It's Monday and time for a vase of flowers to kick-start not only a new week but a new season too whichever hemisphere you live in. In my vase this week are :
- A stem from dahlia 'Molly Raven' - a dahlia bred by the plantswoman Sarah Raven and named after her daughter. I planted this last year and although she came through the winter in the ground she hasn't done as well this year. I intended to add to her numbers but the tubers were all sold out by the time I thought to look. I will have to make sure that I'm off the mark for next year. I think that Sarah Raven is the only stockist of this so supplies must be limited.
- A couple of danglies in the shape of leycesteria formosa aka the Himalayan honeysuckle. This is an easy going deciduous shrub which is partial to shady woodland areas. It is now in the process of forming berries which contain extremely sticky seed. It's a fairly insignificant plant for most of the time but comes into colour at the back end of the year and has continued to show colour into November some years.
- Some of the impostor 'Purple Fizz' cosmos that I grew from seed in spring. Not what they claimed to be on the seed packet but still pleasing enough once I got over my initial disappointment.
- Hiding behind the cosmos is some pickings from aster (now called something else which doesn't trip of my tongue easily) 'Little Carlow'. This was the main flower in Cathy's vase last Monday. This hardy perennial has clouds of most pretty small lavender-blue flowers from late summer well into October.
- Some spikes of linaria purpurea - these flower on and off for some considerable time and the bees like them. The only drawback is that I've never managed to cull them before some seed has escaped and then it seems that I'm forever extracting many emerging seedlings. The pink version linaria 'Canon Went' is restrained in comparison.
Thanks as always to Cathy who blogs over at 'Rambling In The Garden' and who kindly invites fellow bloggers to share their vases each Monday be it autumn, winter, spring or summer. This week as autumn begins we are promised some extremely wet and windy weather especially in the middle of the week. Part of my bulb order should be arriving this week but I'm not sure how much planting I will be able to achieve. Still it will be most exciting to open the box and dream of the spring and summer flowers that will emerge from those bulbs next year.
Anna, what a beautiful arrangement and vase. The special dahlia is a beauty and that honeysuckle spilling offsides is lovely, very effective.
ReplyDeleteThanks for for your kind words Susie. It has been a good year for the Himalayan honeysuckle. It must be down to the wet summer.
DeleteThis vase really knocked my socks off as we say. That dahlia is gorgeous and I love the flowers you chose to complement it. What a glorious vase!
ReplyDeleteNot literally I hope Donna 😂 Us gardeners need our socks on especially as the days get cooler. Thanks for your visit and comment.
DeleteI have a feeling that your vase is one of those well balanced heavyish studio pottery vases to take the weight of the blooms. I saw someone taking Dahlia cuttings on the tv recently and apparently they flower much better from the cuttings, perhaps you could try that in the spring time. That Dahlia would be lovely if you had room to have several. How big is the plant Anna?
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough the vase isn't that heavy Noelle. It used to hold my paintbrushes until realised it had potential as a vase 😂 Thanks for the mention of taking dahlia cuttings. It's in an akward spot which I find hard to reach and didn't flourish as well as last year. I will look out for cutting material next year but will try to get hold of a couple more tubers. I'm not really sure how big it is - maybe a couple of feet this year although apparently it can reach four feet tall.
DeleteI heard the same thing that Noelle did about blooms form cuttings and agree it must be well worth a try - doesn't seem any logic in it though, does it?! Mollie is such a lovely shade, but how big are the flowers (at their biggest?) The dangling Leycestera is a great addition to the vase and I am not sure I told you that I added one last autumn after you featured it in a vase, It is tucked at the back of the woodland edge border and I think I saw a flower once but it is now screened by some exuberant persicaria so I need to delve into the border to inspect it more closely! A lovely vase to showcase the contents too 👍
ReplyDeleteIt definitely doesn't seem logical Cathy 🤔 I think that I have read about the reason behind this but am unable to remember the explanation now. I will look out for cuttings next year but will still try to get a couple more tubers. I'm not sure how big Molly's flowers are. Will have to get the tape measure out but they are not huge - certainly not dinner plate size. Look forward to hearing about how your leycesteria fares. I didn't know that you had succumbed 😂
DeleteI guess that the dahlias will soon be cut back it's always a shame. Just hope we can do a better job of overwintering them this year.
ReplyDeleteYes it's sad to see them go Sue but hopefully we can enjoy them for a while longer 🤞
DeleteThe Himalayan honeysuckle adds a splash of drama, Anna. Your garden seems to be full of abundance even as the season changes. I love the dahlia and your unidentified seed-grown Cosmos.
ReplyDeleteThe Himalayan honesuckle is subdued for most of the year but a diva when when she is in bloom. Thanks for your visit and comment Kris 😀
DeleteThat is so pretty Anna! It shows just how lovely this season can be in the garden. The dahlia is a beautiful colour, so I hope you manage to get some more next year. Talking of bulbs, my first bulb order has just arrived and been unpacked, but I will have to tackle some weeds before I start planting!
ReplyDeleteYes autumn has it's beauty too Cathy and is perhaps my favourite season after spring. My bulb order has arrived too but the weather and a lack of compost has meant no progress has been made up to now. Good luck with your planting 🤞
DeleteYour arrangement and some others this week have made me realize how obsessed I am over "danglies" in arrangements. Guess it's time to rethink the cutting garden! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteDangly plants are great 😂 Have fun rethinking your cutting garden Angela - look forward to hearing about any new additions in the future.
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