There is an icy cold wind this morning, but the sun is shining. I went into the garden with my secateurs with no idea whatsoever what I would find to put in my vase to join with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden this week.
I knew there were still lots of Chrysanthemums but when I have picked them I have hated their heavy, dense form and their uniformity of colour – boring is what sprang to mind. However they have been flowering for some weeks now and time and the cold nights have had an effect; there is much more difference in tones now and many of the flowers are fully open giving them a different aspect.
Their stems are very long, but despite my best efforts of staking them and using pea netting to keep them upright, they are flopping over the path. A flash of inspiration! I would use the large carafe vase which is actually quite difficult to use because it needs a lot of flowers to look balanced but has a very narrow ‘waist’. The long stems of the Chrysanthemums with masses of divided stems above might work very well.
I used just pink Chrysanthemums with one stem of a larger flowered white and silver foliage of Senecio.
In a vase on Monday
I know that it is hard to imagine scale when looking at photographs; the width of this arrangement is 85 cm and the height 80 cm; it makes a bold statement.
Pink Chrysanthemums
The vase below is the vase I first thought would be my only arrangement today; I knew the green Chrysanthemums were coming to an end and I wanted to use them one last time; I also thought that the lime green would work to hold the mix of other colours together.
Green Chrysanthemums, Zinnias, Salvia horninum
But the vase isn’t balanced so that although the lime green Chrysanthemums do a good job of combining pink, orange and red zinnias and the Salvia horninum, overall the vase is disappointing.
I thought this would be my favourite vase this week, but it isn’t
I was surprised to find one stem of Alstroemeria flowering and wanted to enjoy it rather than it be damaged by the frost predicted for tonight, it’s colour was reflected by some of the Zinnias, I added some lavender for contrast.
Alstroemeria, Lavender and Zinnias
Have you been surprised by what you found to pick today? Do visit Cathy to see her surprise flower this week and vases from across the globe. Have a good week.
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Riuscite sempre a stupirci… le piante e tu!!!
Grazie Lidia; hai visto il vaso della settemana scorsa? Ho parlato di te.
Those pink Chrysanthemums with the silver foliage are quite stunning Christina. And you did have quite a bit to pick for your vases; all colorful. I love when the garden doesn’t quit. It is resilient and hangs on giving out flowers and foliage for far longer than I could imagine given the weather.
I will be picking dried seedheads and grasses for the winter vases soon….and I need to plant my indoor flowering bulbs too.
I don’t know how much longer the garden will keep giving; but I feel the Zinnias need to stop otherwise I might not be ready to enjoy them again next year!
The vase of pink Chrysanthemums is exquisite, Christina. The shape of the container seems to mirror the shape of the arrangement. You do have quite a nice of assortment of flowers still growing. My zinnias succumbed a few weeks ago to below freezing nights, but we’re still enjoying sunny and warm days in mid-60s. Have a nice week.
Thank you Susie, I was rather surprised by the success with the Chrysanthemums. Today is very cold with a strong wind from the north; I don’t think the temperature will rise out of single figures centigrade today but the bright sunshine is lovely (looking out of the windows).
I am glad you gave us the dimensions of your first vase, Christina, as it told us just HOW big it was – I have never done a vase anything remotely like that size! The pink chrysanths certainly do look spot-on with the senecio and in that particular vase and your second vase was a nice almost summery surprise in its sunny setting
It is hard to describe just how cold that sunny setting was. On Friday we had a WARM sunny day, today was so different with an icy feel to the air. We are forecast minus 4°C tonight. The jury is still very much out regarding the chrysanthemums – they take up space all year in the cut flower beds and if there had been a lot of rain (I wish) they would have been ruined before they got to this stage that I quite like. I think there are other plants that would earn their space much more.
Minus 4? Brr – meant to get colder here but not that cold. I am trying out a new greenhouse heater so it will be interesting to see how effective it is, particularly with the enlargd greenhouse. I know what you mean about the chrysanthemums – I would not bother with the less hardy ones again but I have some cuttings from Chloris of hardy ones which will eventually go in the ordinary borders
That’s the difficulty here; plants in the borders need to be drought tolerant so I can’t just more the Chrysanthemums into a border, or I suppose I could try one that I definitely want to take out to find out exactly what its water requirements are.
Sounds a worthwhile experiment
Your chrysanthemum arrangement is stunning. And you still have enough colour for your other lovely vase. I think minus 4 will put paid to your zinnias but what good value they have been; non- stop blooms all summer.
The Zinnias are amazing! They flower for so long, are so easy to grow and I love their depth of colour. The current blooms are noticeably smaller and I’m sure you’re right this is the last Zinnia vase for this year.
I’m delighted to see you back, Christina, and hope you’re feeling better 🙂 Bravo to your vases. The first one looks stunning, so paired back and elegant. Cold here too, I wonder what the winter will bring…apart from cold feet! 😉 Take care and have a good week. x
I’m not sure I’d describe the vase as pared back, exuberant maybe OTT.
I was thinking more in terms of colour and simplicity which I like a lot 😉
Gorgeous displays. I like the fact that one can despair of ever finding plants that work together then select the right vase and assemble and it all looks wonderful.
I find the Chrysanthemums particularly difficult to use which is strange because when I use to use Oasis I found them easy because you could break them down to into smaller stems.
Love the color of the mums as they age, they really look great en masse. They remind me of China asters. I hope the frost tonight is a light one and you don’t lose everything overnight.
The frost was quite heavy; the solar panel that I can see from my landing window was thickly coated in white.
Christina your first vase of chrysanthemums roses and Senecio is magnificent, wonderful. Its large dimensions do not take away beauty and match the beautiful vase and its shape. The second vase is beautiful and colorful with the green Chrysanthemums that I love. Its crown is Alstroemeria with Lavender. The cold has arrived but the chrysanthemums and zinnias continue to bloom in your wonderful garden. Cover well and next to the fireplace. Greetings from Margarita.
Good morning Margarita, I awoke this morning to white roofs and and clear skies meaning it will stay cold again today. But the sun shines so the garden looks bright.
That first vase definitely deserves a big ‘Wow!’ Christina! Gorgeous flowers, beautifully arranged – and what a great choice of vase and additional foliage too. 😀
It does give the Wow factor when you walk into the room, Cathy. I also felt rather guilty that I hadn’t used them in a vase this year.
Oh, to have a huge mass of flowers like those pink Chrysanthemums to pick! They look magnificent arranged en masse with just the gray foliage accent. Perfect in all respects, Christina! The carafe vase was a wonderful epiphany. I’m sorry to see the last of the green Chrysanthemums, which I so wish I could grow. I also found it interesting that you still have Alstroemeria in bloom as mine went into hiding during the summer months and the foliage is only just now making a reappearance. No flowers yet, though.
The green Chrysanthemums have been useful, they are really the only variety I truly like; I am seriously considering removing the others. My Alstroemeria also disappeared during summer but returned with the cooler days in September. I only planted it this year so there haven’t been many flowers yet. I would really like to have several more; I love their colours and their long vase life.
I love the abundance of your pink chrysanths – there is something almost decadent about this vase, in a good way of course.
Yes, I would agree with decadent, if one had to buy the flowers it would have cost a fortune, there are so many in the vase.
Your link chrysanthemums are a joy! I’ve had the same problem with mine growing so tall this year. I’ve had to use twigs and rosemary to support them. How wonderful to have vase that size though. I’m glad you mentioned the dimensions as it’s not easy to see in here. I bet that looks spectacular in the house. All the best. Karen x
As someone else described it Karen, it looks completely decadent!
There is nothing wrong with a bit of decadence – in my humble opinion :)) x
Oh! yes, I agree with that especially decadence that has cost nothing – or not much anyway.
The best kind of decadence :)) xx
I like both of the vases and had to search the metric conversion, that is a big vase of Mums and the tones are different and just beautiful. That one is a showstopper.
I have just planted Cactus Zinnia seeds so yours are coming over here for the winter!
That’s a nice thought; I do hope they do well for you.
Last year they were a bit stunted, this year I renovated the irrigation, no pours noses.
That is an inspired use of the carafe- the flowers look so generous.
Yes, generous is a good word. Long stems with multi flower heads are the only way to create that effect in this vase.