocolate in the back.

And, because that last photo was taken with a flash and does not do justice to the natural brilliant colors of the flowers, here is one in sunlight.

Was supposed to post this last week since what is more appropriate for the first week of autumn than the sedum " Autumn Joy?"

This particular variety can get to be quite tall - some almost 3 feet.

And here it is in a vase. Aphids are often a problem with my sedums, and if I see signs of them, I would dunk the flower heads in a bucket of sudsy water and that tends to loosen and drown the aphids. Then I would rinse them off with clear water, and then put them in a vase. Nothing more distracting than a flower head full of black aphids.

Flower of the week 41 - it is a little too hot to grow gingers here that do not have tattered looking leaves. Here is the white butterfly ginger - Hedychium coronarium. It is blooming a lot later this year than last year. It gets afternoon shade, but is still sunburned.

But, it cleans up very nicely if you just cut the brown parts off and clear the leaves from the top part of the bloom. The smell is wonderful - and that is one of the main reasons why I continue to grow it. You can smell it from far away. Cycad leaves fill in the rear.

Week 42 - A repeat of two long bloomers. The yellow-orange alstromeria and peach dahlia. This variety of alstromeria does tend to spread easily, and I have to hack it back every year. But the bloom season is so long, and the stems are so sturdy, that it is one of my staples. It starts to bloom in May, with sporadic blooms until now. The peach dahlia is one that I have had for quite a few years, but noticed that it was dwindling in size and vigor. I found out that even though dahlias do not need to be lifted here because the ground does not freeze, it needs to be divided regularly so that they don't get overcrowded. Pictured here is the dahlia in July. It is still has a few blooms now.

In the spring of this year, I noticed that the tubers were pushed out of the soil. I had to do something so I finally dug it up, after about 5 years. I was amazed at the massiveness of the tubers - had to use a wheelbarrow to put them in LoL. I got over 30 splits from them - and gave them to everyone I knew. Kept 4 for myself. The irony of it is that I replanted a few in the original spot, but it died later on in the summer.

Here are the two in a vase. Added leaves from the cast iron plant and the sago palm, an old standby that I use with all of my larger arrangements.

I currently have 4 different gingers - three I grow for the flowers, one is for the leaves. Flower of the week for week 43 is Hedychium gardnerianum - I like this one better than the white butterfly ginger. I have them in three spots, and they all bloom at slightly different times. Some as early as September, some as late as the end of November.

The third ginger is "Dr. Moy." I had it for 4 years, and it grew beautifully vegetatively, but never bloomed. I was on the verge of digging it all out and giving up. I gave some away a few years ago, and it bloomed in that spot the next year. It was sunnier there, so it never bloomed before because it was too shaded at my house. I have since moved some out to another patch in my front yard, and it is just starting to bud. Will try a third sunnier location for it next year and hopefully will have some blooms to pick.

You have such pretty flowers and make such great arrangements! I love your dahlia one especially! And that white ginger is just gorgeous! All of them are great. Thanks for posting them all. I love flowers!

Funny, I have a lot of flowers growing but never pick them for inside yet I buy flowers at least once a week if not more! I hate to pick them for some reason!

I was interested in what you said about your gingers. I have what now is a huge clump taking over way too much of my rose garden. Especially since it has never bloomed! I thought it got lots of sun but maybe it doesn't! So is that the usually reason they do not bloom? Gingers are dangerous around here for they do spread out of control. Mine I kept in a 5 gallon pot but I am sure it has escaped and is now running rampant. I need to get it out soon. I so wanted to see blooms though before I offed it But it has been in the ground 4 years so I guess I am dreaming that it will bloom.

I have an incredibly variegated one too, probably Dr. Moy but hyper variegated. I kept it in a big pot but that has never bloomed either. It is busting out of its pot. I am about to off that one too. It doesn't look too good anymore it is so root bound. And I do not have room to up it to a bigger pot if it does not bloom. It grows too fast too to keep in a pot..

Kell - thanks so much for your kind words. I am on the frugal side LoL - that is why I try to grow my own flowers.

Do you know what kind of ginger you have? The Dr. Moy is a Hedychium and they are supposed to have fragrant flowers. This is the leaf of the Dr. Moy. As you can see - a really healthy specimen, but no blooms. This is the one that flowered when moved to a sunnier location. But I have also read that gingers like a lot of fertilizer (can't remember what percentages of the NPK at the moment) - and I fertilize at best once a year, most times, every other year. So, maybe some gingers are more finicky in that respect than others?

This message was edited Nov 5, 2010 6:23 PM

There is another type of ginger that is really variegated - Alpinia zurumbet - and is normally grown for the leaf feature. Can this be the one that you have?

Alpinia zurumbet does flower, but the flowers are not fragrant. Mines bloom maybe every other year. It bloomed in August this year on leaf stalks that are several years old.

But, I count the Alpinia as one of my "cut" flower plants because the leaves do make good arrangements. In my zone, they survive most winters so I would cut the leaves and make an arrangement in a week when I don't have any other flowers in bloom. This one was a mid-December arrangement. They last over 2 weeks in a vase.

I remember when Alpinia zurumbet first was available all over! I had a huge one that had so much yellow! So very dramatic. I am trying to remember what happened to it. I think it took over in its area and as I recall it lost a lot of that yellow and became somewhat boring. I am pretty sure I dug it out. It never flowered. And again, I think I may have had it in too much shade. I so need a new yard. LOL

My Dr. Moy is very variegated. I meant to get a shot of it today. It has lots of white which is what got me to buy it in the first place. I love anything variegated.

I really cannot remember which ginger is planted in front. It is plain green and very robust. Too robust.

How cute your vase matches the color in the leaves.

Around here now I see succulents in a lot of arrangements. They look so good! And I assume you can plant the succulents when you are done with the arrangement and then get plants!

Kell - do you mean that they use live succulent plants and pot them up in an arrangement-like fashion?

New week - new plant. This is a tall blue aster that I got from a fellow gardener in Sacramento a few years ago. I was happy that it blooms late fall when not too much is blooming. It does get rather tall, and I do have to provide some support for it. Easy to grow, spreads somewhat, but easily pulled out and given away.

Here was my original arrangement.

It didn't quite look right, so I looked around the garden to see what else was blooming, and addded the white Japanese anenome.

The thorn-less white rose was blooming too, so I said, what the heck, and added that. I like the blue and white combo. And if you look closely, you will see some Tulbaghia fragrans thrown in. That is another great winter bloomer.

This message was edited Nov 9, 2010 9:38 PM

They cut off the tops of the succulents to make the bouquet like you would flowers. A lot of succulents look like flowers.

I love asters. If I had a bigger yard I would have them all over! What great color they give!

This is one plant that I posted in July, along with some crocosmias, and was very surprised that it had a second flush of bloom, 4 months later. Leonotis leonorus - lion's tail. This extended Indian summer has extended the blooming season for some, and accelerated the blooming for my jonquils.

A closer shot - not as full as the original flush of blooms, but still quite nice.

And here is it in a vase - it makes a nice autumn bouquet. Added some Nandina leaves.

Flower of the week for week 47 - Nerine bowendii - I was so glad I discovered this plant about 6-7 years ago. It is a reliable fall bloomer. It has not mulitplied as much as I would like it to, but then again, it has not died off either. So, from my original purchase of 12 bulbs, I added about 8 more this year. I have them growing in 3 spots, and it blooms anywhere from mid-October to the end of November. Here is the darker pink one out in the yard. They are a cheerful spot in an otherwise mostly dormant garden.

and the vase shot. I have two types - a lighter pink and the darker pink. The lighter one tends to bloom a little earlier. Last week, I bought two red ones, Nerine sarniensis, from the botany department in the university I work in, and am excited about that. That is another winter bloomer, and goes dormant in the summer. I have never seen it for sale before.

Hi, soilsandup.
I found your series interesting to read. I'm transitioning to growing more flowers that I can use as cut flowers. Wanted to put some of my vase collection to better use! At this point, however, most of my gardening is done in various sized containers, so I won't be growing the large bushes, trees, and shrubs. I'm also planning on focusing more on fragrant flowers of various colors. It's fun to hear about what others are growing. Thanks for sharing!
By the way, if you plan to post more in the series, I'd love it if you could describe your arrangements a little more (colors, size of flowers/stalks, etc). I'm blind, so I can't see the pictures. But any descriptive details help me appreciate the arrangements more, even if I can't see them :) Thanks!
Michelle