It feels as though I'm recycling the same dahlias week after week. I checked my posts since my first IAVOM post featuring dahlias in mid-August. I found that I've used Dahlias 'La Luna', 'Mikayla Miranda' and 'Summer's End' three times prior to today's post. I've used two of those cultivars again this week even though I've ignored Dahlia 'Enchantress' for weeks. Next week, 'Enchantress' will get her due! And maybe one or more of the dahlias that have buds but have yet to bloom will come through for me too.
Vase #1:
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| While I've used Dahlia 'Mikayla Miranda' repeatedly, I've used 'Lavender Ruffles' just once before, even though the latter is more prolific with its blooms. 'Lavender Ruffles' is a dinnerplate type and most of the flowers swamp everything paired with them but this week I found one stem in a more reasonable size. |
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| Back view, featuring aster stems and Leucophyllum laevigatum. Leucophyllum usually burst into bloom as soon as we get rain but my plant didn't flower until weeks following Tropical Storm Hilary. |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Amaryllis belladonna 'Alba', Clematis terniflora, Dahlia 'Lavender Ruffles', D. 'Mikayla Miranda', Leucophyllum laevigatum, and Prostanthera ovalifolia 'Variegata'. Also included but not shown in closeup is Symphyotrichum chilense. |
Vase #2:
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| Dahlias 'Summer's End' and 'Labyrinth' mesh together nicely |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Labyrinth', D. 'Summer's End', Xylosma congestum, Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix', and Z. e. 'Queen Lime Orange' with Benary's Giant Salmon Rose' |
Vase #3:
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| Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' also has huge dinnerplate blooms, It's a prolific bloomer too but one I've only used once before for IAVOM because the size and neon pink color of the blooms overpower just about anything else I include in an arrangement. |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt', Cuphea 'Honeybells', Zinnia elegans 'Candy Mix', Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera', and Leucadendron 'Jester' |
We've had clouds and not a ray of sunlight for the past two days. We even got steady drizzle on Saturday morning, although it didn't amount to much in total. Morning clouds are expected to be with us all week but a we may get sun Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Meanwhile, the cooler temperatures have allowed me to make a dent in my end-of-summer garden cleanup.
For more IAVOM posts, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I think we all get into vase ruts for the same reason. We have certain flowers that are the stars at specific times of the year and we're not going to ignore them. I do think Dahlias are such drama queens that they are hard to use in any way other than letting them dominate the bouquet. I like the back of the first vase where the Dahlias are not the star attraction but secondary.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, even the single-colored dahlias are drama queens, Linda. Next year, I need to think about varying the colors of my dahlias so they're more distinct from one other to force myself to look for outside dahlia-world for companions when putting together arrangements.
DeleteThese are gorgeous...so many dahlias again. That last vase is stunning with unusual material that puts it over the top.
ReplyDelete'Belle of Barmera' is really challenging when looking for complementary plants, Donna. My best move may have been adding the bright green Acacia foliage. The Cuphea helped too.
DeleteWell, Kris. I am enjoying your Dahlias. They are spectacular. I have some in the fridge to plant in October and I hope they look as good as yours. I love the asters mixed with the dahlias today. Amelia
ReplyDeletePlanting dahlias in October is unusual but then so is your climate, Amelia. I've never gotten over the fact that you grow zinnias during the winter months.
DeleteAll your Dahlias are beautiful, Kris.
ReplyDeleteSince you don't have an endless number of varieties there bound to be some repetition. Also the fact you present 3 vases every week doesn't help in that regard. Maybe if you only shared one of your creations each week (even if make multiple arrangements for the home), you could "stretch" the Dahlias in that way. Not that it matters to me: I don't compare you presentations one week to the next: every Monday is a fresh surprise :-D
I fell hard for your third vase today. Yowza!!!
Chavli
"Belle' IS flashy, Chavli! She produces so many flowers that I've started cutting them to add some style to my potting bench ;)
DeleteAll the vases are wonderful Kris but I find your pairing of Leucadendron 'Jester' with Dahlia 'Belle of Barmera' just delightful. The only way to tone down that dahlia is to go bolder I suppose! Your dahlias are all beautiful. Glad they're doing well for you and hope the holdouts give it up soon.
ReplyDeleteForget the aphorism "a watched never boils." My replacement is "a watched bud never blooms!"
DeleteWell it's a fabulous "rut" to be in!
ReplyDeleteMaybe try challenging yourself with something very different, like an Ikebana styled minimalist arrangement, or an all-foliage arrangement, if you feel a little "stuck"?
I'm terrible at Ikebana arrangements because for some reason I'm compelled to stuff my vases each week. I've been thinking maybe I should free myself from my dahlia obsession by cutting everything and sticking flowers in the driveway as a giveaway yet I haven't quite accepted that option. Maybe in October ;)
DeleteYou seem to have a magical touch with dahlias Kris. It's always a treat to see them and the other flowers that you combine them with. Is that a native aster in the first vase?
ReplyDeleteYes, Symphyotricum chilense is native to California. I love the flowers but, in those years we get heavier rain, it spreads like wildfire - and our winters are too mild to knock them back.
DeleteKnowing they will only be there for part of the year, it makes sense to use your dahlias while you have them, Kris - and they did keeo yu waiting this year!! Is the white trailly thing in the first vase the clematis you have mentioned before? It makes for a pretty addition to the vase, and this is my favourite of the three, with the asters complementing the dahlias perfectly too.
ReplyDeleteYes, that Clematis terniflora, aka sweet autumn clematis. It's the only member of the genus I've ever gotten to settle in here. It comes back year after year but it does especially well in years we get heavier rain.
DeleteGotta go with what's available and what works. All your bouquets are lovely but particularly drawn to the last one. The cuphea and the leucodendron are striking partners to the dahlia. Have been picking glads for bouquets this week as frost is due in the next few days. Two favourites are Cherry cola (dark maroon) and Earl Gray (smokey pink/orange). Absolutely gorgeous together.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Elaine. Without the dahlias, I'd be hard put to pull together a single arrangement, much less 3. I'm missing my gladiolas this year. I pulled them out of the raised beds of my cutting garden last year (although I didn't manage to get them all) but I need more in my borders.
DeleteI do enjoy seeing all your dahlias Kris, and having so many blooming over such a long period must bring you immense pleasure! Vase number three is really WOW! But I also love the aster you used in the first one, and the Leucadendron in the last one.
ReplyDeleteDespite their slow start, I'm very grateful that the dahlias are flowering as profusely as they are now, Cathy.
DeleteDon't you dare stop sharing your vases, rut or not! I adore your dahlias and look forward to seeing your arrangements every week, new flowers or not :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Angela. I'm just annoyed with the dahlias that haven't bloomed yet to change out the mix - apparently they don't realize that the clock is ticking!
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