Not long to go now till the shortest day, when the sun will start moving back along the horizon toward Summer. Flowers from the orange garden and buds of Rose ‘Crepuscule’ (‘sunset’) reflect the sunset colours.
Purple Verbena and Penstemon, Geranium ‘Roxanne’, and Erysimum Bowle’s Mauve’ bring in the purples.
Leonotis leonurus or Lion’s Tail, the bright orange fluffy flower which grows in whorls a little like a phlomis, is a South African shrub which is quite tender. The Osteospermum daisy in the foreground is ‘Terracotta’, which is quite different from another one I have which I think is ‘Tradewinds Terracotta’. These are small shrubs or ground covers which are perennial in warmer climates.
I love the dark stripes on the back of the Osteospermums. (Buttermilk and the terracottas)
Wallflowers Erysimum ‘Bowle’s Mauve’ and the lemon-pastel yellow one add scent, along with Stock and Alyssum.
Thanks to Cathy from Rambling in the Garden for hosting ‘In a Vase on Monday’.
Absent Gardener 
A rich mix.
Thank you 🙂
I like that intense collection of blooms. Happy IAVOM.
Thank you! Happy IAVOM to you too 🙂
Yes, rich and intense is how I would decribe it too. I have grown leonotis from seed this year but don’t know if they will flower this year – hope so. Thanks for sharing
Oh, well done to grow it from seed! Mine was a little mail order plant. It was quite big when it started flowering but it probably just depends on the time of year?
Such a warm collection and its your winter? Superb. Lovely photography too.
Thank you Noelle.
Lovely mixture of color and texture. I just added a Leonitis to my garden and it promptly stopped flowering.
Oh, 😦 perhaps it’s shy in the new environment. This one is the first I have had, and it was tiny when I planted it. It took around 8 months to get big and flower. I haven’t tried to propagate it yet but it looks like it would be cutting friendly.
I think a cutting is where mine came from. It may be a cool season flower here, always an adventure.
A lovely mix of color that reminds me of a birthday bouquet – it speaks “Party!” I like the sunset lighting, too.
It is interesting to compare our seasons… 2 weeks out from our winter solstice, there is nary a living leaf in sight, let alone blooms. The sun sets at 4:15 pm and rises after 7 am. Long, cold nights!
I grew up in a cold cold climate – there is so much I miss about it – Blazing Autumn, and all the different monochrome landscapes of snow. But I really appreciate being able to grow food (and flowers) year around. It’s been relatively dry so far this Winter so we haven’t had those rainy weeks where it seems dark all day.
Another lovely vase stuffed with pretty things. The colours all tone beautifully and blend together. Osteospermums are one of my favourites and I do sometimes manage to keep one of the more tender plants from year to year. Inside that is.
There are definitely some Osteospermums which are tougher than others – the more trailing ones seem to survive best, but also will overwhelm other plants.
This is perfection. I love the colors, the texture… it is beautiful. You have some beautiful flowers here that I have never heard of and now will have to research them. Just what hubby wants! lol.
Thank you 🙂 Peonies, as well as Bleeding Heart and Foxtail Lillies are things I would like to grow but can’t – however there is a huge selection of other flowers.
You have so many flowers, far more than I would have here if we were approaching the shortest day, our winter is just beginning then!!! Your vase still looks full of lovely summery flowers. I lost my Leonotist in this very cold winter we had last year. If you leave the stems in water that slowly evaporates, the stems will hold onto the orange petals like an everlasting flower.
That’s interesting, I always imagine that your climate is similar to here, but it seems the extra few degrees of cold and the dryness makes quite a difference in what you can grow.
These colours really do honour the shades of a winter sunset, and I especially like the Lion’sTail. The name is very appropriate! I can’t imagine having such a profusion of lovely flowers two weeks before the solstice in our winter… Beautiful!
Absolutely beautiful!