Cosmos, Dahlias and Zinnias – In A Vase On Monday
Monday brings the chance to share cut flowers from the garden by joining in Cathy’s weekly challenge In A Vase On Monday.
Rain has been a rare occurrence at my house since last spring so I was delighted to have a rainy weekend. I gathered flowers during a break in the showers yesterday. Today’s informal vase features three types of red dahlias that are just beginning to bloom.
Cosmos, Dahlias and Zinnias – In A Vase On Monday
One is a cocoa-tinged cactus-type dahlia that is newly purchased this year. The other two I would classify as formal decorative dahlias. One from last year that overwintered successfully is dark red with blue-violet overtones. The other, a passalong from friend Libby at An Eye For Detail, has smaller, bright scarlet flowers and nice long stems.
Dahlias and Zinnias – In A Vase On Monday
Cosmos is finally starting to flower a little in my garden while Zinnias continue to bloom profusely. Both are used today to fill out the arrangement.
Cosmos, Dahlias and Zinnias – In A Vase On Monday
Dahlia and Zinnia – In A Vase On Monday
I experimented with a variety of containers today before finally settling on a large lime green latte/soup mug. The first vases I tried were too tall to suit the stem length of most of the dahlias, so I trimmed the all the flowers much shorter than I had planned. I used a 2-inch flower frog to hold the stems in place.
The cloudy morning had me carrying the vase of flowers all over the house and porch trying to capture some natural light.
Materials
Cosmos
Dahlia x hybrida
Euphorbia ‘Shorty’ (Shorty Spurge)
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Dutch’ (Dutch Lavender)
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Herbstfreude)
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)
Zinnia
Thanks to Cathy for hosting this weekly flower addiction. Visit her at Rambling In The Garden to discover what she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday and feel free to join in.
pbmGarden 
Mmmm, more lovely rich autumn colour! I love the way you have arranged the flowers so we can see the different textures. And I love that mug too! 🙂
Thanks Cathy, I’ve decided to embrace autumn and the colors it brings.
Susie I love the green color of the tea cup…perfect as a contrast against those dark dahlias. Such a full vase too!
That shade of green works with a lot of colors. It doesn’t steal the limelight. It was not what I’d imagined for today at all but glad I worked my way around to using it.
Very pretty! The lime green is just the right color to set off the dark red dahlias.
Thanks Marian. In the second photo there is a dahlia whose center is a perfect match for that green vase. I only noticed it after taking the pictures.
I really must try zinnias next year, they really add something extra to the dahlias and cosmos. Your gorgeous flower colours are set off perfectly against the lime green breakfast cup, the whole composition is very pleasing indeed.
Thank you! I do recommend zinnias as they’re so undemanding but just bloom and bloom.
The flowers are beautiful and arranged in that green cup it made me think of grass as a base. Love it. 🙂
Thanks Judy. In my mind I saw those red dahlias in a white vase but couldn’t find anything the right size or shape. The green cup worked out well though.
“Rich” is the perfect adjective for your arrangement. Absolutely grabs your attention.
John, when I look out at the garden it seems nothing is there, but it’s amazing to find all this color when I get closer.
I also like the colors, and you’re right that it fits the season, but I do like the touch of gray in there to lighten up the strong colors and heavy flowers. The mug worked out perfectly!
Yes, you’re right. I think the silvers of the lavender and euphorbia helped. Probably would use more lighter colors next time to help balance that dark dahlia color.
The green cup is the perfect container for all those rich, deep jewel tones. I could see bridesmaids carrying posies like this.
Ricki, I love that idea for colors like this.
Rich colors indeed, Susie. I like the addition of a touch of blue in the bog sage. In envy you the rain!
Thanks Kris, yes glad I added that blue. In the odd way things work we seem to be getting the entire summer’s missing rain dumped on us this week.
Great combination of bright summer/autumn flowers with the green of the mug!
Thanks very much. This is the first week the dahlias have started to shine in the garden so it was fun to use them.
Especially love the Zinnias and Dahlias – and the sprig of small blue salvia flowers is the perfect contrast.
Jason, it’s interesting in retrospect to see how useful that blue salvia was in relieving the eye of all that red.
The little spark from the Verbena bonariensis (especially in the second image) brings the sumptuous, rich colours of the dahlia to life, and the contrast to the lime green mug is perfect, I don’t think any other colour would have worked as well.
I like your observation Christina about Verbena bonariensis. When I saw the photos it struck me too that made a useful combination. I’ll have to play with that idea. Interesting to see how important a container is in making an arrangement. Have a good week.
Gorgeous Susie, really rich colours, I love the colour of the jug/soup mug, which works so well with your flowers. I have been looking at my motley collection of containers lately and realise I need to be more inventive.
Thanks Julie. Bet your cabinets are filled with inventive possibilities. I’ve used this green cup for several different types of arrangements and sometimes the lime green pops and sometimes it just recedes to the background and plays a supporting role. I’d like to buy more containers but where would I put them?
Interesting and colourful from every angle…perfect blooms.
Thanks Noelle. Glad I cut those blooms when I did. We’re getting lots of rain (all of the missing summer rain is showing up this week).
Gorgeous rich colours! And I especially liked the little dashes of lavender foliage… I haven’t seen it used in this way before that I can remember. Nice and original!
Thank you Joanna. I really enjoy using lavender as the foliage in arrangements. The silver color seems to work with many flowers.
Such exciting rich colours!
Those colors are vibrant for sure.
I love the amazing combination of reds, pinks, and blues; such a joyful mix of color.
Thanks Charlie. I especially think the blues helped counter the reds.
Lovely mix of colours, hope it will brighten your week!
Thank you Anca. These flowers have been enjoyable. Have a good week.
It’s so elegant the way you got all the faces of the flowers to lie flat on the surface of a ball of flowers. And then the cute little blue flowers stick out a little for emphasis. I love all your Dahlias, I’m still waiting for mine to bloom. I like the silvery grey foliage here and there too.
Hi Hannah, thanks for your comment and I apologize for not seeing it earlier. WordPress had marked it as spam. Hope your dahlias show up soon. I’m becoming a big fan of them although I don’t have much variety–all reds.
Oh, I really like your arrangement! I have some of those same flowers still blooming. I’ll have to pick them later this week before the temperatures plummet again. Great idea to put them in a mug!