I'd hoped that I could keep the dahlias and zinnias in my cutting garden going until the end of the month but last week's
Santa Ana winds, also known as "devil winds," knocked out the blooms of all but one variety of the dahlias and badly dried out the zinnias. That's not to suggest that these plants were looking great before the wind arrived. The dahlia blooms had steadily decreased in size; weak stems caused most of the flowers to flop; and leaf-miner had begun to badly mar the foliage. The zinnias' foliage has mildewed and foraging raccoons have already trampled some of the plants. So, with one possible exception, I expect to pull all those plants this week to make way for my winter cutting garden. It's already running late to sow sweet pea seeds here and I have a number of other seeds I'd like to direct sow, as well as ranunculus corms that need planting.
I'll store the dahlia tubers for use next year but I want to bid them a fond farewell for the season. Despite the hot, dry winds that blew all last week,
Dahlia 'Punkin Spice' manged to produce another bumper crop of flowers. As the foliage I used in last week's vase was still in good shape, I've reused it for my first vase this week, simply refreshing the floral elements.
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| 'Punkin Spice' was the best performer among this year's dahlia crop in my cutting garden |
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| Last week's vase containing these dahlias had landed on my dining table so I'd planned to move this week's version to the front entry but, as the back view looks so good, I had to give it a position where it can be viewed from all sides |
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| This view from the top highlights the variations in the dahlias' petal color |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Agonis flexuosa 'Nana', berries of Auranticarpa rhombifolium (now splitting to reveal the seeds inside), Leucadendron 'Wilson's Wonder', gold Zinnia elegans (looking just a little like sunflowers), an assortment of other Zinnias, and 2 views of Dahlia 'Punkin Spice' (again showing off its color variations) |
The berry and wine-colored zinnias were also still blooming well, even if the foliage looks horrible, so I cut most of those for a second vase.
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| In retrospect, these flowers might have looked better in a vase that allowed a looser arrangement |
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| The back view shows off the Leptospermum flowers that began blooming in earnest again this past week |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Zinnia elegans, Coprosma repens 'Plum Hussey', Gomphreana decumbens 'Itsy Bitsy', Pentas 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom' and Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' |
The bush violets (
Barleria obtusa) began blooming last week so I decided to make use of them and my beloved
Plectranthus 'Zulu Wonder' before their relatively short bloom periods are over.
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| I had a few more lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) make an appearance following our recent rainstorm |
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| The bush violets drop continuously but luckily those in bud continue to open |
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| Top view |
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| Clockwise from the upper left: Barleria obtusa, 4 varieties of Eustoma grandiflorum (the darkest one is 'Black Pearl' but I don't have cultivar IDs for the others), Symphyotrichum chilense, and, in the center, Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Wonder' |
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to find other IAVOM arrangements created from materials on hand. Have a colorful week!
All material © 2012-2018 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
