In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of materials gathered from our gardens.
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
This is one of my favorite arrangements of the summer. It began as a different concept, lighter in weight, more airy, but ended up a round, tightly-packed, solid form with an arc of white flowers moving horizontally and an arc of pink flowers cascading vertically.
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
Five Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ opened all at once. This is a creamy white semi-cactus dahlia. I cut them and the other flowers Sunday afternoon when it was already 93°F.
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
Three of the large flowers forming the pink arc are an unknown semi-cactus dahlia and one is D. ‘Cafe Au Lait’.
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
Stems of a small white ball type, Dahlia ‘Petra’s Wedding’, along with salvias, gaura and common lantana fill out the arrangement. There are also a few sprigs of Angelonia AngelMist ‘Spreading Berry Sparkler’.
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
In A Vase On Monday – Summer Flowers In Black Vessel
Materials
Flowers
Angelonia AngelMist ‘Spreading Berry Sparkler’
Dahlia Ball ‘Petra’s Wedding’
Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’
Dahlia ‘David Howard’
Dahlia ‘Penhill Watermelon’
Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’
Dahlia sp.
Lantana camara (Common lantana)
Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Hill’ (Meadow Sage)
Salvia uliginosa ‘Blue Sky’ (Bog sage)
Zinnia
Foliage
Gaura lindheimeri ‘Passionate Blush’ (Butterfly Gaura)
Container
Black Matte Dish With Red Interior
As always thanks to our host Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for providing this opportunity to to share our vases. Visit her to discover what garden surprises she and others are offering this week.
pbmGarden 
It’s a beautiful vase – and it seems to be a good year for dahlias eh? The bowl is a great choice, really different and perfect for the large dahlia blooms. I can picture you pondering long and hard over the orange zinnia – it pops and really makes you look at the entire arrangement in a new way.
Your dahlias look magnificent, Chris. It’s been so dry and hot here I’m surprised by how many were blooming yesterday. hope we’ll get rain midweek. That zinnia is actually a deep yellow but yes, you’re right, there was some active decision making surrounding its placement. I had three very orange zinnias I kept trying but finally put them in their own vase!
I love orange flowers – they really need a thoughtful approach in a vase, I’ve noticed. On my very old laptop monitor your deep yellow is a lovely muted orange – it works!
I love orange summer flowers. My zinnia mix is a citrus blend or some such name. So far they’ve all been deep yellow or rich orange. They’re happy colors.
Lots of summer in your vase.
It feels like summer will be gone soon but the flowers are just coming into their own!
So is the dish fully open at the top, or is it rimmed? How are the stems supported? It must be such a pleasure to have this vase to admire in your own home, as it is another glorious confection, but with your definite arcs of colour clearly not one you have just cobbled together! Lovely, Susie!
The bowl is open at the top. I used a large floral pin to hold the flowers. This vase just went together so smoothly for some reason. I have been enjoying it a lot today! Thanks Cathy.
How big is the pin? The ones I have are quite small, and I try to get stainless steel so they don’t rust
The one I used this week is 5×3 inches!
Several years ago a friend brought me 8-10 floral pins she had from cleaning out her parents’ home after her mom died. They were assorted sizes and this large one is my favorite. I have some glass frogs that belonged to my grandmother but I don’t find they hold the stems well. Guess the stem has to be just the right diameter.
My smaller floral pins are sometimes not heavy enough to support the weight of the flowers. You know you can place secure the pins using a florist’s sticky material (can’t remember a brand. It’s like a sticky eraser that you work to warm, stretch and soften. Attach to the bottom of the pin and press into the dish. (I use a plastic dish, then set the plastic dish inside the actual vase or pottery bowl. You can use multiple pins if you have more flowers but that’s when I probably would just choose floral foam.
Ah yes, I remember you mentioned this treasure chest before – and I do have some of ghe sticky tape, bought after you have nmentioned it on your blog before. Using a dish inside a bowl is a good idea, offering further options. Thanks Susie
Another beautiful composition, Susie. I need to hunt down a tuber of Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ to plant next season. I planted 2 white-flowering varieties this year but neither has yet produced a single bud.
This is the third year for one of the white dahlia plants (overwintered). I added a couple more this year. Recently I have seen this referred to as Dahlia ‘Tsuki Yori No Shisha’ — I imagine there was/is a typo that’s been carried along for years.
What a delightful arrangement of some of your garden specials. The colours are so gentle, and look perfect as you have arranged them in the black vase.
Thanks Noelle. It’s nice to finally have a good quantity of dahlias to work with. The white cactus made for a good starting point.
Oh your flowers look so beautifully arranged and oh so snug in that bowl Susie. It would take me all day to produce something looking as well arranged as that. You certainly have not only skill but much patience too.
Thank you Anna! This arrangement was just a fun one and it flowed together easily. That’s not always the case, but it’s always fun to play with flowers, isn’t it?
Ah, more dahlias. I am still not so impressed by ‘Cafe au Lait’. I suppose it is pretty, but there are so many others that are pretty also.
Yes, there are a lot of different forms and colors to choose from.
Wow, well done getting the shape of the arrangement. Beautiful. And all those Dahlias. Sigh. That Cafe Au Lait is annoying – Cafe Au Raspberry maybe?
Thanks Amy. So far only one Cafe Au Lait flower has been what I expected; it’s not producing many flowers at all in this drought.
So odd aand aggravating. A cup of Cafe au Lait seems to be on order. Hope you like coffee.
Well, we drink lots of coffee around here! A morning ritual.
Very pretty. As always your vase selection and the creativity of the arrangement are so special. Your Dahlias are gorgeous! We were in the high 80s and 90s most of the summer here in S. Wisconsin, believe it or not. It appears the heat has broken and we’re now getting lovely low 80s and high 70s for the next 10 days. 🙂 Stay cool!
The heat must have been a shock this summer Beth! It’s been bad here especially because we’ve had so little rain. Glad you are getting some reasonable temps. Sounds lovely.
Another beautiful arrangement, Susie. Those ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ really are a lovely cultivar. I imagine the whole lot were fun to arrange.
Thanks Eliza. It was fun to have a good number of one kind of dahlia to work with. The ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ has surprised me with so many blooms.
The dahlias are lovely Susie, and you have once again created a beautiful vase. The shape of the white arc and the trail of pink is something an amateur like me wouldn’t even think to attempt. Such thought goes into each of your arrangements. 😃
Thanks Cathy! I think we share flowers each Monday just because we love it. Your generous, overflowing vases are ebullient and happy. I think I’m a bit of a control freak!
What a beautiful arrangement! Those arcs of colour remind me of rhythmic gymnastics with swirls of silky ribbon. Lovely.
What a lovely comparison! Thank you.
Lovely combination that can’t help but make one smile. Your gardens have certainly provided a plethora of beautiful arrangements this year.
Thanks so much Judy. Hard to believe we’re quickly heading toward autumn (not that you’d know it from our intense heat every day).
All your arrangements are delightful, Susie, and this one is no exception. I don’t know how you do it but even with such a mixed lot you achieve a unique harmony, elegance and balance.
Thanks Annette. It’s true it’s more challenging to work with just whatever happens to be blooming. On the other hand it’s good to have some parameters to work with. Hope you are doing well. Thank you!