We had ferocious, 30-knot winds Wednesday. All night the old wooden house was buffeted and storm-tossed, creaking and groaning like she was about to slip her foundation moorings. The wind chimes clanged like alarm bells.
I couldn’t sleep past 4 a.m. because I just had to check for damage. No trees or big branches were brought down, but there were some stalks of alstroemeria flattened, so I cut them for a vase.
I rarely rob the garden to cut flowers for vases. The lavender was a gift from my neighbor last night. The only other bloom is a single stalk of the gladiolus ‘Atom,’ red bloom rimmed in white, which was stubbornly growing to face away from view, so it got the chop too.
The morning was absolutely still, not a breath of wind, and there had been a light rain during the night. Perfect.
Today I used a stick to redirect more lax alstroemeria stems off helpless neighbors. Did this last summer quite a bit too.
A beautiful, rambunctious plant, with lots of blooms for the garden and lots to spare for vases.
(But never turn your back on it, and keep a sharp eye out at all times.)
There’s going to be lots more vases ahead for these lilies of Peru.
I love the Alstros. They’re just gorgeous!