I couldn’t let a second week go by without joining with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden where she asks us to share a vase of flowers picked in our own gardens.
Last week I was busy; so although I made a vase for Thursday there was no time to post about it; this week I’m laid very low with a second virus – a gift of my lovely visitors from last week. This morning I managed to go out and pick some lovely different flowers – the first Chrysanthemums of 2016, but sad to admit I really don’t have the energy to arrange them so I’ve photographed them in their bucket and offer them for your enjoyment.
In a ‘vase’ on Monday
Dahlias
Chrysanthemums
All the Chrysanthemums are full of bud but only these very double ones and the small simple ones below are actually open.
The Chrysanthemums were purchased as pot plants about this time of year. In Italy no-one would want Chrysanthemums in their homes they are the flower that is taken to the cemetery for the day of the dead 1st November. so they were purchased from the supermarket at knockdown prices during the first week of November.
Chrysanthemums
I took cuttings from the original plants but last autumn I left the parent plants in the ground all winter; they all survived the mild winter temperatures so I’ll leave them in the ground again and just take cuttings as an insurance policy.
Chrysanthemums
Actually I think Chrysanthemums take a lot of space in the cuttings bed for quite a short period when they flower, so although it is nice to have something different I’m not really sure I want to keep them long term, I may move them and under-plant with Narcissus.
Thank you Cathy for your tolerance of my late vase. Do visit to see many vases celebrating the autumn season.
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Sono belli comunque!
Grazie Lidia
They look wonderful in your metal bucket Christina. It would be a shame to get rid of them, but I understand the problem with space. Hope you are feeling better really soon. You have certainly had more than your fair share of bugs so far this autumn.
I’m usually quite healthy but I’ve really succumbed to the English version of this bug that’s going around. Let’s be positive and say that’s it for this winter! I’ll try to plant the Chrysanthemums is a more organised way with bulbs and perhaps some early season biennials, then I won’t regret the space because it is nice to have some different flowers even though Cosmos, Dahlias and Zinnias are still producing masses of flowers, maybe more than during summer for the White Dahlias.
My zinnias and cosmos are over now… I will be cutting them down this week. 😦 They have been wonderful though!
I think my Cosmos will continue until we have a frost; the Zinnias already have mildew on the leaves, they are probably planted much too close together which didn’t matter in summer when the air was very dry but isn’t ideal now.
Oh Christina – SO sorry to read about the virus and lets’s hope that it really is the last for this year. Your blooms look just as good in their bucket as they would have done in vase and are so beautifully WHITE! The frilly chrysanths are really pretty but like you I wonder how much they are worth bothering with. The ones I had last year did nothing so I shoved them outside to sink or swim – I think thy are alive but very tall and skinny and will certainly not produce any blooms so may as well come out and put it down to experience! Thinking of you and hoping you feel more yourself sometime soon
I will take cuttings again this year and decide how I can manage the space. If they work with daffodils and some early annuals or biennials they can stay, if not I’ll just not a pot or two each autumn.
I’m sorry to hear you caught another bug, Christina. I hope your energy comes back soon! In the meantime, I’m sure those lovely white blooms will brighten your day, in a vase or not. I’m tempted by chrysanthemums every year when they arrive in the local garden centers but they don’t last long here and are best treated as annuals.
A plant that takes space and then only performs for a couple of weeks and needs cuttings taken as insurance isn’t really viable. If I need the space for something else I won’t hesitate to compost them.
I love those creamy chrysanthemums. So pretty. They look lovely in their bucket. I’m sorry you are feeling poorly again. Very best wishes – Karen x
Thank you for your kind good wishes Karen. I’m sure I’ll feel better soon. It is just frustrating when now is the time to be gardening.
That’s so true. But I have learned that the garden just waits for you. I’ve been ill since May – and although there is everything to do now, I will soon be able to get out there and catch up. Sending a hug and get well wishes xxx
To you too Karen
I do like those chrysanthemums, they have such clear white petals do you like the scent? I have a small winter one-tiny mauve doubles that smells warm and spicy in the sun. I do hope you feel better soon.
Actually I hate the smell of Chrysanthemums which might be another nail in their coffin. I think they remind me of the smell of embalming fluids- not sure why I think that?! Thanks for your good wishes.
I just find the scent sharp and spicy!
Everyone perceives perfume differently. I always remember that you love the scent and I think of you when I see Chrysanthemums
Christina foremost health. Take care and soon will restore the virus. Its hub is a beauty. Dahlias are very nice, very precious double Chrysanthemums in white, and small Chrysanthemums are divine. Here in Spain it is also a plant that takes cemeteries on November 1. But to me that I do not care. I find them beautiful flowers in all colors. I left planted some in dark red. To be improved. Greetings from Margarita.
Poor you. Get better soon. The white chrysanths are stunning in their purity and form. Hope you are OK to go looking for more knock-downs this year.
Those little white daisies with the gold centers are chrysanthemums? Huh.
Yes
Lovely mix and I hope you are feeling much better, Christina!
It has taken until today but I do at last feel better, thank you.
I really like those Chrysanths, and I like the look of the leaves in the border even when they are not flowering. The smell brings back memories for me so I like it too. I’m sorry to hear about the recent earthquakes, I hope you have stayed out of harm’s way.
I felt the earthquake, it was very strong even though we are miles from where the actual epicentre was.
Sorry you’ve been ill Christina. The chrysanthemums look wonderful. Next week I’m hoping to go back to Duke Gardens which we explored together. Don’t think we made it to the Japanese Gardens but they are promised to be glorious filled with chrysanthemums for a 4-day chrysanthemum festival.
That sounds amazing; I actually find the Chrysanthemums very difficult to arrange, I think it is all the foliage and they are very stiff.
Soooooo pretty, bright, and warm!