Unlike my husband and most of my friends, I like Halloween. I usually decorate in advance of the holiday but I couldn't work up the enthusiasm to do that this year. Part of that may be a reaction to our looming midterm elections - the political climate provides more than enough in the way of horror. Our neighborhood has also been light on kids prowling in search of treats for all the years we've lived here. The largest number of trick-or-treaters we've had in any year since we moved in almost twelve years ago was four, three of whom came as a group. One year we had just two teenage girls without costumes, which was simply annoying.
My garden is in transition. I've torn out almost everything in my cutting garden and have begun prepping the raised planters for cool-season flowers. I cut what was left for a single floral arrangement.
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| The Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles' tuber I planted in late May finally produced its first 2 blooms(!). The other 'Lavender Ruffles' planted in a barrel added 3 more. I included the final bloom of Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda'. Although it's very pretty, it's delivered only 3 blooms in total over the course of the season so I probably won't keep it. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clcokwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Mikayla Miranda', Pelargonium peltatum 'White Blizzard', Polygala fruticosa, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata' |
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| The arrangement earned pride of place on the dining room table |
Even pumpkins seem to be in short supply this year and surprisingly pricey as well, although waiting until late last week to look for one may have contributed to that impression. I picked up one relatively small pumpkin on a trip to the garden center on Friday.
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| This "fairy tale" pumpkin is a little less than 7 inches in diameter but cost $6.99. As a nod to the start of the fall season, I decided to dress it up with berries and succulent cuttings from my garden. |
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| Reverse side |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi', noID Cotoneaster berries, Crassula 'Money Maker', and a mix of Graptosedum (possibly 'Darley Sunshine') , Crassula pubescens 'Small Red', and berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium, all glued onto a mat of sphagnum moss |
For the record, few of my neighbors appear to decorate for Halloween. Of the homes I can see from the street that runs through our neighborhood, only four have outdoor displays.
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This is the most prominent one
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However, more families with children have moved into the neighborhood during the last two years and, with the pandemic at least partially under control due to vaccines, perhaps we'll have more children knock on the door this year. I'm going to pick up a bag of candy today just in case. I'll leave whatever is left on the curb for neighborhood walkers on Tuesday if trick-or-treating traffic remains low.
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| In a final effort to get a little of the Halloween spirit, I added 3 skeleton rats to the pumpkin display in our entry way (My husband has pointed out that rats don't have ear-shaped skeletons...) |
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2022
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
The dahlia arrangement is so beautiful. My favourite colour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Nikki. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteI laughed at your husband's comment. Well done on having a Halloween themed vase as your second.
ReplyDeleteI had a devil of a time finding those rats in my holiday stash, Noelle. (Pun intended.)
DeleteOh the subtle colour of the flowers in your first vase is so attractive Kris. Your little pumpkin arrangement would make a most seasonal table setting indeed but I couldn't eat with those skeleton rats looking at me 😱 We have never had a single Halloween caller possibly because there is a long unlit dark lane leading to our house with some big trees on either side. Too spooky by far on any night of the year. I hope that you get some takers for the candy 😀
ReplyDeleteNow that I have a bag of candy on hand, I really hope I get some Halloween visitors too, Anna. If I don't, I'll get rid of it someday - I don't need to have those calories so close at hand!
DeleteI'm in your husbands boat when it comes to Halloween Kris. Last year I bailed out and went to the coast for a couple of days, but no such luck this year ! I do like your rat skeletons though ! That's too bad about M. Miranda-I had one that never bloomed at all this year-It would set a tiny bud which just sat there for a few weeks and then finally just shrivel up.
ReplyDeleteI had that same experience with Dahlia 'Pink Petticoat' this year, Kathy. Very annoying!
DeleteIt’s interesting that Halloween isn’t a big thing in your neighbourhood, Kris. My impression (from American movies) is that whole suburbs must be overrun with trick-or-treaters! Did you get any takers for your candy? We had heaps of kids knocking on our door. I bought a LOT of chocolates, but I ended up running out (much to hubby’s dismay as he way hoping for leftovers;)
ReplyDeleteLove the soft purples in your first arrangement (you waited a LONG time for ‘Lavender Ruffles’! And your pumpkin is really well done. I love the berry/ succulent combo.
It's not yet 6pm here and still light outside so I can't answer your question about trick-or-treaters yet. My husband thinks the prospects are still poor as houses are too far apart, some aren't readily accessible because of gates and other impediments, and our street isn't well lighted (no street lights, just house lights). When we lived in a townhouse in a nearby beach city, we had lots of takers. Some people actually drive kids to neighborhoods like my former one! Some local malls also offer trick-or-treating in stores as a safer alternative to the old-fashioned approach.
DeleteThe 'Lavender Ruffles' I grew from a tuber certainly took its time. The plant I bought from a nursery already in bud did well all season, which makes me wonder if they're better started in a greenhouse (not that I have one).
Fabulous! I love the fairy tale pumpkin. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteHappy Halloween to you, Beth!
DeleteYes it came as quite a surprise when I looked at the calendar this morning to find it was Halloween. Where did October go? Love your pumpkin arrangement. My bulb order finally arrived yesterday so mad planting today and last evening. All tender plants are in, vegetables harvested and stored so I'm ready for winter's arrival tomorrow. Time for a rest.
ReplyDeleteWinter comes early in your area, Elaine! Fall is a busy season here too but for different reasons - it's the best time of the year to plant almost everything. I've also got bulbs to get planted (some still on the way) but I finally got the first 40 in yesterday.
DeleteIs Halloween actually a 'holiday' in the US, Kris, or is it just a turn of phrase? What a glorious soft shade your dahlias are, and the foliage worked perfectly with them. I had to smile at your second one, with those bizarre rat skeletons!!
ReplyDeleteIt's not a holiday in the sense that offices close to observe it but Halloween is seriously a big business here, Cathy, albeit still not in my neighborhood it appears. I had just 2 tiny trick-or-treaters, accompanied by 5 adults with cameras ;)
DeleteA final bow of Dahlia season in one of my favorite vases: the color is dreamy. The pumpkin arrangement is fabulous, kind of steals the show and should last a long time. The skeletons are a nice touch, but I couldn't look at them for very long...
ReplyDeletechavli
It looks as though I could still get a few more flowers from one of my 'Lavender Ruffles' Dahlia, Chavli, but the season is otherwise indeed over. I've seen a lot more elaborately dressed pumpkins but that one was at least it was easy to put together - more so than most of my flower arrangements!
DeleteBeautiful from every angle.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteKris, your dahlias have been very pretty this year and the first arrangement is luscious. Interesting how some dahlias produce few flowers and some keep on giving. The pumpkin is just stunning. I love how you've used your succulents. Politics are dreadful and I am filled with dread. Can you believe it? After a month of no rain it rained on the kids for Halloween last night.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got rain but I'm sorry it wasn't timely for the trick-or-treaters, Susie.
DeleteLavender Ruffles is a dream of a dahlia Kris! Definitely worth waiting for. What a gorgeous arrangement that makes, and rightly given pride of place! I have never thought of filling a pumpkin shell with flowers before - a lovely idea and it works so well wiith your succulents and berries. Halloween is not celebrated at all out in the country here, and even our shops seemed to have fewer Halloween themed products this year. Christmas gingerbread has, however, been on the supermarket shelves since schools started back in September! LOL!
ReplyDeleteNo harm was done to the pumpkin! I didn't cut into the pumpkin at all. It's topped with sphagnum moss, glued in place, and the succulent stems are inserted into the moss, also using glue. It's a simple approach - and the finished product last much longer, at least as long as it isn't in a spot vulnerable to squirrels, who've been known to dig through pumpkins in the span of a single night here.
DeleteReports are that our neighborhood turnout was low this year too, the fact that it was cold and very wet probably had something to do with that. I saw so many pumpkins in NYC, I had no idea there was a shortage!
ReplyDeleteI'd heard vague references to a shortage of pumpkins and I noticed that my market only had the most ordinary variety. I was waiting for the bumpy "Knucklehead" pumpkins - my local garden center got them in but I thought I'd wait a week and by then they were gone.
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