I am very late with my post but I couldn’t let this important celebration pass by without participating in the fourth anniversary of IAVOM, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the garden.
IAVOM – 4th anniversary
Frost was forecast so I picked all the last Zinnias
The Green Chrysanthemum is about 1.75 metres tall this year!
I was pleased to use some Salvia horninum as it was Cathy’s vases that convinced me to grow it.
I didn’t manage to ‘not’ use a vase; so I hope you’ll forgive me Cathy. Many, many congratulations on the fourth anniversary of IAVOM, the meme that has given so many of us such pleasure – here’s to the next four years!
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Zinnias are still not very successful for me, but I haven’t given up trying and I love seeing yours.
It is always a pleasure to see the stunning flowers you grow in your garden….they have always been an inspiration to me to keep trying to grow other flowers for cutting. So I thank you Christina. We are getting a snow storm warning here…a bit too early as I still have garden chores to do. Hoping the frost does not settle in too much of your garden.
Donna@GardensEyeView
I wish you success with the Zinnias; they have become my favourite cut flower. It is important not to try to germinate them too early. They need good light and warmth to germinate and grow on well.
I will heed your wise words as I fear I do start them too early outside.
Such a joyful vase – so glad you were able to join in with Cathy’s celebration.
I’m glad I could too.
Un mazzo degno di questa occasione!!! molto bello!!!
Lovely that you got to join in Cathy’s celebration with your lovely zinnias. Mine are all mush now.
I’m not sure how much longer mine will carry on; the light frost we had hasn’t damaged them yet but the buds that remain may not open if it stays so cold at night.
I love the green chrysanthemums, Christina, and I’m amazed that you still have zinnias. I finally cleared the scruffy remnants of mine out and re-seeded my cutting garden planters with sweet peas and snapdragons, which are winter bloomers here. At least, I’m hoping I’ll get blooms from them – so far I’ve mostly kept the squirrels and raccoons from digging there.
I don’t know where I would be without the zinnias all summer; without them my vases would be very bare!
Christina, I’m glad that you join us in congratulating Cathy with your wonderful vase. The Zinnias are all beautiful. I love the yellow Chrysanthemums and it’s incredible that they have grown so much! Salvia hornicum has a very beautiful color. It is a very beautiful bouquet. I wish you a very good week. Greetings from Margarita
So good to see your vase with such gorgeous zinnia greens and fizz! Nothing flowering here now, so your vase is a welcome balm! Take care
The zinnias are amazing and such good value; it is easy for e to take them for granted. Thank you for your kind good wishes; I am feeling better now.
I am thinking ‘zinnias’ for my seed shopping list (even as I reply so late to your comment!)
I have no such remnants in my cutting beds as you may note from my post today, so yours were a refreshingly pretty and colourful sight. I got the germination of mine right this year and had strong plants but tthen they lost out to taller neighbours – something else I have learned and will rectify for next year. You have given us such useful tips over the years so please keep them coming! No chrysanths though but I still intend to go down the hardy chrysanth line in due course. Have we seen this actual vase before? It’s a lovely shape and looks quite solid and heavy to support a reasonable abundance of blooms. Thanks for your kind words about IAVOM too and your support throughout its existence
Yes, I’ve used the vase a lot. It is heavy crystal with a very solid square base fanning out to a round top. There were masses of zinnias to pick as I hadn’t picked any for at least two weeks, many were well past there best and became compost. We did have frost this morning (I’d picked and arranged these yesterday). So I’m not sure what there might be for tomorrow.
Remind me, how cold are your average frosts, Christina?
Last winter we had some of the coldest temperatures since we’ve been here (14 years); dipping to at least minus 10°C. But that is very unusual, the winter before we didn’t have a frost at all. Yesterday and this morning there was white frost on the solar panel (for hot water), but nothing has really been affected in the garden although the dahlias have just come to an end but some still have some green foliage. It is very unusual for it to be this cold as early in winter as we’ve experienced this autumn so far; usually the really cold weather begins in very late December or January. This whole year has been full of extremes!
Yes, so how this winter will be for you is anyone’s guess!
Hi Christina. Your zinnias have been fantastic to keep going so long. I wonder if you got that frost. We have had snow and sleet today! It’s a lovely arrangement and so glad you could post a vase for Cathy’s anniversary. Hope all is well with you.
We did have frost Cathy but it didn’t actually do any damage; there might even be a few more zinnias to enjoy if I’m lucky.
A most wise move picking those zinnias before the frost arrived Christina. Not only can you enjoy them for a few days longer but we can admire them too. Thank you 🙂 I will succeed in the zinnia growing stakes one of these days. Clary sage is so pretty and was one of the first annuals that I grew from seed.
The sage flowered itself out very early on (they were dead when we came back after a trip to the UK at the beginning of July. They seeded themselves and I left them, not sure they would have time to flower; I needn’t have worried, they seem very tough and don’t mind the cold weather.
Recently I saw some huge pots of zinnias for sale. They were so gorgeous and I was so tempted, but frost is just on the horizon for us, too. Your bouquet is stunning!
Thanks Deb.
A lovely celebration,and I, too , envy those zinnias. Only in a dry , hot summer here, I’m afraid. I also love the intense colour of the clary sage.
Zinnias have become a standby plant for me; lucky they come in so many gorgeous saturated colours, they lap up the heat and survive happily as long as they are irrigated. The sage seems to be a much more intense colour now that the temperatures are lower.
I too was a bit late posting. I love your cheerful zinnias and that green Chrysanthemum is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing. Karen