Finally! It's flower time and time to invite you in for a glass of iced tea and a bit of floral fun!
Our friends Elizabeth and Charles were here for the weekend, so we had more flowers inside than usual.
On the dining room table there's a pitcher of mixed flowers - Bee balm, salvia, snapdragons, cone flowers and yarrow with Solomon's Seal for greenery.
On the coffee table, the only mophead hydrangea we have so far - Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bailmer' PPAF. It's an everyblooming variety that I hope will bloom again later this summer, but this was literally the only flower on the entire bush.
In fairness to the hydrangeas of the world, I also did a vase of the other one that is blooming. This is another ever blooming variety, but somehow I have never felt any excitement about it. Lace caps can be lovely, but this one hasn't much color and just seems dull. [Hydrangea macrophylla 'Lady in Red', with white and purple salvia, and angelonia.]
Finally, a few zinnias on the dresser in the guest room, just so they would know they were welcome!
So glad you stopped by. Hoped to have a little sweet* to serve you ... but we ate it all this weekend. Thanks to Jane for getting us organized and pushing us out into the garden to cut a posey or two.
* 'Berry Shortcake Fool from Marie Viljoen's "66 Square Feet: A Delicious Life", page 99. Plates were licked!
Yum on the berry shortcake and beautiful on the flowers.
ReplyDeleteNot only are you growing an English garden, you are now arranging in that style.
A perennial favorite.
You got a mophead? I got nothing. I've decided to try and find the beauty in Lady In Red, I've certainly found a lot of pollen inside!
But she is rather neon in color so for this summer? Stars for her!
xo J
So, you've answered one of my questions ... about the mopheads. I really miss them!
DeleteLady in Red leaves me beige. I keep thinking that I need to combine her with something strong ... just don't know what ... yet.
Your flowers are lovely.
Beautiful flowers! Gosh, I wish we could grow Hydrangea here in Arizona...just too dang hot!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that the first arrangement is my favorite, but I also love the little zinnias. Having flowers in your room when you are a guest is always very special.
ReplyDeleteWas worried that I would make Elizabeth sneeze, as she is very allergic to pollen, but she survived, and i do love the look. Hope all is well in the hot SW.
DeleteAll just lovely, especially the bee balm, salvia, coneflower bouquet! The one mophead is a promise of more pretties to come! Would the other hydrangea react to changing the makeup of the soil by adding either more acid or base to change or intensify color? Know that works for some varieties. Those pretty zinnias would certainly say "Welcome" to any guests!
ReplyDeleteGood thought on the color. Lady is Red is supposed to have bright RED petals, but our acid soil is trying to turn her blue. It would take tons of something alkaline to put her back to red, so we just live with it. It means that sometimes we end up with lovely shades of purple and the color changes from year to year, but alas red and pink hydrangeas don;t stay true to color here. Glad you stopped by.
DeleteWhat a pretty arrangement! You're so far ahead of us. Hydrangea are still several weeks off I would say. Are the zinnias from your garden? We always consider that a late summer flower up here where we can't plant seeds until the end of May. Growing up in the country, many farm stands would sell them alongside their tomatoes and corn so they're a nostalgic favorite.
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet, Steve. I bought bedding plants! We can plant zinnias in late March/early April, and I did plant some in May that are up, but not yet blooming ... but those are from a flat.
Deletepretty ones! The little vase suits perfectly the Hydrangea.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, I need to send you a picture of the Iris that you sent me last year. It's a beautiful pink. And so far the only thing that has bloomed.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
I'm thrilled - thanks for letting me know. Hope the day lilies will bloom, too.
DeleteWonderful mophead hydrangea. What a fantastic name.
ReplyDeleteall lovely and some, these days, strangers to me.Although...I do have purple Angelonia.One of the newer varieties, smaller than the originals, but nicely pickable for a small vase. Hydrangeas? Forget it!
ReplyDeleteI think it's too hot and too dry for hydrangeas for you, altho they do grow all over the "south" here. I think they need/like the humidity we have, as they do not do well in our drier southwest.
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