The ingredients of today's 'In A Vase On Monday' had the dubious pleasure of a bus journey back from the allotment to home via the shops. One or two of them became battered and bruised en route and sadly a few stems had to be jettisoned. My vase this week reflects the seasonal changes of the palette from pale and pastel to dark and sultry. In my vase are :
- Sweet peas - 'Matucana', 'Midnight' and 'Eclipse'.
- Crocosmia - I inherited a patch of this at the allotment so have no idea what variety it is.
- Dahlia 'Magenta Star' and an allotment dahlia - possibly 'Arabian Night'. 'Magenta Star' is a fabulous flower, which not only attracts pollinators but also has deliciously dark stems and foliage that seems to have a sheen about it. The photo doesn't do justice to it so I will try to remember to take another photo before this year's flowers are over. The allotment dahlia has been left to overwinter in a raised bed for the last two years and is now a most sturdy plant producing a multitude of flowers.
- Geum 'Mrs J. Bradshaw' - this poor lady suffered in transit. I only managed to retrieve one stem. This is a long flowering perennial which comes true from seed and can be sown in autumn in a tray and left in a cold frame to overwinter. I was given a trio of plants by my allotment neighbours last year and they have made a good show this season.
- Cosmos bipinnatus 'Rubenza' - grown from seed sown in April. I prefer the 'Double Click Cranberries' that I grew last year. Although the 'Rubenza' plants have not grown as tall or as broad as 'Double Click Cranberries' I've not really been struck by the flower colour. I think that I will be clicking again next year.
- Tagetes 'Cinnibar'? - these seeds were grown in the expectation that they would result in an all orange cosmos - either cosmos sulphureous 'Diablo' or cosmos sulphureous 'Tango. I sowed both varieties in April but one of them has turned out to be an impostor. As far as I can tell they are very similar to tagetes 'Cinnibar' which I've grown previously. Labels got lost somewhere between sowing and planting but the other is definitely an orange cosmos. I picked a flower for this vase but it suffered a fatal injury on the way home so could not be included. Hopefully there will be more blooms to pick soon which I can include in a future vase.
A huge vote of thanks as always to Cathy the lovely hostess of 'In A Vase On Monday'.
I might have been wary of putting orange and ruby together but they work really well together, don't they? I'm glad most of them survived the bus ride and shopping. Do your geums keep flowering all summer? Mine gave up ages ago so what can I do to keep them going in future? Thanks for sharing Anna
ReplyDeleteI love the way you have placed that beautiful aqua vase on the grey brick...then the rich colours against the green of your shrub. Bet you get lots of admiring looks on the bus, when fellow passengers glimpse your beautiful flowers.
ReplyDeleteMy geums have also given up, I think, I must go and have another look just in case. A lovely collection of rich colours. I am a convert to the dark cosmos I keep seeing and will have a look for Double Click.
ReplyDeleteLove the seasonal changes vase and all the bright lovely flowers you included.
ReplyDeleteThe colour palette is lovely.
ReplyDeleteI love dahlia season - we've seen so many different burgundy ones this week here IAVOM. A popular, delectable color!
ReplyDeleteLove the zingy colour combination of pink and orange!
ReplyDeleteA delightful, temperamental mix, Anna, and being shook up seems to suit them. There's a hint of autumn in the air, a bit early but with such gorgeous flowers to pick you have nothing to fear. Have a good week x
ReplyDeleteWhat a glorious colour combination. We all seem to have used Dahlias this week. They're another plant I used not to grow or like at all but now I use them as cut flowers I want to try them all.
ReplyDeleteI love all these bright colours. Dahlias are such a wonderful feature of the August garden.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful case of flowers! You must have a wonderful allotment :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your lovely comments and welcome Nikki-ann. I think that the geums are just beginning to go over now as I can't see any signs of flower stems still to come. All I have done is to remove each spent flowering stem from the base.
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