When I walked around the garden between bouts of rain to see what I might spotlight for October Bloom Day, I realized I did not have any great sweep of fall plants. Instead I discovered a number of flowers making statements but on a small scale.
Thus I decided to clip them and make a bouquet that could do double duty for Bloom Day and In a Vase on Monday. As you can see I ended up filling four little vases (left to right): one to put above the kitchen sink, one to take to the hostess of a gathering of women friends on Saturday morning, one for my bathroom and one for Mark's.
I love this stretchy brown paper that comes around mail order plants. I've always wanted to use it in some kind of art project so here's my first attempt at doing just that. I think it helps tie the grouping together and isolate them from the table they're sitting on.
The polka dot vase holds the last of the Sedum 'Autumn Joy,' blood grass and leaves of Heuchera 'Lava Lamp'. The gift vase has Sedum 'Autumn Joy,' toad lilies, golden-scaled male fern fronds (Dryopteris affinis cristata 'The King'), and purple tulips from the grocery.
The tiny purple vase holds diminutive offerings: the first white flower on my autumn blooming Helleborus niger, a toad lily looking away from the camera, a trio of Crocus pulchellus with Heuchera leaves. Mark's bouquet holds just cut Alstroemeria 'Inca Ice' along with blooms that are a week old or more. There's Epimedium rubrum foliage, Hemerocallis 'Stella door,' and Corydalis lutea.
To discover what other gardeners have blooming in their gardens, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts this monthly meme. To see what gardeners have put into a vase, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts that weekly meme.
I love this, because it gives me ideas to add more autumn color to my garden, which is sadly green and brown right now. I did just plant some new toad lilies yesterday that a friend passed along to me.
Posted by: Kristin | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 08:17 AM
Impressive to have four (count 'em four) vases at this time of year. What an array of blooms and so nicely arranged. Happy GBBD!
Posted by: Peter/Outlaw | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 09:37 AM
A good way to showcase flowers from the garden for both memes. I like that polka dot vase. It looks so perky as are all the flowers you have picked. It is raining here again today. Love it.
Posted by: Lisa at Greenbow | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 09:42 AM
I was pretty surprised when I went looking at how many flowers I could find. Though you would never notice them if you were not looking.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 10:00 AM
Combining the 2 memes was a great idea, Linda. All the arrangements are pretty but I admit a preference for the gift vase with the purple blooms. I do love those toad lilies as I expect I've said before.
Posted by: Kris P | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 02:34 PM
What a great idea. I think I will go out and cut the remainder of my blooms this week and see how many bouquets I can get.
Posted by: Joanna | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 05:08 PM
Such pretty blooms and so artfully arranged! I don't have much blooming in my garden right now either, but like you, we have gotten some significant rain the last few weeks. My garden is thrilled, and I'm so happy not to have to drag hoses around!
Posted by: Rose | Sunday, October 15, 2017 at 05:59 PM
Linda, you still have quite a number of lovely blooms. Nice seeing them collected this way.
Posted by: Susie | Monday, October 16, 2017 at 08:21 AM
I am fascinated by that sort of packaging too, although I haven't seen much of it here - definitely the sort of thng you want to make good use of and you have indeed made an inspired background! I like the idea of grouping the remnants of colour in your garden like this and showcasing them together - thanks for sharing
Posted by: Cathy | Monday, October 16, 2017 at 11:10 AM
A lovely little showcase of your highlights. I think I'll be doing that in a week or two. You'll be able to appreciate each little thing.
Posted by: AlisonC | Monday, October 16, 2017 at 02:24 PM
What sweet little treasures you've found in your garden, Linda. With each passing day there is less in mine. Soon I'm going to have to get very creative for Monday vases!
Leave it to an artist to see the possibilities with that paper wrap. We use it to kindle fires. ;)
Posted by: Eliza Waters | Monday, October 16, 2017 at 08:48 PM
I wondered about the tulips, which might have been an interesting story if they'd come from the garden! Fall-blooming hellebore? Yes, please. You have quite a lot going on in your garden compared with mine!
Posted by: Helen at Toronto Gardens | Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 08:42 AM
My sister-in-law and I put together two bouquets for a memorial service for the mother of Dutch friends of ours. One vase had purple and white tulips and all kinds of toad lilies and ferns. The other had yellow tulips, my Inca Ice alstromeria and a few other things. Nice to be able to use their mom's favorite flower — tulips — and add fall garden flowers.
Posted by: Linda Brazill | Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at 10:04 AM