In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens. Blooming since June, dahlias continue to light up the garden.
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
The apricot orange is D. ‘David Howard’, the white is D. ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ and D. ‘Gallery Art Deco’ is the sunset red. After weeks of sharing these dahlias it is challenge to find a new way to present them, so I am staying with a tried and true traditional design.
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
A maroon chrysanthemum from last year’s purchase adds a touch more red richness. Added at the last moment Adonis blue Butterfly Bush contributes a bit of surprise.
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
An autumn addition to this week’s vase is an aster that overtook an entire garden bed years ago. I continue to try to eradicate it. I thought at least I could put it to good use this Monday, but I find I it hard to fix this bad relationship. I’ll continue to get rid of the aster. The garden does not need the chaos.
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
Materials
Flowers
Alyssum
Aster (Symphyotrichum)
Buddleja davidii ‘Adokeep’ (Adonis blue Butterfly Bush)
Chrysanthemum
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Foliage
Gardenia sp.
Itea virginica ‘Sprich’ LITTLE HENRY (Virginia sweetspire)
Materials
Ceramic Urn Stamped “Vintage 4”
Lomey plastic dish insert, eco-friendly floral foam
In A Vase On Monday – October Surprise
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases across the world. Visit her to discover what surprises she and others found to place in a vase this week.
pbmGarden 
A beautiful arrangement. Such vibrant colours.
Thanks very much! I’m seeing a lot autumn palettes on blogs this morning.
That’s right. Autumnal colors and the various moods of autumn as described by our bloggers make for interesting reads.
I never get tired of seeing Dahlias! And I think what makes this vase stand out, or look closer, are the various surprises – Buddleja, white asters, mums, autumn foliage…. I can just about hear the bees buzzing about!
Thanks Chris. I didn’t bring any bees inside but did have to take some stems back outdoors for a good shake off.
I agree I love seeing your Dahlias. They certainly have a long season.
Thanks. The fall dahlia flowers are more profuse and better formed, but its been nice having the dahlias all summer.
Just perfect and David Howard is such a great colour, like a rich marmalade.
Thanks Noelle. Marmalade does capture it pretty well. It starts out rich orange red and mellows to a softer yellow-orange.
We both have David Howard!! You chose your select few dahlias well, as they do blend together nicely, but I can see why you feel you need to be inventive in arranging them in a different way. Adding a few different elements as you have done has done the trick. The white aster looks attractive in your vase, but taking over an entire bed is a bit excessive and I too will remove thugs like this if they won’t be tamed
I bought David Howard last year and have since seen it referenced a lot, even on A Gardener’s World, which I’ve begun following this year. Dahlias come in so many colors and forms and sizes I’m becoming addicted. Will try to add some next year with vase-potential in mind!
I shall reassess my dahlias too, as there a couple I would happily leave out in favour of others more to my liking – as you say, it’s learning which forms and colours you like best
Your arrangements are always glorious, Susie. I’m impressed by the sheer number of blooms you have, although I note that mine are now off to a (final?) sprint too. I love ‘Art Deco’ but maybe I’ve said that before – I haven’t seen it offered online but I need to conduct a more thorough search.
Thanks Kris. I’ve noticed in your posts you’re getting some beautiful dahlias (among everything else)! FYI- Here’s where I sourced my dahlias. https://www.longfield-gardens.com/plantname/Dahlia-Gallery-Art-Deco
I love the quirky addition of the blue Buddleia flower to your traditional arrangement Susie. And I have to say I love your Aster too! My garden and climate are glad of plants like that that do their own thing though! 😉
Thanks Cathy. That aster caught my eye at a reputable garden center but it has caused endless headaches trying to tame it. I saw a blog post today of a meadow with something suspiciously similar and it look lovely in that setting. Buddleia was very pretty this year and only a few flowers are left. I could spare only one in case a butterfly needed a sip!
What a beautiful arrangement, I love the mix of rich colors. It sounds like you’re really enjoying your dahlias again this year!
Yes, thanks, the dahlias have been fairly reliable for cut flowers for months. I know they won’t last much longer but they’re making a nice rally to end the season.
Gorgeous, Susie.I love the blues in there. Do you think the secret is watering with Dahlias??
Thanks. They are reluctant to give up their secrets to me but these have had a good bit of rain. I didn’t feed them though.
recalcitrant plants are so annoying and always stunning.
Such lovely dahlias – I love the little surprises you tucked into them!
Thanks Eliza. It was fun to make. I began with giving the aster a bigger role but ended up cutting part back. I need to come up with more reliable filler materials.
This one looks old fashioned, which I find to be very appealing. It is not so easy to know where the chrysanthemums stop and the dahlias begin.
Yes, more of a traditional design. Thanks.