Even though there have been two frost warnings, we’ve only had lows in the the upper 30sF (3C). With the days continuing to be mild, the annuals are still blossoming.
For this week, I picked pale-orange, red-orange and pumpkin-colored nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) with their distinctive round leaves, some varieties plain green while others are variegated. I collect seeds from varieties I like, dry and store them to sow the following spring.
Bright yellow zinnias (Z. ‘Profusion’), stems of Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) berries and a few black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida var. ‘sullivantii Goldsturm’) seed heads complete the arrangement. As I stated last week, to keep the invasive bittersweet from spreading, it will not go in the compost, but the trash. It may be beautiful, but it is a monster, impossible to control!
My sister is up from SC for the holiday weekend and she brought me this beautiful piece of Blenko handmade glass as an early birthday gift. I couldn’t wait to use it for my weekly In a Vase on Monday arrangement. It is a lovely pumpkin color, perfect for autumn. Thank you, Sister!
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens by creating arrangements to enjoy inside our homes. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week. Feel free to join in, sharing your own weekly vase with a link to Cathy’s blog.
Eliza Waters 
What a gorgeous birthday present! It blends so perfectly with the nasturtiums.
Is the bittersweet a clumping plant or a runner? How does it spread?
Thank you, Maureen. Asian bittersweet is a perennial vine that encircles and strangles its host, often pulling it down with its weight or smothering it. It has become a problem, but it is only one of many invasive plants that are permanently altering the landscape. They have no biological controls here, so outcompete the natives. Birds often disperse their seeds after eating the fruit. I try to accept that the horse is out of the barn, but it is tough to do!
Beautiful – you have captured autumn in a vase. It seems that we are having similar weather too!
Thank you! It has been rather mild. I just hope the cold doesn’t suddenly come rushing in, shocking us all!
Just stunning!
Thank you so much! 🙂
A perfect present for a child of October and a lover of flowers. As always, such a pretty arrangement. Funny but in Maine, bittersweet is not the invasive problem it is a little south of the border. At least not yet.
Thank you, Laurie. We said that about bittersweet in the 70s and it took about 25 years to advance from NYC to here. God awful strangler. Honestly, I recommend yanking it while you can. There is an American bittersweet that isn’t invasive – a much better choice!
Excellent palette of colors in the vase and flowers.
Thank you so much, Jim!
A shout of October joy! And then like a song, it stays. So inspiring.
Thank you kindly, Albert! 🙂
What a gorgeous fall vase Eliza both the flowers and the glass vase which is fabulous. I should have used my nasturtiums as they are beautiful in a vase so thanks for the inspiration….cooling here but thankfully no frosts. I expect this weekend may change that or we will get a freeze and no frosts this year.
Thank you, Donna. We’ll take the warm weather as long as it lasts!
I just loved to see them.
The vase, the flowers, the arrangement, every bit.
You take such a lot of care to do this, I can imagine.
Pats!!!
Fondest Regards,
Shiva
Thank you so much Shiva. It is like a meditation for me, I forget myself. 🙂
An autumn in a vase as someone has mentioned above. Love it! Thanks for sharing it, Eliza!
Thank you, Anca!
Divine! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Lovely fall colors Eliza, and beautiful arrangement.
Thank you Mary. Is autumn coming to your neck of the woods?
What a thoughtful birthday present – and such a perfect colour to host your nasturtiums and the other wonderfully matched contents. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, Cathy. It is a perfect autumn vase!
What a gorgeous bouquet!
Thank you, Fi!
Beautiful colours Eliza and I love your new vase too.
Many thanks, Gillian!
I love the jauntiness of the arrangements and the colors rock Autumn so well 🙂
Thank you, Val!
I love your sister’s gift vase. The nasturtiums are perfect with it. I never think to cut any of mine.
Bet your nasturtiums grow gangbusters in the heat. They are so delicate and last so short a time, I don’t often use them in vases. Composite flowers last so much longer it seems. Hope your heat abates soon!
That coloured vase really glows and the nasturtiums are an inspired choice to christen your present. A beautiful combination for this season.
Thank you very much. It does seem to glow, doesn’t it? 🙂
An excellent sister!
I agree!
Loving that vase! I attended a glass-making class over the weekend (a birthday present too from a friend of mine) and gained a whole new appreciation for glass. I tried to make a vase and failed miserably, but I still had fun.
Oh and of course the arrangement here is gorgeous as well. 🙂
Thank you, Julie. How cool that you did that class, I admire people who try new things. (I’m not nearly as adventurous.) 😉
So beautiful Eliza! The colors are simply perfect together. They really highlight to changing fall hues while still hanging on to a bit of the summer brightness!
Thank you so much. Fall colors with summer flowers! 😉
Beautiful vase and what a lovely gift back to your sister to pick flowers to go so well with it. Gorgeous! (I’m going to have to look up some new superlatives)
🙂 Thank you!
What a beautiful birthday gift and it’s perfect for your flowers! Such a pretty fall arrangement. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, so glad to have your visit!
That vase is totally delicious. Hats off to your sister. Your bouquet is all it needed to find fulfillment.
What a nice thing to say, thank you! 🙂
Very nice colors Eliza. Very vibrant.
Many thanks, Maria!
A Beautiful vase that captures the autumn feel but also enhances the gorgeous flowers. You are very clever Eliza, and know so much about flowers! 🙂
Thanks so much, Karen!
I love these autumn colours, and the vase is perfect! Sisters are the best, don’t you agree? 😉
Absolutely! Thanks, Cathy. 🙂
Your lovely orange and red nasturtiums, and yellow zinnias, look so vivid, as well as the green leaves. The orange glass looks wonderful with the vivid colors, perhaps it’s the time of day.
The glass has a special quality of light to it, for sure. Makes me want to try different things to experiment. Thanks for visiting. 🙂
Blenko! I used to live in West Virginia, not far from Blenko Glass.
Your arrangement took my breath away (don’t worry, I’m breathing again now…lol!). It is perfect for autumn, and so very beautiful, especially in that lovely vase. 🙂
Neat! Did you ever visit their glassworks? It must be fun to see them creating the glassware.
Glad you liked the vase and arrangement (and got your breath back)! 😉
I did, a couple of times. There isn’t a lot to do in Huntington, WV, so we’d take visitors to the glassworks. It was fun and interesting.
The light is just perfect in these images and such an artistic arrangement.
Thank you so much, Ann!
That’s a beautiful arrangement and perfect with the lovely bottle. It’s a marvellous photograph as well. Is the bittersweet the branch with berries? It’s very gorgeous but I can see how birds could spread it. Vines can be so dangerous to other plants.
Thank you, Cath. Yes, bittersweet is the branch with berries. The golden calyx will open to reveal an orange berry inside. I don’t know which is bitter and which is sweet! 😉
Lovely, I really like your use of the Asian bittersweet. Must make the most of nasturtiums before they go horribly soggy!
Thank you!
I am really liking all your fall vases!
Thank you, Sarah!
Beautiful arrangement Eliza! You’ve perfectly captured autumn and that vase is stunning! Blessings, Sarah
Thank you kindly, Sarah!
Gorgeous tones of autumn. It’s amazing how many colour variations there are in nasturtiums.
Thanks, Liz. Since I keep my own nasturtiums seeds from year to year, the variations are so interesting, always a surprise.
I love arrangements that look free and wild 🙂
Thank you, Mary. This viola, btw, is a cross between V. tricolor and V. cornuta ‘Bowles Black.’
I think it’s a winner.
🙂 Thank the bees!