Tag Archives: Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’

In A Vase On Monday—Foliage, Color and Pods

Each Monday brings an opportunity to join in Cathy’s weekly challenge called In A Vase On Monday. The goal is to fill a vase using materials collected from the garden.

Early this morning I was out gathering foliage and flowers for today’s vase, but it has been a busy day. Finally I have a just few minutes to share what I collected before running off to a meeting tonight.

The other day I had spotted a large seed pod from one of the still blooming Irises that I thought might be attractive in a vase so I started with it.

Many foliage plants looked fresh and interesting today. Also there were lots of Dahlias this week (I definitely plan to plant more Dahlias next year) and I found one of the newly planted red snapdragons blooming.

Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)

I put together stems of roughly the same height and stored them in some glassware (even one of last night’s wine glasses) to allow them to condition until I could find time to make an arrangement. Everything seemed so fresh I would have been satisfied to enjoy these flowers all week without further tweaking.

Conditioning The Materials Gathered In Early Morning

Eventually I did get around to making a design. I selected for today’s container a lovely blue and green glazed ceramic pot created by my daughter during a high school art class.

Handthrown Ceramic Vase

Here are some views of the final arrangement. These two are looking down from the top. I liked the Iris seedpod, and also the contrasting Rudbeckia seed heads. I used Iris , lupine and lamb’s ear foliage to add texture.

A few sprigs of Meadow Sage ‘May Night’ add a nice color change from the red dahlias and snapdragons.

Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

Seed Heads of Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’ contrast with the Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

Materials
Flowers
Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon)
Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’
Meadow Sage ‘May Night’

Foliage and Pods
Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear)
Lupinus ‘Woodfield Hybrids’ (Lupine)
Iris germanica (Bearded iris)
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Silver Heart’ (False Forget-Me-Not)
Tanacetum vulgare (Tansy)
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ (Wormwood)
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Irish Eyes’

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Discover what delightful things she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday. Perhaps you will be inspired to share your own vase.

In A Vase On Monday—Red Pitcher

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In A Vase On Monday

Each Monday brings an opportunity to join in Cathy’s weekly challenge called In A Vase On Monday. The goal is to fill a vase using materials collected from the garden.

Today’s offering is a simple collection of Zinnias in hues ranging from orange, apricot, coral, and pale yellow. Three sprigs of Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’ contribute foliage in dark shades of purple and red. A burgundy dahlia and an umbel-shaped floret of Autumn Joy sedum, now aged to a rich burnt sienna color, complete the arrangement.

In A Vase On Monday

The flowers are held in a bright red Waechtersbach pitcher accented with white hearts, a gift from my mother-in-law many years ago.

In A Vase On Monday

Materials

Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’
Euphorbia ‘Blackbird’ (Spurge)
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Herbstfreude’ (Autumn Joy)
Zinnia Cut and Come Again Mix

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Discover what delightful things she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday. Perhaps you will be inspired to share your own vase.

In A Vase On Monday—Traditional Marble

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Each Monday brings an opportunity to join in Cathy’s weekly challenge called In A Vase On Monday. The goal is to fill a vase using materials collected from the garden.

The temperature dropped more than 25 degrees F. Saturday night delivering a fresh, autumnal crispness to the air. In response the Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’ (that turned out to be red) is finally blooming with more intensity. I was able to cut three fully open specimens this morning to include in today’s vase.

Dahlias Covered In Morning Dew

One Iceberg rose was in prime condition this morning and I brought it inside to serve as a focal point for today’s arrangement and to add contrast in texture and color.

Rosa ‘Iceberg’

Freshly formed palmate leaves of lupine radiate outward and provide an interesting background for the white rose. (Thanks to Cathy at Words and Herbs for the suggestion to use lupine foliage in a vase.)

Palmate lupine leaves provide background for Rosa ‘Iceberg’

For a container I selected a marble, urn-shaped mortar that is substantial enough to offset the mass of the heavy, richly-colored dahlia flowers. The shape of the mortar together with the old-fashioned quality of the dahlias inspired this week’s rather traditional design.

Marble mortar anchors the arrangement.

Silvery sprigs of lavender echo the gray marble in the base while adding lightness to the design. Hovering above the dahlias a few Verbena bonariensis flowers complete the arrangement.

Verbena bonariensis and lavender sprigs are used as fillers.

Verbena bonariensis and lavender with Dahlias

Materials

Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’- 3 stems
Rosa ‘Iceberg’- 1 stem
Verbena bonariensis (Tall Verbena)- 7 stems
Lupinus ‘Woodfield Hybrids’ (Lupine)- 3 stems
Lavandula x intermedia ‘Dutch’ (Dutch Lavender)- 5 stems
1 Florist’s Frog
1 Marble Mortar

In A Vase On Monday

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Discover what delightful things she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday. Perhaps you will be inspired to share your own vase.

In A Vase On Monday—Blue Mist With Vermilion

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In A Vase On Monday – Blue Mist With Vermilion

Each Monday brings an opportunity to join in Cathy’s weekly challenge called In A Vase On Monday. The goal is to fill a vase using materials collected from the garden.

Early this morning I gathered a variety of plants to create a formal arrangement, but time seems to be evaporating today, so I will save that idea for another time. Instead I am sharing a loosely arranged design that practically assembled itself when I was placing the flowers in water for conditioning.

The main focal flowers are sprigs of blue, fuzzy-headed Conoclinium coelestinum and stems of vermilion-hued Chrysanthemum. Off to one side sits a scarlet Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’ flower in a small pewter vase. The strong colors seem appropriate for early autumn.

Conoclinium coelestrium (Blue Mist Flower) and Chrysanthemum

Conoclinium coelestinum, also known as Blue Mistflower or Hardy Ageratum, is native to eastern United States and attracts butterflies to the garden. It has been blooming for several weeks and should continue well into fall. The Blue Mistflower and the Chrysanthemum come back reliably every year without any attention.

A couple of leaves from Brunnera macrophylla ‘Silver Heart’ add a heart-shaped foliage accent. Several stems of Perovskia atriplicifolia extend loosely outward, repeating the color of the Blue Mistflower. A slender, flowering stalk of Heuchera villosa ‘Big Top Bronze’ (Coral Bells) added a vertical element to the vase.

In A Vase On Monday

Both containers used in today’s arrangement are special treasures received many years ago. The little pewter vase was a bridesmaid’s gift from a college friend and is engraved with the date of her wedding. The footed, cut glass vase originally held a sunshiny bouquet of daffodils, a spring token from another friend. The vases are extremely versatile and I have reached for them over and over again to hold small to medium-sized flowers.

Materials
Conoclinium coelestinum (Blue Mistflower, Hardy Ageratum)
Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’
Chrysanthemum sp.
Brunnera macrophylla ‘Silver Heart’ (False Forget-Me-Not)
Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
Heuchera villosa ‘Big Top Bronze’ (Coral Bells)

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Discover what delightful things she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday.

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Tag Archives: Dahlia ‘Blue Bell’

In A Vase On Monday—Foliage, Color and Pods

In A Vase On Monday—Red Pitcher

In A Vase On Monday—Traditional Marble

In A Vase On Monday—Blue Mist With Vermilion