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Monday, April 25, 2016

More Flower Carpets, Vases April 25, 2016

Today I am linking with-

Today's flowers hosted by Denise

Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen

In a Vase on Monday hosted by Cathy

Macro Monday 2 hosted by Gemma and Mystical Magical Teacher

Continuing with more plants that make flowering carpets in the spring, one that is really popping up everywhere this spring is Ajuga, I have bought several varieties over the years which have possibly hybridized with each other, varying from green leaves to dark burgundy, and flowers that are a blue purple or pink, here coming up in the grass.  Mowing would remove the flower spikes but leave the thick low-growing runners that carpet the ground after the flowers are gone-

For those who like a very drought-tolerant ground cover that dies back in the fall then starts growing and filling in rapidly in the spring, Euphorbia cyparissias has very fine foliage and is soon covered in yellow flowers and bracts-


Another choice that is one of those perfectly adapted PNW plants, growing in shade in the late winter to early spring to make a dense carpet of arrowhead-shaped leaves, is the Mouse plant, Arisarum proboscideum, so cute it always makes me smile to see the little "mice"-

The flowers are not readily visible but hide under the leaves, they are a Jack-in-the-Pulpit relative and the flowers look whimsically like a mouse with its tail in the air and head in the ground-

After the spring rains are over and the summer gets hotter and dried, the plants are ephemeral and disappear underground until the next rainy season, like the Anemone nemorosas and others.

I actually found a critter this week, it is a very abundant spider that doesn't spin a web, but is camouflaged to blend in with flowers, either white or yellow, and has its front legs bent like a crab's, hence the name crab spider, bees are often their victims-

She is hiding out on a yellow tree peony, here is the flower-


Blooming next to it is the exquisitely shaded Peony -



It's time for In a Vase on Monday, so I couldn't resist using some peonies.  Here is a white tree peony, and the wonderful P. suffruticosa 'Kamata Nishiki', so full in the vase I couldn't figure out how to add more flowers-

And the cute little bloom of the Peony delavayi 'lutea'with a few Geum 'Totally Tangerine', Primula elatior 'Black Lace', Euphorbia cypariassis, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Wojo's Gem variegated Vinca, and some tall wild very weedy buttercups with their amazing shiny petals-




Top view-

What flowers are surprising you now?   

Easter is just past, and I wish the Jewish readers a Happy Pesach.   Here is a photo of the kids in my family dressed for Easter, a 5th girl was born around that time.  I am the oldest girl.  In our Easter bonnets....

             -Hannah

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29 comments:

  1. Exciting to see the peonies. Of course they should be given a spot in your vases today. I'm anxiously awaiting mine to open. The yellow flowers look great against the blue. Loved seeing your Easter photo. My 3 sisters and I always lined up each year in front of a dogwood tree with our white dresses, glove and hats also.

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    1. Thanks, Susie, Cathy inspires me to include some personal things as well as flowers. I was surprised how the yellows, oranges, and chartreuses came together without some darker colors for emphasis.

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  2. A beautiful series of photos! The yellow flowers in the blue vase are spectacular!
    Somewhere packed up in a box are Easter photos from when I was a girl. I should find them and scan into computer to share, too.
    Have a wonderful week!
    Lea

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    1. Thanks, Lea, I was happy with the vase and thought of my old easter photos, I'm fortunate to have some.

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  3. Hello Hannah, I love all your gorgeous flowers. Your gardens must be beautiful. Sweet Easter photo of you and your siblings. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, so many things grow exuberantly here, unfortunately that includes the weeds and invasive plants. Lots of work.

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  4. The solo peonies looked perfect in their vases, Hannah, but then I saw your third vase - and that is stunning! What a lovely assortment of harmonising blooms and foliage - such a delight to see, from all angles. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Thanks, Cathy, it seemed strange for all the tree peonies to bloom at once. I kept thinking of flowers and foliage with yellow and even orange and ended up with quite a few, it was fun, I really like the shiny little buttercups floating above, you should see my neighbor's uncontrolled field, just yellow with the flowers.

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  5. Hi Hanna, the photo of you with your family is a treasure, loved it. I always look forward to seeing your posts. Lots of fun to look at each photo. Beautiful flowers and pretty vases, and the crab spider, great macro! Fascinating how these blend in with nature. Thank you for sharing with Today's Flowers again, and have a great week :)

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    1. Thanks, Denise, I won't guarantee that the spider went on to find her next victim. She could be perfectly fine... Cathy of In a Vase on Monday likes to include props so I was tempted to add a family photo from the distant past.

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  6. I adore peonies but my the green and yellow-orange vase is really a show stopper! Well done....

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    1. Thanks, Donna, I'm warming up to rather monochromatic vases, I like the effect too.

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  7. All lovely vases but my favourite is the blue vase with yellow flowers - a winner every time.

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    1. Thanks, Christina, I do like blue or purple with yellow and orange too.

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  8. Fabulous peonies! And the others....beautiful bouquets of orange,yellow and green. Thank you for sharing the beauty.

    Enjoy your week!
    Ruby

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    1. I'm glad you liked them, Ruby, I don't know if they bloomed at the same time other years.

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  9. Oh, peonies!!! The peony-geum combination couldn't be more perfect, Hannah!

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    1. Thanks, Kris, the geums are very short because I couldn't stand to cut off the buds. I love their frilly petals and thought the orange would match up with the peony center.

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  10. Oh that arrangement with the yellow Peony is just gorgeous! Such a seldom seen color.

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    1. Thanks, Loree, it is one of my finds at Collector's Nursery when they used to have frequent open houses and had small sizes of plants at great prices, hard to find now.

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  11. My mouse plant is just beginning to reveal little mice Hannah and makes me smile very time I look at it. Fabulous vases all three of them but my favourite has to be those shades of oranges and yellows in the blue vase. The buttercups don't look at all weedy.

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    1. Aren't the little mice darling, Anna. I get so amused at their long tails. I'm amazed how long the buttercups look good in the vase. I should cut more.

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  12. Lovely and I remember the new Easter dresses, no bonnets, though. Peonies are so wonderful, I have never lived anywhere where they would grow, just beautful

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    1. My mother liked to make us matching Easter dresses, some she stenciled. It must have been a lot of work. The tree peonies are special, I don't have as good success with the herbaceous peonies. I guess in Florida you have so many tropical plants that the rest of us wish we could grow, Amelia, but I guess it works the other way too.

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  13. Love your flower carpets. I just planted Ajuga for the first time last fall. Previously I'd been afraid of it running amok, but I've got so much ground to cover, I need plants like that. Planning to plant that Euphorbia, too, though I want to combine it with something evergreen. I love plants that make you work to see their flowers. Asarum caudatum is my personal favorite, but that Arisarum is another very fun plant. That spider shot is incredible! I love crab spiders, even if they do eat bees. Nature isn't nice, it just is.

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  14. Thanks, Evan, it is kind of a drawback that the Euphorbia goes dormant in winter, but it does really spring into action when it starts to grow. Geraniums have saved me from weeding in a lot of beds, I didn't feature them yet. I have tried to establish Asarum caudatum more than once but apparently can't keep it watered or the voles like it. The Crab Spiders are rather shy and hard to photograph. The enemy of my friend...

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  15. That gorgeous yellow peony almost looks like a giant buttercup to match its companions. I am so looking forward to peony season here too. Enjoy those beauties while they last!

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  16. Thanks, Cathy, I'm loving the tree peonies but they don't last long. The foliage is lovely too, though, and has good fall color. I hope the herbaceous peonies will make a good showing this year, still waiting on some.

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  17. I love the peonies. They don't last long, but they're gorgeous. The spider is tiny enough to be cute.

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