Neither my dahlias nor my zinnias are going to last much longer. In its current state, I figure that my cutting garden may have one more week of flowers to offer - barring another heatwave, further plumbing issues, or an earthquake. Actually, thanks to my husband's efforts, the irrigation system seems to be working like new which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise as we now have new pipes, new valves, and a dozen or more new sprinklers. We got a little rain last week too, most of it in the form of two brief cloudbursts. Unfortunately, that didn't help the mildew problem. On the other hand, my additional raccoon deterrents have kept the little demons (mostly) at bay.
After last week's bounty, Dahlia 'Fairway Spur' produced a single new bloom this week. Given several weeks, it might produce another flush of flowers but, this late in the season, that's not a given so I'll probably dig up those tubers and hope that, with an earlier start next year, I'll get more flowers from them.
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Dahlia 'Summer's End' hasn't produced a profusion of flowers at any one time but it's steadily offered a bloom to two more weeks than not. The ripening berries of a noID Cotoneaster that planted itself in my garden several years ago helped to tie the colors of the 2 dahlias together.
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Back view: The flowers of Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream' fit the blend too
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder' (stems left over from last week), Zinnia elegans 'Queen Red Lime', noID Cotoneaster, Dahlia 'Fairway Spur', D. 'Summer's End', and Grevillea 'Peaches & Cream'
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I haven't made much use of Zinnia 'Carmine Rose' this year. I love the flowers but I could never seem to find much to pair with them so this week, before I lose the rest to mildew, I decided to make them the centerpiece of their own vase.
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Australian fuchsia, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', complemented the Zinnias well. I threw in a couple of stems of Angelonia to lighten up the arrangement a bit.
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Back view
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Top view
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Clockwise from the upper left: Abelia grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope', noID Angelonia, Correa 'Wyn's Wonder', Grevillea 'Superb', Leptospermum 'Copper's Glow', and Zinnia elegans 'Carmine Rose'
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For more IAVOM creations, check in with Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.
All material © 2012-2022by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
