
Rosa ‘New Dawn’

Rosa ‘New Dawn’

With the advent of our first heat wave of the season, the last of my Peonies are being pushed to their end. I await their blooming all year and their bloom time always seems to go by much too quickly.
I cut them to bring in to set upon the diningroom table and on the side table next to me to enjoy while I work. Even though they drop their blown petals all at once with a big sigh, which then I have to clean up, I never mind. There is the gift of fragrance in those soft, fallen petals that clings to my hands.
Today’s arrangement mainly features Paeonia lactiflora and Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea). Pinwheels of wild, white Musk Mallow (Malva moschata alba) and Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) fill around them. Spikes of purple Speedwell (Veronica incana) and green trimmings from Russian Sage (Salvia yangii) provide additional vertical accents.
I’m linking to Cathy’s meme In A Vase on Monday at Rambling in the Garden.


Geranium ‘Biokovo’
Solstice Greetings! On this longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, my gardens are full of many splendid flowers, so I decided to share a random few here with you.
Cranesbill Geraniums are great performers in the garden and I have several varieties including G. ‘Biokovo’ shown above, G. macrorrhizum, G. ‘Johnson’s Blue’, G. renardii, G. cinereum, G. phaeum, G. sanguineum, and G. lancastriense (below). I guess you could say I’m a big fan!
Likewise, I have several varieties of Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris, A. kurdistanica, A. chrysantha and A. buergeriana var. oxysepala, which I featured in a recent vase).
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) are coming on strongly in both purple and white, with crosses between the two. Lamb’s Ears (Stachys) are enticing bees and Veronica “Crater Lake Blue’ are charming us with their cobalt-blue starry flowers.
Lastly, the Queen of June flowers, Paeonia lactiflora have been wonderful this year. I love their fragrant, voluptuous blossoms and have cut several vasefuls over the past two weeks. Now down to the smaller, secondary buds, I will celebrate every last one.
I meant this to be mostly blue and purple, but I got distracted while out picking– easy to do! I started with Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina), Catmint (Nepeta racemosa) and cobalt blue Speedwell (Veronica ‘Crater Lake Blue’) to go with my Japanese porcelain vase.
Then the Korean Dogwood (Cornus kousa) was looking wonderful, so a few blossoms were selected. The Japanese Lantern Columbine (Aquilegia) had to be shown as well. I wandered by some common Oxeye Daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare), which begged to be included, so in they went, too.
Maybe my next arrangement will be more controlled… though I make no promises!
Linking to Rambling in the Garden‘s In A Vase on Monday.



It has been a hectic spring and I’ve had little time to blog or even make arrangements, but I was determined to get a vase posted this week!
Columbines (Aquilegia vulgaris) are putting on a great show this year with many different varieties blooming heavily. Most were picked up at plant sales, so most have no ID. I love them all, but I am partial to the burgundy ones.
In addition, there are old-fashioned yellow Bearded Iris (I. germanica), Catmint (Nepeta racemosa), Lamb’s Ears (Stacys byzantina), white Bleeding Heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis alba), and Grass seed heads to finish.
I’m linking to Rambling in the Garden for Cathy’s weekly meme, In A Vase on Monday. Click on over to see more arrangements.

Tulip ‘Esperanto’
A follow-up to my last post…

Tulip ‘Esperanto’
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