Monday is a special day of the week as it is then that we join Cathy at Rambling in the garden to share a vase of flowers picked from our own gardens.
I always hated cutting flowers from the borders and spoiling the displays so I have always wanted a cut flower bed; I have certainly not been disappointed that I dedicated space to creating the beds several years ago which just predated this meme. The Dahlias are in overdrive so again I picked and created vases during the week as well as vases for today’s post.
Here are the vases I arranged during last week.
Again a mix of dark dahlias with chartreuse foliage and pops of orange dahlias.
Dahlia ‘Orange Duet’ maybe?
This is the large carafe, so it was a large arrangement
Seed grown Verbascum Chaxii ‘Album’
Seed-grown Echinacea
Various white Dahlias – back of vase
I’ve planted a lot of white and dark dahlias (sometimes I’ve purchased the same ones twice!!) So the issue is how to make the vases different. White can obviously be mixed with almost anything as well as filling a vase with only white, so that’s not such a problem.
In a vase on Monday
Both the white and pink dahlias are huge, about 25 cm diameter.
The colour is more mauve pink that it looks in this image. Dahlia ‘Lilac Time’
The mauve pink was from a mixed pack of shades of mauve called simply Purple blend. The large white came in that pack too, which last week I described as a misnamed pack.
A different white, more fluffy here with Achillea
Also included are white Zinnias, Ami visnaga, Daucus carrota and Orlaya; here shown in natural light outside.
It is the dark dahlias that pose the real problem as as much as I love them, in a vase (an especially in a photograph) they suck in all the light and look like ‘black holes’. Having found as above in last week’s vase that they work well with chartreuse and perhaps some orange I realise I don’t have enough chartreuse flowers or foliage and as much as I love the effect I don’t want the ‘same’ vase each time; this time I’ve paired them with pink and silver foliage.
Dahlia Chat Noir, Crimson Dahlias and Zinnias, pink Echinacea and silver foliage of Senecio
Zinnias, pink Echinacea and silver foliage of Senecio
For a little extra I also added Perovskia, Teucrium and Lavender.
What do you think; which way of dealing with the ‘darks’ do you like best?
And finally, there were more orange dahlias to use.
I mixed the orange dahlias with a crimson gladioli, Crocosmia and a mixed colour gladioli and the peachy coloured Alstroemeria which is producing more stems in a very satisfactory way
I didn’t realise when I was putting the colours together that they match our outside table
Do visit Cathy to see more vases from around the world.
I love the dark dahlias with silver foliage, and the orange and red vase is glorious. Great use of gladioli. Here the weather is super hot and the garden blooming furiously – but too fast!!
I think I like the silver and dark contrast more than the chartreuse too; it’s easy to find in the garden too as the Senecio just looks after itself.
Wow what a glorious abundance of delights. Do you have any copper foliage to team with the dark dahlias? I love all your arrangements, but still love the dark dahlias with chartreuse arouns them best.
Adore your verbascum. ❤
I don’t think I have any copper foliage but that is a good idea. Brown foliage just tends to look dead in the bright light here and all the countryside around us becomes brown, then blond in summer. But I would grow something to cut, any suggestions?
I wonder how bronze fennel would look.
My neighbour has a physocarpus, https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/s15313-physocarpus-opulifolius-diabolo-ninebark?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIterggbLu2wIVTbftCh2C7wf2EAQYASABEgLzYPD_BwE
would that grow in your garden?
But that might be a bit dark.
I have bronze fennel, so that’s a great idea; Diabolo is dark but there is a more bronze version, a friend in Devon has it, I could try a cutting from hers; haven’t found it here.
That sounds like a plan! 🙂
This might work well – a Smoke Bush:
https://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/s10734-cotinus-young-lady-dwarf-smoke-bush
I have Cotinus but it doesn’t really produce enough foliage for me to cut it and it is almost the same colour as the dark dahlias so I don’t think it would contrast enough.
Hmmm tricky! I grew some ‘black’ cornflowers once and I had the same issue – they looked ok as an accent in the garden but were not easy to mix in a vase. I put them with oranges, pinks and whites, but ……
It’s fun experimenting!
Yes indeed!
I can’t stop looking for plants to go with your dark dahlias now! Honeysuckle would look fab i think. I’ve just seen a golden leaved shrub with bronze edges to the leaves but no idea what it is called. I will investigate.
I really appreciate your input with this; I have honeysuckle but I don’t usually cut it; so that’s another useful idea.
I just love a creative challenge!
The orange dahlia vase is an eye-catcher, such a freely happy mix of color. I’m loving the variations you’ve come up with using your beautiful dahlias.
I don’t have a reliable method for photographing my vases but experiments have taught me if only red (dark) flowers, photograph against white background; white flowers show up against black background. Neutral gray background is best for combination. Try light coming in from side and slightly in front of the vase and angled down so top of each flower gets strongest light.
Thanks for the advice Susie, I don’t have any props for my background; I really should invest in a large board and some fabrics – one day I might be that organized!
I’ve had some luck with oversized pieces of mat board from the art supply or hobby stores. A greenish gray (sage) works well.
That’s a good idea, thanks.
All your arrangements are stunning and I can’t make up my mind which one I like best! 🙂 I do really like the silver foliage with the dark flowers.
There is always silver foliage in the garden so it will be my go to colour for the dark Dahlias when I don’t have chartreuse.
What a wealth of beautiful vases. Nothing nicer than having plants that one feels free to cut and bring indoors.
I agree with that. I enjoy having the flowers in the house so much.
Oh my Christina each is stunning. The Dahlia ‘Orange Duet’ really caught my eye as did the carafe of flowers. And I think I really loved the bright flowers in the last vase! Your cutting garden really is a abundant amazing garden filled with so much garden joy!
It is such a luxury to have fresh flowers all the time in spring and summer. Usually in mid summer the flowers don’t last very long in a vase so having new blooms to pick is wonderful.
Outstanding! I long for your Dahlias. I like the darks with the pinks and grey.
I would send you some if I could!! Glad you like the silvery greys with the dark Dahlias.
Thanks, my plants are 2″ tall!
What a sensational series of vases. Particularly love your dahlia ‘Orange Duet’. I’d never have guessed that you hate cutting flowers from this abundance!
I hate cutting from the borders but having designated cut flower beds mean that they need to be picked!!!
They are all gorgeous. How delightful to have a cutting garden so full of beautiful blooms to bring inside. Well done!
Thank you Peter, I really wish I’d started a cut flower border in my past gardens too, it gives so much pleasure.
Christina that abundance of gorgeous vases with flowers that I love. Your 1st vase with dark Dahlias and oranges like the Dahlia “Orange Duet” I love it. Your 2nd vase Verbascum chaxii “Album” is spectacular and I like it a lot like the white Dahlias. The 3rd vase, In a vase on Monday, is magnificent, I love it, with your silver vase (it’s my favorite). The white with the pink mallow is divine. The Dahlia “Lilac Time” is wonderful. I love all the flowers in the bouquet. The 4th vase I love how Senecio is with the dark Dahlias. I like it much more than the chartreuse foliage. The 5th and last vase is all color and summer, I love it. The Red Gladiolus, the Orange Dahlias and the Alstroemeria I like a lot. Christina I really enjoyed your vases and flowers. Your house must be a paradise with so much beautiful vase. I’m glad that one day you decided to make cutting beds to have such wonderful flower bouquets. Have a good week. Greetings from Margarita.
I’m so glad I started the cut flower beds too. The flowers don’t last a whole week so I don’t have 5 vases all at once. At the moment there are 3. I’m glad you liked the silver foliage with the dark Dahlias, I think I prefer it too.
Your dahlias are stunning – the ‘Orange Duet’ is gorgeous – and your cutting bed is clearly paying dividends Love the carafe of flowers too.. I used to think the same way about cutting flowers from my borders but not now – if I don’t get them the rain usually does!
And indoors you see them for much longer and closer, but I still don’t like to cut much from the borders.
So many beautiful arrangements, it’s impossible to pick a favorite. You have a great crop of dahlias there.
They are going very well this year they must be enjoying all the rain we’ve been having.
What an abundance you have, Christina! I love that dahlia that might be ‘Orange Duet’ but of course they’re all beautiful. Other than my ‘Otto’s Thrill’, none of my dahlias have bloomed yet but I’m hoping that may be attributable to the cooler than average temperatures we’ve had thus far (not that I’m complaining about those!). As to which mix works best with the dark dahlias, you’ve done a masterful job with all your choices, although I have a preference for the chartreuse and orange accents.
I just don’t have enough chartreuse foliage. Any suggestions please
My goodness, what an abundance of blooms and such fabulous arrangements. I can’t wait for my dahlias to bloom. I never thought of growing white ones, I wish I had after seeing yours. The dark ones look gorgeous with silver foliage.
Funny to think I’d never grown dahlias before I started the cut flower bed and then only because I bought a very cheap pack of mixed bulbs that contained one small tuber which went to produce more than a 100 huge blooms in the first year. Now I’m hooked!
My favorites are the silvery vase with the pale arrangement and the last vase shown. I agree that the dark Dahlias are fantastic in person but hard to photograph. What a beautiful week at your house!
Nice to hear from you Rickii, sorry to hear you have health problems, hope it isn’t anything serious.
Your flowers are lovely. I want to know more about the table top. Is that paint? Colored glass?
The table is a traditional like of work from near Perugia. It is a stone base, Pepperino, then a pottery glaze is added, then fired. Usually they are very traditional flowery patterns but I wanted something different so this abstract design was perfect for me.
It is a work of art. Thank you for describing it for me.
They have a website. Domiziano.it it has English and they export all over the world
Thank you for this information.
😊
What great flower arrangements. It must be nice to have so much beauty in your home.
Welcome to my Hesperides Garden Rebecca and thank you for your comment.
I love the verbascum!
It doesn’t last long in a vase though.
I very much like how you use the dark dahlias in different combinations.
At least it rings the changes.