Where would I be without Zinnias and Dahlias in the cut flower beds to provide me with cut flowers from June until the first frosts which could be as late as November; in fact I’m more likely to pull the Zinnias out because the foliage has become so scruffy before they actually stop flowering. What is really surprising to me is that I had never grown either until I started growing flowers to cut for the house.
In a vase on Monday
The Bells of Ireland were self seeded from last year, when the flower stems were never really long enough to pick; I have also dried some this year, it would be wonderful if they would grow as I’ve seen them in florists, with long, long upright flower heads.
All three vases are a mix of pinks, white and green
I tried a lower design for the dining table but it didn’t really work
I taped the top of the vase to form a grid but the vase was too shallow for this to work. There was more stem above the top of the vase so the weight tended to make the stems in the vase lift themselves out of the water. I arranged this vase before the weekend but the flowers were all dead by this morning. The other two vases were arranged this morning.
Love the colour and form of this Zinnia
and this
All these are white Zinnias except the bottom left
I find it intriguing that from one pack of seed (sometimes even from one plant) several different forms of flower appear.
Using different proportions of each colour gives the vases quite a different ‘look’
With thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts this addictive meme. Do visit to see her lovely vase today and many, many others from around the globe.
I also send my thoughts to our fellow bloggers in Texas who are being pounded the hurricane.
Gorgeous, partucularly love the ‘design’ of the Zinnias.
I do think Zinnias are really interesting flowers with their little stars around the centre of the flower and all the different forms of the flowers.
I agree dahlias and zinnias have become plants we can’t do without. Gorgeous for a vase. I love your arrangements and the Bells of Ireland and Gomphrena add a lovely touch. Gomphrena is definitely on the list for next year. I tried Gomphrena ‘ Strawberry Fields’ this year but the whole lot got eaten by slugs. How many different packets of zinnia seeds did you sow? I love all of them.
I sowed 8 different varieties of Zinnia this year, and two of those were mixes. The late cold weather killed some of the seedlings. I will probably buy a couple of different varieties for next year, I’d like some more orange ones. I especially love the green flowered varieties.
Do they self seed in your garden or is it too cold?
Yes, they do. I changed the bed where I planted them this year and lots have appeared where they were last year too!
Gorgeous arrangements, all. My favorite is the lower one–you got the proportions just right. Too bad the dish proved too shallow, but the design is lovely. Also love those white zinnias.
I need to work out a way to achieve a low design successfully. I know I could do it with Oasis foam, but I really don’t want to use that unless I absolutely have to. Any suggestions?
Oasis keeps the stems firmly in place and provides a steady water source, but I understand your concern with using it. How about using multiple floral pins (frogs) or creating a sturdy armature of chicken wire? You could spray paint the wire black to make it less noticeable.
I should try the chicken wire again, I’ve not been very successful with it. I like the idea of spaying it black.
I have a dreadful looking frog made of pointed wires, that would work, I don’t like to use it because it is sharp.
I will give that a try, thanks
Watch your fingers!
Your arrangements are delightful. I love Bells of Ireland but have never grown them. Sometimes flowers just don’t cooperate with our plans for them!
What a coincidence I was looking at your post and commenting whilst you were reading mine!
I absolutely adore your dahlias and zinnias, but it was so cold until mid June my dahlias did not grow and neither did my zinnia from seed. I am going to try and jump start both indoors and put them in a grow bag I am repurposing for flowers. Of course it could have been squirrels or rabbits too that got to them. Your vases inspire me to keep trying to grow these! Gorgeous Christina!
Thanks Donna. Zinnias really don’t like the cold. Some of my first sowings died because I took them off the heated propagation tray too quickly; we had a cold early spring but then in mid-May the first wave of very hot weather arrived! Today the wind seems to be blowing directly off the Sahara into the garden.
I don’t really have a cutting garden but I love both of the plants you are using and wish I had more room and sun to grow them. They make such great bouquets as you’ve demonstrated.
I have a cutting garden partly because it is so hot here most plants are summer dormant! Having my little oasis of colour helps me get through the hot, dry months. The beds have to be irrigated which I don’t usually do with the rest of the garden. This year has been so hot that I’ve had to water a lot of plants just to help them survive.
Just beautiful and the bells of Ireland are simply stunning. I ought to give them a go next year. Do they cope with dry soil?
All my flowers have to be in the cut flower beds that are irrigated so I don’t know how well they would cope in the ground in the garden.
Having thought pinching out would help, I am still not getting lots of flowers from my zinnias 😦 Any suggestions? You have a wonderful collection of them – and are the little white pompommy flowers zinnias too? The molucella look amazing even if they are bendy and not standing to attention!
The little white Pom poms are the Gomphrena. I think Zinnias just need a lot of heat to be happy.
Silly me – I am sure I have asked about the gomphrena before!
Yes, I think you did but it is a good plant so worth asking again.
😀
I just checked Chitern seeds and they have some amazing other colours!
Christina I love your bouquets: they are magnificent. Zinnias are all beautiful in all their colors: I like white very much. The Dahlias are beautiful. The Bells of Ireland I love. No wonder you’re glad to be in the court beds watching so much beautiful flower. I join you in my best wishes that bloggers and all the people of Texas are safe and sound. Greetings from Margarita.
Hi Christina, I love the arrangement you think was unsuccessful. The colors are striking and I love how casual it is. I love the white flowers, as well…Zinnias, I think, and another flower I’m not familiar with.
I too have fallen in love with dahlias and zinnias since starting my own cutting garden (encouraged by the success you’d had with yours!). The Bells of Ireland and Gomphrena make great accents too. I’ve never seen white Gomphrena – did you grow those from seed?
Yes I grew the Gomphrena from seed, having seen you use the pink you used in your arrangements. They were very easy from seed so I’ll grow other colours too next year.
Lovely arrangements of two of my favorite annuals – zinnias and dahlias. That lavender dahlia is wonderful!
Thank you.
They are a beautiful mix of colours and beautifully put together. It is sometimes very hard to get the right container and length of stem. I sowed bought ‘Lime Green’ Nicotiana this year. Some are white, some are green and some are pink!
Mine were also green and white.
I love the colors, especially the Bells of Ireland, even curvy! Going to buy Zinnia seed later!
Which colours will you buy?
I have a Cactus flower mix and am looking for the green ones like yours! Seeds are sold on the northern schedule here so the selections can be limited.
Sorry I don’t know what ‘the northern schedule’ means. I think of zinnias as an American flower, is it not possible to buy seeds from another State? Maybe you have rules about that, that I’m not aware of.
Winter is gardening season here so seeds etc are usually sold on the national season in spring because most people garden in the summer. Finding certain seeds can be a challenge and I never think about ordering them in the spring!
Ah! I understand. Here the only good time to plant shrubs and trees is autumn but the nurseries have the best selection in late spring when most will at best only just survive and at worst die!
Business overruling horticullture again.
What a lovely colour combination, and I love that your Bells of Ireland and not straight up. I can just imagine the lovely fragrance they bring too.
How interesting that you like the smell of the Bells of Ireland, it is one reason that I’m debating about growing them again, as I find the smell mildly unpleasant.
Gloriously rich forms and colours. The zinnias are beautiful.