I still haven't run out of dahlias for In a Vase on Monday! Some have grown ridiculously tall and two of those have either twisted their stems around their neighbors to catch the sun or collapsed on stems too weak to support the flowers. However, my first arrangement features Dahlia 'Lady Darlene' which has blooms that stand tall and stately straight. This 'Lady's' flowers are also on the flashy end of the dahlia spectrum, hence the title of this post.
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| When the temperatures were trending higher, the flowers of 'Lady Darlene' tended to be pinky-red and cream but she's showing more of her true colors, red and yellow, now that it's cooler |
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| Back view: I wasn't sure what to pair with the dahlia's flowers other than feverfew until I realized that the red bracts of Leucadendron 'Blush' would make a nice complement |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Lady Darlene', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Leucadendron salignum 'Blush', noID red Pelargonium peltatum, Tanacetum parthenium, and Zinnia elegans 'Raspberry Limeade' |
My second arrangement features Dahlia 'Summer's End'. The plant is the most prolific bloomer of all my dahlias.
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| 'Summer's End' has the tallest stems of any of my dahlias and most of them are twisted, which made arranging them a bit challenging |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Dahlia 'Summer's End', Leptospermum 'Copper Glow', Rudbeckia hirta 'Sahara', Tanacetum parthenium, Zinnia elegans 'Golden Hour', and a noID Zinnia |
I've been filling a small vase on my kitchen island with stems of Dahlia 'La Luna' most weeks because those stems flop over under their own weight but this week both Dahlia 'Excentric' and Zinnia 'Benary's Giant Wine' are flowering heavily so they won the spot.
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Top: views of the vase in place and from the top
Bottom: Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Wine', Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Stained Glassworks Velvet', and Dahlia 'Excentric' (with my go-to Leptospermum foliage thrown in) |
A ridge of high pressure is expected to push temperatures back up again in our area this week. While temperatures could zip back up to 100F (37C) in the inland valleys, it looks as though our area will stay in the low 80sF (28C) thanks to the persistence of the morning marine layer. I hope that's right!
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'Lady Darlene' is indeed flashy and fabulous, deserving of a spotlight. I love that Dahlia. Leucadendron 'Blush' accentuates her beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThe vase with 'Summer's End' and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow' say Autumn in a big way for me.
The kitchen vase is an exercise in riotous colors. That Coleus is amazing: put on your sun glasses!
Chavli
'Lady Darlene's' flowers are much more interesting than they were last year, Chavli. I think it bloomed as the season was coming to an end last year and I probably didn't give the flowers enough time to fully develop. That coleus is my new favorite - I hope I can baby it through what passes for winter here.
DeleteI love the beautiful foliage you put in with all these dahlias. I wish I had more room as I would plant loads of dahlias and zinnias all over...with a few more sunflowers!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna. I really screwed up on sunflowers this year. I had the seeds and I just didn't get them sowed when the weather still favored germination. Lesson learned! I did pick up a Helianthus plant at a garden center last week but it's not an unusual one.
DeleteYou are certainly making the most of your beautiful dahlias! I broke down and bought a $10 (bargain!) bouquet at the local market over the weekend. It included six stems of the largest yellow/peach spidery blooms, worth every penny.
ReplyDeleteI do love dahlias, Loree. they make summer conditions more tolerable here ;)
DeleteFlashy Lady indeed, that's a great one! The coleus is the perfect addition, the icing on the cake.
ReplyDeleteI had to stop myself from cutting more of that coleus, Tracy - it's a winner!
DeleteThe overhead views are especially lovely, really showing off the contents - you have such an eye for colour!. The coleus in the second vase is so curious with its coloured edge -isn't nature amazing!
ReplyDeleteYou've got to respect the plant breeders too, Cathy. That coleus is certainly a work of art.
DeleteHere's hoping the marine layer stays around. Those are some flashy Dahlias, another beautiful set of vases...Amelia.
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