Delphinium (quite bedraggled IMO), Tuberose (sweet fragrance!), mini Carnations ("Carns" in floristpeak), button mums, barely visible dark red Dianthus, and the small white daisies on the left, can't remember what the instructor called them besides "fillers".
The garden is quite bedraggled. I'm still cleaning up damage, plus more wind howled through last night, snapping off the latch on one of our garden gates. One thing I do to keep small plants alive in 50mph winds at 10% humidity is set them in a tub or bucket with a few inches of water:
More wind, more wind, though not as bad as that nightmare that destroyed Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The "news" moves on to other subjects, but people are still missing, people have still lost their homes and possessions and in some cases their lives and livelihoods. Others celebrate with glee and plan different kinds of destruction.
I got the ladder out to cut off the grape vine that had grown out of the protective cage it was planted in. The grape tomato had also grown out and up of the same cage. Climbing the ladder showed the cage's roof hosted a surprising plenty of ripe tomatoes.
Pretty good for January:
A beautiful selection of flowers and, yes, those tomatoes are impressive for any time of year, but especially now. Sorry to hear you've had some damage from the winds...I hope they're quieting down some now.
ReplyDeleteThe wind came roaring back this morning. Red Flag (danger) warning until Friday morning. It's just plain scary.
DeleteI hope you're getting some fun out of the flower arrangement course, HB. Dry and windy here too. I couldn't drag myself into the garden to do more than some supplemental watering today but hopefully I'll shake off that mood soon, if only for my own mental health.
ReplyDeleteI worked from home today — fires on the 15 made the commute over five hours long. Grateful for that holdover from COVID. We're enjoying the oranges from our orange tree; something to look forward to in January. You're coming right along in your floral arrangements! It looks right pretty. Florists have a very different way of looking at plants than gardeners — they're all about shape and color, not so much the plant. There may be rain this weekend. A nice sprinkle would be good, but please, keep the hillsides intact.
ReplyDeleteFive hour commute--insane! Lucky and wise to work from home!
DeleteWe have oranges, and maybe avocados--too windy to get out there. And so very, very dry.
They do have a very different way, and a very different vocabulary--flowers are grouped by shape--tall and thin like the Delphinium or Tuberose are "lines". An umbellifer shape is a "mound", another name she spoke to fast for me to catch, for a rounded shape on a stem like a rose. Just about everything else is "filler". A bunch of plant material you might gather when out and about is "sideoftheroadia".
Wind here yet again today. I thought it would be calm for several days but no. :(
Yes a nice rain just enough would really help.
I guess the guidelines that works for containers, (thriller, filler, spiller), apply to flower arrangements. The 'bedraggled' Delphinium adds whimsy and wispiness to this "flower bed" scene. I love it.
ReplyDeleteHarvesting cherry tomatoes in January. Mind blown.
Chavli
Yes that came up during the class, it applies to containers, flower arrangements, and yes garden beds too. The Delphinium opened somewhat up and doesn't look quite so ragged.
DeleteI was surprised about the tomatoes, too.
The bucket of water trick is a good one, I'll copy that. Our local news is still doing daily coverage and when "maybe" you'll get some rain. How is your air quality? Nice tomatoes! Yum.
ReplyDeleteAir quality has been fine--the smoke from LA all blew away from us. If I don't put small plants in tubs or buckets not only will the plants die but also they will blow away in the wind here. Also have to fill all the watering cans so they don't blow away or blow around and clang into things. What a lousy January it's been.
DeleteI thought I left a message here, but for some reason it didn't go through. Your blooms are lovely even if they're from the florist, and I'm glad the wind has died back a bit. I'm envious of your tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteI've been somewhat lagging on checking for comments. Sorry! News has been grim so I've been avoiding the internet and the news. Being a gym rat to keep my mood positive.
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