As our temperatures cooled, the dahlias in my cutting garden finally hit their stride. A lot of them ended up in vases this week.
To celebrate the arrival of my first Dahlia 'Magic Moment' bloom, my first arrangement utilized flowers selected to show it off.
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| Dahlias 'Enchantress' and 'Cafe au Lait Royal' joined 'Magic Moment' |
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| I tucked flowers from the Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) and Scabiosa 'Flutter Rose Pink' in at the back of the vase to dress it up. Unlike true orchid, the Bauhinia's flowers will only last a couple of days. |
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| Top view |
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Top row: Angelonia 'Archangel White', Coleonema album (aka white breath of heaven), and Leptospermum 'Copper Glow'
Middle row: Dahlias 'Cafe au Lait Royal', 'Enchantress', and 'Magic Moment'
Bottom row: Bauhinia x blakeana and Scabiosa columbaria 'Flutter Rose Pink' |
I initially cut flowers of the dahlia masquerading as '
Penhill Dark Monarch' to include in the first arrangement but I pulled them out because I didn't care for the mix. The shape of the petals of the most recent blooms look more like
'Dark Monarch' than those of earlier blooms but they're still missing the dusty rose and peach tones many growers use to describe the plant.
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| I used the foliage of Centaurea 'Silver Feather' to echo the whitish undersides of the dahlia's petals but it doesn't show up very well against the kitchen island's countertop |
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| Back view |
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| Top view |
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Top row: Leucadendron salignum 'Chief' and Zinnias 'Benary's Giant Wine'and 'Profusion Pink'
Bottom row: Dahlia (Not) 'Penhill Dark Monarch' and Centaurea 'Silver Feather' |
Lastly, Dahlia 'Gitt's Crazy' is living up to its name, pumping out bloom after bloom.
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| The mix of gold and raspberry tones in 'Gitt's Crazy' are unusual and dramatic |
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| The back view was dressed up using Dahlia 'Waltzing Mathilda' and Eriocapitella hupehensis (aka Japanese anemone) |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', berries of Auranticarpa rhombifloium, Eriocapitella hupehensis, and Dahlias 'Gitt's Crazy' and 'Waltzing Mathilda' |
Only Dahlia 'Iceberg' has yet to produce its first bloom but it has buds! Dahlia 'Kogane Fubuki' produced its first couple of blooms last week but they were past their prime already by Sunday. Maybe I'll get more before the season comes to an end. I'm always a little sad when all the dahlias are gone but I know it's time to get my cool season plants, bulbs and seeds in the ground.
For more IAVOM creations, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
