Tuesday Bouquet: "The Pergola"

 We had no floral class last week.  This week, given:

--Salix matsudana ("Curly Willow") stems

--Galax urceolata leaves

--Gypsophila paniculata ("Baby's Breath")

--Four Cymbidium flowers, to be inserted into individual small water tubes.   

We were instructed to:

 Create a kind of pergola using the curly willow.  

Cover the floral foam base with Galax leaves.  

Intersperse the Galax with the Gypsophila. 

Wrap the water tubes, each containing a Cymbidium flower, with a Galax leaf to hide the tubes.

Suspend the tubes with string from the "pergola".

 I strayed from the instructions.  The orchids seemed to distract from the willow.  Or maybe I just couldn't tie a string to the tube and suspend the tubes in a straight manner.  

I stuck one up in the willow temporarily for the photo:

The Orchids looked quite nice covering the foam, nestled amidst the Galax and Gypsophila:

I like this arrangement.  The curly willow emerging from the flowery ground cover evokes a typical garden vignette:  new flower stems (or old spent stems) rising from low new growth. 

Like Geum?

I was unfamiliar with Galax urceolata, which is not what I thought it was--a large shrub--it's a woodland under story ground cover, native to the central- and south-east US.  (The south-east US is the area NNW of the Gulf of Mexico.)   

Able to get up the west slope, I managed to cram the green waste bins full of Avocado tree trimmings.  We had a fabulous crop of fruit a few weeks ago and picked some.  Unfortunately the ^#*$*#@! squirrels ate a few too and ruined the rest.   &^%*$^$#@!% squirrels.  

Can you tell I chopped off a lot of the Avocado tree?

No?  Me neither.  Happy to be able to manage it, though. More will come off when the bins are emptied Thursday.

Also on that slope, and because of the soaking rain we got, many, many more of the fify Narcissus bulbs planted last year are emerging.  Possibly as many as fifty.   Not much of a show this year, but I have hopes for future springs. 

Yes right after taking the photo, did pull that thistle weed on the left behind some of the Narcissus foliage:

The Rhodanthemum up on the same slope has even more flowers open.

Lots of Lupine seeds sprouted after the rain, and more advanced Lupines flowering:

Off the slope, in the flatter areas of the garden, new plant purchase Alyogyne 'Ruth Bancroft' has a flower opening!

After finally buying an Alyogyne, I learned how to pronounce the name: "al-lee-OH-jin-ee"or  "ally-AWE-gin-ee" :

It took a while to find a healthy looking one at a decent price.  Also taking a while, Hellebore 'Pacific Mist' has produced some blooms after 3 or 4 years in the garden:

Ditto for 'Blue Lady'(?)--it's been so long--six years?--I can't remember the name except it contained "Blue".)

Once again, the 'Sticks on Fire' Euphorbia is proving to be the best support for sweet peas.

Sweet Pea flower buds soon? 

Garvinia Gerbera continue looking good

Some foxgloves reseeded from last year's flowers--but not to excess--just enough, always a good amount:

There goes Agave mitis 'Nova'.  I do hope an offset is lurking under the leaves.  This is a really beautiful, not huge, and well behaved Agave.  Nothing bad to say about it. 

Our poor rain season did one thing:  the Freesia flower stems are mostly standing up, not flopped over:

Nice!  I love it when the plants surprise me.