In a vase on Monday – rescue operation

On Mondays Cathy at Rambling in the Garden asks us to share a vase of flowers picked from our own gardens.  This week I picked my flowers on Saturday as we had been forecast severe wind and rain for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  The winds have gusted at up to 70 km per hour and the rain has been torrential, so it is a good thing I picked the flowers when I did.

Dahlias and Zinnias are still prolific with Chrysanthemums joining in the display.

In a vase on Monday

White Dahlias and Chrysanthemums with asparagus fern and mentuccia providing the foliage element. Crimson Gomphrena adds a tiny splash of colour

As Chrysanthemums are the flower almost everyone takes to the cemetery for All Souls Day it is fitting they are in my vase today.  Actually most Italians wouldn’t dream of having Chrysanthemums in their homes or even in their gardens so I must check to see if their are any bargains to be found in the supermarkets this week.

Mentuccia is one of the few forms of mint that will grow in poor soil with little or no irrigation and also one of the few forms of mint used in cooking here.

The orange Dahlias are producing a flush of flowers, I love their shaggy form and their cheerful colour

I again put some flowers into the vase with their blooms pushing against the glass

Orange Dahlia

I also added a few dark and crimson dahlias to the mix, plus Zinnias

With the clocks changing on Sunday and the bad weather it suddenly feels that summer is truly over.  But we have had some lovely weather in the last few weeks so I mustn’t complain, the rain is always needed and so far it isn’t cold.

I hope you have a lovely week.

In a vase on Monday – and now for something completely different

I wasn’t sure I was going to have time to post about my vases this week but that didn’t stop me from picking the flowers and trying out a completely new way of arranging them (for me – I’ve seen the style used in commercial arrangements before).  On reading Cathy’s post I read she had some completely new flowers, amazing in October.

In a vase on Monday – it feels like autumn even if it doesn’t look like it

Late in the day, but this week I have managed to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden with the weekly meme to post a vase of flowers collected from our own gardens.

In a vase on Monday – late again

I’m late again with my vase because we were in England for the wedding of my husband’s goddaughter. I have to say the weather was a bit of a shock.  On Thursday when we arrived it was warm, the same temperature as here in Italy; but from then it all changed, on Thursday on a quick visit to Wisely it was cold and windy and there were showers which made us spend more time in the shop and cafe than in the garden.  Perhaps this wasn’t too important as it certainly wasn’t looking at its best, the hot summer had taken its toll.

Sadly for the wedding day itself it rained and was cold all day, but the radiant smile of the bride warmed us all.  Yesterday as we left early to catch our flight home it was 3°C (or so the car told us).  Winter, if only for that day.  I was relieved to arrive home to some warmth, this week the temperatures should remain in the high 20’s although there is a strong wind here today from the north.

In a vase on Monday – a gift and a house full of flowers

We had been invited to dinner on Thursday evening so early in the morning I picked all the flowers that were blooming to make a bouquet for my friend and fill some vases for the weekend.  There were more flowers than I had realised so that I ended up with four vases.

In a vase or three on Monday

On Friday there were a lot of flowers that needed to be picked so I decided to pick them all then to hopefully make them produce more for next week when I need several vases for a party. So these are the vases I’ve been enjoying this past weekend.

In a vase on Monday – Jewel colours

Another week of thunderstorms almost every afternoon; so the pattern of our days shifts.  Still we rise early most days as the morning continues to be the most comfortable time to work outside but now there is not such a need to rest in the afternoon.  The cuttings beds are still producing good pickings of Dahlias and Zinnias and it is the Zinnias that are the stars for me today; I love the rich intensity of their colours.

In a vase on Monday – Pink and White

When I was picking the flowers for today’s vase, I thought I would probably make two arrangements, one pink and one white but once I started putting the stems in the vase I decided that I would prefer one larger arrangement so mixed the two colours together.  It is often a surprise what goes into a vase to join with Cathy at Rambling in the garden for this addictive meme.

In a vase on Monday – Flowers for a Pizza party

My flowers for today’s In a vase on Monday post to link with Cathy at Rambling in the garden were arranged on Saturday for a pizza party I was hosting on Saturday evening.

In a vase on Monday, August already!

I am back home again after a week escaping to the cool of the mountains to stay with friends in Rovereto and Asiago.  The garden is now in drought survival mode, the only flowers are those in the cut flower beds where there is irrigation!  I know that it has been hot in the UK but you need to add 5 to 8″C to that temperature to have any idea of the heat here.  We did have a thunderstorm with a good amount of rain on Saturday afternoon so the situation is not as bad as last year, just think of the poor gardeners in Spain where it has been 45″C this weekend.

There were flowers to pick when I came home so I am able to join Cathy at Rambling in the garden for this special meme.