In A Vase On Monday ~ Swansong

My allotment is in a glorious state of topsy-turviness at the moment as it lurches to the close of play. I enjoyed several hours pottering about there on a balmy Saturday afternoon. Wigwams where sweet peas and beans climbed up have collapsed in on themselves and my edible crops have by and large stuttered to an end. I was still able to nibble on autumn fruiting 'Polka' raspberries and spotted a butternut squash that had escaped the radar on my previous visit. My next door plot neighbour grew them and when the foliage escaped over the dividing fence, kindly said that any squashes that grew on my side were mine to pick. In amongst all the disarray the dahlias are still shining like beacons so a bunch came home with me supplemented by one or two other companions. So my offering for 'In A Vase On Monday' includes :

• Dahlia 'Henriette' which was new to me this year and has turned out to be a real star.  To my surprise a small indeed puny looking tuber produced a huge plant which has produced flowers all summer long. I have made a note to stake it early next year as it definitely needs support.
• A large single soft orange single dahlia. This is a 'Bishop's Child' seedling and must be three or four years old. It has the added bonus of dark foliage. 
• The white flowering dahlia 'Twynings After Eight' which is an old favourite again bearing dark foliage. 
• A couple of chive flowers. Chives always have a second flush of flowers but this year's blooms are particularly floriferous. You may know that the flowers are edible although they are too peppery for my taste buds.
• Some emerging flower heads of bronze fennel which seeds itself about the allotment but never to the extent of being a nuisance.
• White scabious grown from seed of allegedly mixed coloured doubles which all turned out to be white. Oh well there's always next year and a different seed company .....

Our current run of mild autumn weather looks as if it will be halted in its tracks this coming weekend so I will pick more dahlias before the first frost does its damage. All the dahlias at the allotment are in raised beds so I cover them with mulch and risk leaving them in the ground over winter. Fingers crossed!

The little swan brooch you can see in the photo was made for me by my father when I was a child. Dad spent several months in hospital and learnt some new skills when he was convalescing including making costume jewellery. Sadly it has lost some stones over the many intervening years since and I must see if I can get it repaired or perhaps have a go myself.

I see that our lovely hostess Cathy over at 'Rambling In The Garden' is celebrating this week with a trio of firsts in her vase. Thanks as always for entertaining us Cathy and for providing the platform to share our vases. I look forward to seeing what other vases from far and wide are showing off this October Monday.