Noelle (Stasher) visited on Friday bringing a gardener friend and a date and walnut cake. We had a lovely morning looking around and eating cake.
While looking around Noelle pulled up a Shepherd's Purse seed head and challenged my to include it in my vase this week. It is a lovely looking stem (the only weed in my garden, you understand!) and has very interesting shaped seed pods.
I decided to go round and make a collection of seed pods and put them all together. This is the result.
Included: Allium cernuum, Scabious, Nicandra, Didiscus, Coriander, Panicum, Dill, Amaranthus, Atriplex, Echinacea and probably other things. I'm pleased that it has a bit of colour to it.
I think it will last a while. Most of it is already dried. I know lots of growers dry things for winter but I was very slow to think about it and also was not thinking of drying at midsummer when you need to be planning it. Next year I'll be growing Helichrysum for the first time in many years. And Statice. They have gone so far out of fashion they are back in.
My other vase is Dahlia 'Honka Pink'.
Still flowering away prolifically. I can't remember if I've posted them this year already. They will last a few days in a vase if cut when they have just opened. The quantity more than makes up for that, though. I think I have three plants now, all about 5 feet tall.
I divided some tubers last year and that worked so I will have a go again. I did it in spring after watching videos (on You Tube) about how to do it. I think it's more common to divide in Autumn.
Top tip - label your dahlias now while you can see what they are!
Cathy has had trouble with photographs today. I had trouble too. I don't think these are shown in their best colours. It's difficult to find a plain background in good light and I want to be able to set it up quickly.
I recently bought a couple of A2 mount boards but have yet to work out where best to put them. I think they'll work well for small vases and single flowers but need more effort for bigger vases. The boards come in different colours. I bought black and burgundy. They are both white on the reverse side and I'm planning to paint one grey so I'll have 4 choices.
Do share your best photo tips!
Do, also, join in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for In a Vase on Monday.
I'm touched that you kept and included the Shepherd's Purse...and talking about trends, since wild flower meadows and natives have been in the ascendance, sorry 'in fashion', recently, maybe wild flower seed heads will be the next 'fashion' flower, but in the meantime great artists will be including them in their art installations!! The pink Dahlias, totally on trend, pop beautifully. Mr S took some of the 'cake', and chaps raved about it, so I shall post the recipe on my blog.
ReplyDeleteApparently floral fashion follows garden trends so wild and seeds should be next. The cake was certainly very good.
DeleteBoth arrangements are beautiful. Those dahlias really catch the eye! I've never seen that variety before
ReplyDeleteThey are bright and happy flowers.
DeleteThe dahlia has a real wow factor that's hard not to love. The first arrangement is lovely and full of interest, especially the amaranthus. Statice and other things may seem old-fashioned, but I enjoy them. My gardening mentor (my mother's first cousin) always grew everlasting flowers.
ReplyDeleteIn your own garden you can have what you love whether or not it's in fashion, thankfully. I'm sure dried flowers were much more valuable when flowers were not flown round the world all year round.
DeleteFor winter colour, I mean.
DeleteI like both arrangements and the first one is quite evocative of autumn. So nice that Noelle pulled the only weed in your garden and that you included it in this lovely vase.
ReplyDeleteNoelle always sees the detail in things.
DeleteI had to look up shepherd's purse as it's not a weed I'm familiar with - I expect that probably means it likes water ;) I've coveted the Amaranthus I've seen in your vases and those of others but the plants are nearly impossible to find here (and scraggly when you do find them) so I'll have to search out seeds to plant next year. Your pink dahlia is incredible - that bright pink is almost unreal!
ReplyDeleteAll my weeds shot up when it started to rain again so I expect they all like water. I'm sure Floret sells amaranthus. It's very easy from seed. I like to grow in a raised bed so it can dangle over.
DeleteHonka! What a great name for a fabulous dahlia. I've not seen one like that before.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good one.
DeleteThat dahlia is wonderful! I am not usually a fan, but that one could win me over.... :)
ReplyDeleteThey are so varied, I'm sure you'd find one you liked.
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