Monday, October 9, 2017

In a Vase on Monday, warming up to Autumn

While I fight its arrival as long as possible, there inevitably comes the time when I have to except that autumn is here. Thankfully I'm a sucker for the vibrant tones of the season and love bringing them into my home...

Acorns, chestnuts and seed pods are also favorites.

One of the impetuses for a vase (or two, or three) like this was the need to clear out the Zinnia, they've been lovely but I'm done with them.

There are so many other things shoved in these small vases! Seed pods from my Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’, seeds from the Macleaya cordata (just visible on the upper left) and from the Lunaria in the park. Also present are bits from the Cobaea scandens (cup and saucer vine) — which has great foliage but sadly has not bloomed for me.

The orange Gomphrena from one of last week's vases was still looking good, so in they went, along with small clusters of the neighbor's Hydrangea and the blooms from my Chasmanthium latifolium.

The smaller vase (on the left below) has cuttings from my Alternanthera dentata 'Little Ruby, in addition to Pennisetum purpureum blades...

And seed pods from a Crocosmia, Canna, and Arthropodium candidum 'Maculatum'.

Of special note are the few Scabiosa seed heads I was able to collect from my seed grown plants (a growing experiment I will not try again).

A few bits fell from those seed heads, they're too precious to toss.

I picked up the acorn while out on a dog walk.

It's all a jumble of miscellaneous colors and textures...

But I love them.

Since I'm still (quietly, gently) lobbying to get the mantle back, these vases are living on the dining table.

While the remaining Zinnia were stuffed into a small vase at the end of the mantle...

Please click on over to Rambling in the Garden to see what other bloggers are doing with their garden riches today...

Weather Diary, Oct 8: Hi 64, Low 45/ Precip .02"

All material © 2009-2017 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

23 comments:

  1. Wow! That seems like a lot of flowers and cuttings for you. A real jumble, I think of your arrangements as usually much more restrained. I love it, it's just a different thing for you (I think). Hope you get the mantle back in time for the holidays.

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    1. I think there is something about the abundance of autumn that has me shoving a million things in a vase, it seems to be a theme this time of year! As for the mantle, me too...I'm thinking the fact we've accumulated a collection of vintage Halloween decor may help. He loves them and I did work in the fact I needed space to display them...

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  2. Exuberant and lovely, Loree! The Chasmanthium flowers and the Scabiosa seed heads are my favorite elements. I've cut almost all the zinnias in my garden worth cutting this week too and will probably pull the remaining plants sometime this week - they're done and it's time to move on. Thanks for the tip about the ease of rooting that Alternanthera too - I've already transplanted a few rooted cuttings.

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    1. Yay! Glad the Alternanthera rooted easily for you too. I've planted up a few in pots already and hope to do more before the plant gets frozen (it was 39 this morning!). Now if I can just keep them alive over the winter...

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  3. I agree with Alison. Very lush and romantic for you. I love the colors, textures and all the discoveries the more I look at the contents. And you found an acorn with its cap on! Despite being under dozens of oak trees on Saturday I did not see one acorn like that. And I don't think I've ever managed to get one from our own oak.

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    1. I was pretty surprised by that acorn find, we don't have any oaks nearby, yet there it was laying on the sidewalk. I wonder if a squirrel lost its treasure?

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  4. Gorgeous, full, and autumnal. So much fun to include things found during walks around the hood. The Scabiosa seed heads are adorable. Why won't you try starting them from seed again?

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    1. Because my total bounty was a paltry 5 small seed-heads, not a great return for my investment of time or money!

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  5. LOVE lime green and deep burgundy!!!

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  6. When you give yourself over to something, you really do it with panache, Loree. A glorious celebration of fall!

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  7. Wonderful--so many different things to admire--the combo of burgundy-purple and lime-y yellow, texture of the seeds, delicious!

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    1. Thanks Hoov. I woke up worrying about you and Kathy this morning and just read your reply to my comment. Hope this holds!

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  8. Did you grow the honesty from seed? I really, really would love to have some although I don't know if it would grow here. Always something special and why not grow the scabiosa again? It is beautiful. And that stack of books! Are they all for you to read? Gardening?

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    1. I had to look up "Honesty" as I was unfamiliar with that as a plant name. No, I didn't grow it...it's a weedy volunteer in the park near us. The Scabiosa was too much work for just 5 tiny read heads. Easier to buy them! And yes...those are mostly gardening books, but not a stack. There's a bookcase hidden in there...

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  9. Nothing autumnal about your vase Loree, but it's hard to put a finger on how to describe it - 'a jumble of miscellaneous colors and textures' hardly does it justice. Hmm, I think it makes me think of chocolate limes which is a sweet (candy) you can get in the UK - is that something familiar to you in the US? I love the mixture of textures too. Thanks for ahsring

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    1. Chocolate limes, I have to say I've not heard of such a thing, I am intrigued. And as for my vase not being autumnal, it's definitely how autumn looks in my garden!

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  10. The seed pods say autumn, but the colors, chartreuse and purple, are your unique twist on fall colors. I love the sea oats and Scabiosa seed heads, but they'll amount to little separate from this abundant arrangement.

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    1. I'm sure with enough of those elements they could look quite stunning alone, sadly I've only got 5 Scabiosa pods!

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  11. Great interpretation of autumn Loree. I'm enchanted by the richness of color and texture, the abundance of blooms and intriguing fillers. Those Scabiosa seed heads are great and I love the dark burgundy tones throughout. Lovely. Hope you're doing well...have a great week.

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  12. Like a contemporary turn on a Flemish still life! I'm a sucker for abundance. Beautiful, Loree.

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  13. Those scabiosa seeds look like little jellyfish...why will you abandon them next time?
    Fall's bounty never looked better.

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