I left gathering flowers too late today and temperatures have now hit 31ºC, so there’s a little bit of droop going on in this vase 😦 (I know how they feel). Hopefully they’ll perk up now that they are in cold water.
In line with Cathy’s ‘cool’ theme, I’ve kept to slightly frosty colours. I’ve even used a prop in the picture! There are no ice cubes left in these trays, but I am busy freezing more.
Marchmallow
Holding the only upright position in the vase, we have a bit of marshmallow.
Penstemon ‘Raven’
Next up is Penstemon ‘Raven’. This plant seems to send up excessively long, bare spurs that flower at the top. So I’ve cut a few off to encourage side shoots. That’s given me a couple of spikes of dark mauve bells to use in the vase.
Herbs in the vase: Wild mallow, marjoram, golden feverfew and annual fleabane.
Most of the other flowers I’ve used are herbs, such as: wild mallow, marjoram, golden feverfew, fennel and annual fleabane.
For some further blue tones there’s geranium ‘Rozanne’, plus a few sweet peas (Twilight and Bordeaux – lovely strongly scent).
Thanks to Cathy for encouraging us to pick some flowers and bring them inside to enjoy. Cathy@ramblinginthegarden hosts ‘In a vase on Monday‘, so click through to her cool white collection of blooms (and links to other vases in the comments).
So now I fancy an iced coffee. Let’s hope the water is frozen … and then I guess I’ve got plenty of watering to do!
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Love the Penstemon ‘Raven’. Wonderful color.
Thank you Susie. I just wish I could persuade the plant to be more prolific.
Some plants can’t be reasoned with!😀
A lovely arrangement with some choice garden blooms, Pretty good for such a hot day.
I was just commenting on your post, as I love the effect of the chunky sedum in your arrangement. The comment disappeared when I pressed to submit but I got the impression that it has been eaten by the system. Do you have to moderate it or shall I try again?
You did well despite the heat! I love the mallows and the Penstemon.
Nice mix, Allison. I’ll have to keep my eye out for P. ‘Raven’ in our nurseries, it’s a beauty.
Sounds pretty hot where you are. We were spoiled with a week or so of below average temps, but now we’re back to full summer. We need rain, so I hope there will be some showers soon.
You’re at 31C? Oh, my. That’s heaven! We’re at 44C just now — ice in any form sounds good. I especially like the last photo. It just appeals to me more, even though the flowers are the same. I found some wild mallows blooming this weekend down at Walden West. I finally made it there, and I’ll show one in my post about the visit. It’s remarkable how like yours it is, although it’s a lovely pink with a yellow stamen.
A gorgeous vase Allison! Love the dark Penstemon, as well as the mallow. Hope your garden is coping with the heat. Stay cool! 😃❄️🍉
Great prop! Your pink and purple blooms give the impression of a coolness inside a well shaded house, Allison, and it’s interesting to see that so many of them are herbs. Curious about the penstemon – I have little success with penstemon in the past but have at leat 3 reblooming this year, so that is progress!
What a pretty combination!