Who says there's a late summer flower shortage? I have - many times! It was true in my case before I started a cutting garden and planted dahlia tubers and zinnia seeds. Dahlias and zinnias can handle high temperatures better than most flowering plants, provided that they get sufficient water. No matter how hot and dry summer gets, I limit my use of irrigation during the summer season everywhere except my cutting garden. I hand water the raised planters and containers there, relying on collected rainwater to the extent possible. Whenever my husband empties the spa to clean it, all that water also goes into my collection tanks for use in the garden once the chemicals have dissipated. We don't get summer storms often but Tropical Storm Hilary also made a big contribution this year. My cutting garden is bursting at the seams!
My first floral arrangement was inspired by the first blooms of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur'.
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I augmented the 3 stems of Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' with flowers of Dahlia 'Summer's End', which has been very productive this year
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Back view: The color of 'Fairway Spur' varies considerably as each bloom matures
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', noID orange Sutera cordata (aka Bacopa cordata), Grevillea 'Superb', Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', and D. 'Summer's End'
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One thing I failed to do this year was to properly stake my taller dahlias. I usually put a tomato cage around any dahlia that's projected to grow taller than three feet but this year I waited too late to do that in many cases. I tried to support the taller stems as best I could without breaking the plants surrounding them after-the-fact but it was sloppy process and many stems have flopped over. The unknown dahlia that was supposed to be 'French Can Can' was one of these. One heavy branch broke at the base this week so I cut the flowers when I removed the stem, which led to the creation of floral arrangement #2.
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I was afraid this arrangement would look too much like one of those I created last week but I think the double-petaled yellow Calibrachoa gave it a different vibe
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Back view: For scent, I added the interesting twisted Pelargonium graveolens 'Colocho'
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Top view
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Hopley', noID yellow Calibrachoa, Cosmos bipinnatus, Dahlia 'La Luna', noID yellow dahlia, and Pelargonium graveolens 'Colocho' |
Floral arrangement #3 contains no dahlias. It includes a handful of zinnias but the key ingredients are sunflowers and coneflowers. I've discovered that, like dahlias and zinnias, both flower heavily given sufficient water and I plan to make them regular ingredients in my summer cutting garden in future years.
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This arrangement looks a lot like the early fall arrangement I created 2 weeks ago but the sunflowers peaked in late August and I felt I should cut some before they're entirely gone
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| Back view: Unlike the sunflowers, I think the coneflowers have 3-4 weeks left in their season |
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Helianthus annuus 'Joker', Hibiscus acetosella 'Haight Ashbury', Plectanthus scutellarioises 'Limewire' (aka coleus), 2 versions of Rudbeckia hirta 'Cherokee Sunset', and one of several Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix'
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Today is expected to be the last of a four-day heatwave. I'm looking forward to a return to cooler conditions but I did clear my backlog of ironing and scrubbed our refrigerator while I was stuck inside the house waiting out the heat. I didn't get around to washing the windows but maybe I'll work on that today - or I could put together my fall bulb order.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All
material © 2012-2023
by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Forget the windows... I'd go for the fall bulb order :-D
ReplyDeleteThe trailing double-petaled yellow Bacopa makes the second vase my favorite.
Chavli
I'm glad I caved and bought that primrose yellow bacopa earlier this year. I never even considered it might make a decent cut flower ;)
Delete2nd that, go for getting your fall bulb order in order! Beautiful arrangements.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten to it yet today but I do plant to put together a bulb order today!
DeleteThose are three very luscious arrangements Kris! As for a late summer flower shortage I was casting my eyes about yesterday thinking of a Bloomday post and while my garden is never a floral showcase it's mighty slim pickings at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, I was relying on succulents for IAVOM arrangements at this time of year, Loree. To be honest, even the areas outside my cutting garden have more flowers than they did "back in the day," although a lot of what's out there doesn't make good material for vases.
DeleteYou are clearly very diligent with your watering, Kris, and I suppose I watered more before our garden open days but haven't really bothered since then, so some annuals have probably finished earlier than they might have done if watered. The dahlias are still going strong though, but like you I have been a little negligent with staking! I especially like the siftness of your second vase today, but they all hightlight the abundance of late summer - even if yours has just seen a recent resurgence!
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky to get rain during the summer months, even if its been a bit spotty of late, Cathy. If I had to rely on rainwater, I'd have only succulents and the toughest of Mediterranean plants. Under normal circumstances, we don't get much, if any, rain between early April and November. A tropical storm is very uncommon and a single rain event between that span doesn't significantly change the situation anyway. Having sandy soil that drains quickly doesn't help either.
DeleteKris all three are magnificent....the rich creams and pale yellows and the fall colors in the other two....my goodness. I can't take my eyes off them. Glad the water was there to keep you rich in flowers this year.
ReplyDeleteMy rainwater tanks were empty when the tropical storm filled them up again so that was a major boon this year. I haven't even thought twice about watering the cutting garden with an extra 475 gallons of rainwater on hand. My husband's due to recycle the spa water any time now too ;)
DeleteI am in love with that 'Summer's End'. After some intense Googling, it seems that I can't get my hands on one this side of the Atlantic, so now I'm reserving some other varieties of similar type and color combos for next spring. It's just so pretty!
ReplyDelete'Summer's End' is a waterlily type dahlia so you may want to look into those, Angela. Some sellers, like Swan Island Dahlias (US), list varieties by type. I found several in peachy-pink colors including 'Apricot Desire', 'China Doll', and 'Day Dreamer'. I've no idea if these varieties are available in Europe but, if not, local sellers may have others.
DeleteThis is a celebration of a successful summer garden..beautiful. Amelia
ReplyDeleteThanks Amelia. Next year, I'm committed to supporting my dahlia tubers as soon as they germinate.
DeleteLovely, lovely, and lovely--but with so much beauty indoors I'd be tempted to stay indoors. Which today is a good idea anyway.
ReplyDeleteI will never be so virtuous about water. They'll have to pull the big fat gorgeous roses from my cold, dead hands. ;^)
Although I took out half my roses this month, HB, I actually haven't given up on them entirely. I'm eyeing more promising areas of the garden to stick a rose or 2 (maybe a pot or barrel in my cutting garden if necessary), not that I'll ever have a collection like yours - I'm not as adept at managing their needs as you are even excluding the water issue. Most gardeners I know have addictions of one kind or another.
DeleteI am thinking citrus: Lemon and Orange as your theme today! Loving your orange, peach and yellow dahlias and your 3rd vase is reminding me that fall is right around the corner for us. And hopefully, cooler weather for you as well. Eliza
ReplyDeleteThanks to a nice cloud cover (presumably associated with Tropical Storm Jova) the temperature has already dropped to 83F this afternoon, Eliza. There was a 10% chance of rain but it doesn't seem we're going to be that lucky.
DeleteLush and lovely and quite autumnal. My garden hasn’t a chance of providing a bouquet at the moment, alas.
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for my cutting garden, any vases at this time of year most likely would have included succulents or Leucadrendron stems, Linda.
DeleteLove Fairway Spur. I planted it as well this year but so far no blooms. Fingers crossed it has time. While the lovely creamy white dahlia isn't Can Can it's a stunner. Maybe a serendipitous swap?
ReplyDelete'Fairway Spur' took longer to bloom than most of my dahlias so hopefully yours is on its way, Elaine. The creamy white dahlia is 'La Luna'. I initially thought the unnamed yellow one included in the same vase might be 'Kelvin Floodlight' but the flowers aren't big enough to be considered a dinnerplate type so its identity remains a mystery.
DeleteI wonder if the windows got done Kris…. LOL! Mine desperately need doing, but with no airconditioning it will have to wait until its cooler! I love all your dahlias, and it was lovely to hear you say what a profusion of flowers you have right now. The last arrangement really is autumnal, especially sith that gorgeous foliage. But the 'not' french can-can dahlia is the winner for me this week. Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteNo, the windows are still a mess, Cathy. Actually, the exterior panes are the most badly in need of cleaning after Tropical Storm Hilary and it's still too warm to tackle those - or that's how I've justified my delay in tackling that chore anyway ;)
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