It was a busy weekend moving plants to make space for a bigger water tank. So initially I collected flowers from plants which needed to be pruned before moving.
Salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’ had to have its brittle branches cut back. The magenta flowers have dropped but the bracts are still lovely, the same dusty velvet colour of the Burgundy Iceberg Rose which moved with it.
The bright pink flowers of the Rose Scented Pelargonium were next. I have to admit that the Irises were not being moved, however lots of them are flowering now, and the good thing about bringing them back is that we get to enjoy them all week.
Plenty of purple Columbine were struggling under the rampant Mint, so I hope they will be happier where I have moved them. The perennial White Stock has a wonderful scent, blending with the Sweet Alyssum but not overpowering it. California poppies add such a bright spark to all that green and purple and Linaria has lovely wavy wands of purple flowers.
Artichoke leaves and seed laden stems from a South African Restio give some structure. The blue flowers spikes of another member of the Iris family, a Sisyrinchium, are similar in shape to the Ixias, and the Ixias themselves are new this year. So far they seem to be all the same colour but it’s a lovely one, Crimson shading to pink and pale yellow.
Pop on over to Rambling in the Garden for more flowers in this week’s ‘In a Vase on Monday’.
Absent Gardener 
Your arrangement is like a still life. Gorgeous colours and form. What a treat to be experiencing your spring as we fall into Autumn in the Northern hemisphere.
Thank you! It’s been nice for me experiencing your late summer as well, and has inspired me to plant more Dahlias now. 🙂
Such a lovely mix of early summer flowers…all looking so well grown. I love the way you have put the colours together.
It is starting to be early summer now, the time when we are really spoiled with the choice of colour. Thank you for commenting.
Beautiful colours – especially that iris!
Thanks, I love the really dark purple ones, they are almost black when they are in bud.
Yes, what a joy to be seeing the freshness of your spring flowers when most of us are at the tail end of our season. This has been my first year of Californian poppies (but red and white ones, not ‘orange’) and I have been thrilled with their staying power. Thanks for sharing today ps is your water tank for the garden, or to provide water for the home?
Hi Cathy, I bought a poppy mixture and the cream and orange were the ones which came back – not in great numbers but they do seem to keep going. I would like to try the red ones too. The water tank is for both home and garden – the bigger tank will increase the total storage by 25,000 litres, and the smaller tank will be set up so it can be ‘locked off’ from the rest of the water supply so that we can use it on the garden without danger of losing the entire water supply if there is a leak.
And I am trying some purple ones for next season too
What a wonderful bunch!
Thank you!
I LOVE your arrangements! There is an abundance and beauty to them that makes them so special. Favorites are the super lovely columbine and the ixia. Do you have a cultivar name for the columbine. I love the way the purple bleeds into the white. A stunner.
Thank you! I grew the Columbine from seed, it was a mixture. This is the second year and they are mostly purple or purple and white this year. I love Ixias too. I did plant a couple Green Ixias as well which are supposed to be turquoise, however they haven’t shown up yet.
Oh what a delight to see spring….your burst of various blooms is a wonderful sight.
Thank you, it is lovely seeing the growth at this time of year, and scary seeing the speed of the weeds 🙂
It’s delightful seeing your gorgeous spring bulbs, Cath, and the dark purple of the iris adds so much. I am still enjoying what is left of fall, but your flowers make me think of the glories of spring and what seeds I want to buy for next year.
It’s a lovely thing looking through seed catalogues and fall is a nice time to collect seeds as well. This morning I transplanted a few leftover parsnips into a place where I hope they will flower and set seed for next fall. Now if I could just get organised to plant more of the seeds I have collected…:)