My vases this week are some I put together at work. They are in their second week, so I thought I would bring to your attention some things with a long vase life. The yellow flowers are Halimium. The branches held many buds, so though each blossom falls after a couple of days, new buds open, for an ever-changing composition. The Spirea ‘Goldmound’ is the only thing that needed grooming at the end of one week. It’s golden halo in the background is missed, but there is still a lot going on.
The big surprise, for me, were the dark leaves of Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’. I expected them to wilt quickly but here they are, still soldiering on.
Of course I had to bring one home to add to my own garden. It forms a 1′ rosette, with umbrels similar to Queen Anne’s lace shooting up to 3′. I say “Hooray!” to its habit of seeding around.
Embothrium was the IT pland a couple of years ago and I can see why.
Euphorbia ‘Fire Charm’ starts small but quickly forms a good sized clump. The foliage is nearly as fetching as the orange bracts. Even after all that goes away, bright red stems remain well into the winter months. It’s a good idea to let cut stems sit in water for a while before using in an arrangement because the milky sap clouds the water at first.
The second vase is more subdued. I don’t have ID’s for everything here but that background foliage is Buxus sempervirens ‘Variegata’.
The tall stem of pinkish flowers is Lamium orvala, another find I may have to add to my so-called cutting garden.
In the “never say never” category is Deutzia ‘Chardonnay Pearls’. Unlike the upright shrubs, which I found to get scruffy looking, this forms a low mound dotted with little, pearly buds which eventually open into starlike flowers.
My work schedule keeps me from always hitting on Mondays with my vases (sometimes skipping entirely) but you can always count on Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to show up with a vase of her own and links to other bloggers bitten by the vase bug. You may be next.
that chocolate ‘fern’ is a lovely leafy support to the red flowers.
It does look quite ferny, doesn’t it?
Both of these are beautiful. I had the same result with Spirea. Really thought it would last longer.
I was thinking of putting in some Spirea especially for vases but this experience (and yours) have put the kibosh on that plan.
Oh my, that Anthriscus! And the “it” plant of 2015, which seems so long ago. Beautiful.
The Embothrium seems like a natural for your garden.
Lamium orvala has been a good plant for me , it’s made a nice sized clump.
I tried ordering Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’ a few years ago , they couldn’t send it to Washington , so I gave up ! Now, I’ll just run over to JC.
It’s kinda nice to be able to test vase life before purchasing. Sometimes things last so long we get sick of them before they start to go.
Love your work arrangements and feel lucky you didn’t call my attention to the Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing before my recent visit, othwise it might have come home with me.
What’s this about Embothrium being the it plant “a couple years ago”??? I didn’t know the fickle finger had moved on. And here I just bought another when I was there. What was I thinking!?
I think all the hip cats planted them then and the rest of us are trying to catch up. When it is in bloom, anyone walking through the garden has GOT to know what it is. If my ‘Ravenswing’ is happy, I will have seedlings to share. It would look terrific at your place.
We have to have big, heavy vases at work to keep them from blowing over in the wind. I keep being surprised at how many things look good in the red.
Lovely arrangements, Ricki. I like Euphorbia ‘Fire Charm’ andI can see the attraction to Anthriscus sylvestris ‘Ravenswing’. It’s a beauty. One wouldn’t mind that self-sowing all over!
I just got my ‘Ravenswing’ in the ground, hoping it will scatter seed hither and yon.
Beautiful Ricki! I like that Ravenswing foliage. Looks versatile.
I always like having some dark elements on hand.
Thanks for sharing these beauties with long vase life. It’s good to know that Embothrium lasts when cut. Someday, when my bush/tree is a bit larger ,the hummingbirds might allow me to cut one of those beauties to bring inside. Gorgeous vases as always!
It was pointed out to me that our cold, rainy weather was contributing to long vase life. Now we shall see who the real soldiers are.
These are beautiful
Why thank you, sir.
The usual advice when dealing with Euphorbia is to put the stems in boiling water for a few seconds to seal them to stop the milking sap; however mine have always gone really limp immediately and haven’t lasted so I will try your method next time; thanks for the tips.
I’ve tried the boiling water method and the open flame method but this seems to work better. They still tend to nod a bit, which can be dealt with by propping them up with sturdier vase-mates.
P.S. I had the pleasure of seeing these in person at Joy Creek last Friday and they were even better in person. It was surprising how much bigger they were than what I’d thought.
It’s fun to work with all that mature material and go big. Sorry to have missed your visit.
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