Dahlia ‘Tiki Torch’ is the fiery star of this week’s IAVOM, along with Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus ‘Italian White’) and golden orange Zinnia elegans ‘Sprite.’
A self-sown, white Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata) that popped up beside the driveway near the house, has the largest blossoms I’ve ever seen, nearly double the others in the garden. A purple bloom also included (lower left side) gives you scale. Not sure if it was nature or nurture, but I will save some seed in case it is a new hybrid. It’s has especially fragrant blossoms.
Salvia ‘Magic Wand’ and purple New England Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) add contrast. The white gourds were a compost pile surprise and I think they are a hybrid, too, from the seed of gourds I purchased last fall. That shape is usually mottled green or gold– when I searched online, I couldn’t find anything like it. Marvels of nature.
The pitcher is Moroccan terra-cotta with silver trim. A handsome piece I fell in love with, but tends to seep, so needs a saucer beneath it.
You’re probably tired of seeing my Dahlia ‘Voodoo’ but I can’t get over its velvety beauty. We had a good soaking rain on Saturday that broke quite a few stems, so I plonked the salvaged lot into my mother’s grape-motif, burgundy glass vase.
Lastly, just because my Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus ‘Royal Mixed’) are still blooming (amazingly non-stop all summer), I’ll share my kitty-in-the-flowerbed pocket vase filled with them. Such fragrance!
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase arrangements created from our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.
Eliza Waters 
Love the sweet peas 🌸💕
Thank you, Karen. They perfume the whole room, such a pleasure!
All of these are beautiful – I do love the dahlias. Something about all of them together just makes for a great look.
Thank you, Sarah. It feels luxurious having so many, I can just lose myself in that deep, rich color!
I’m hoping that this next year, all the planting I’ve been doing since we moved in starts paying off in enough blooms to start cutting some and not feeling like I’m taking all the color out of the yard.
Those dahlias sure are something wonderful, aren’t they? 😀
They sure are. It feels extravagant to have a whole vase of them and even more in the garden. It’s been quite a show!
Wow, THREE bouquets! What a charming cat-in-the-flower-patch vase!
Thank you, M. The garden is putting on its final push of the growing season, it’s a task just trying to keep up! Isn’t that vase just the cutest? ❤
What an array of beautiful flowers you have in your garden – wonderful!
Thank you, Anne. I’m definitely plant-addicted! 😉
That fiery dahlia is a beauty and the ‘marvels of nature’ inspire. Hybrids and free seeds popping up randomly are such a gift :). Love your arrangements, wish you could send some of the heady fragrance of the sweet peas out with the post.
Thank you, Liz. I wish there was a a fragrance option, maybe a tech possibility of the future? 😉
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Sweet peas in October? Such a treat!
They have been amazing this year, a real treat, for sure!
I’m certainly not tired of seeing your gorgeous Dahlia ‘Voodoo’!!!!! So many blooms all at once. I will be searching for this next spring. Congratulations on the Sweetpeas too, they look so fresh, and the stems so long for so late in the season.
Thank you, Christina. Glad you like the dahlias, that color is delicious! They love a good dose of compost and I mulched them early on, rewarding me amply.
I’m not sure if it was the cooler summer, or the variety, but the sweet peas haven’t stopped blooming all summer. Another treat from the garden. 🙂
three absolutely gorgeous arrangements. I had to look twice at the Nicotiana – at first they looked like narcissi!
Thank you, Sandra. They also stay open all day, while the others sleep. Definitely saving seeds from this one!
Yes!
Palettes of perfection
Thank you, Derrick
Love the way the colours of the vases are picked up by the colours of the flowers.
Thank you for noticing!
You have an eye MM!
They work…… sometimes!!
What an abundance of gorgeous flowers and colors. Amazing that the Sweetpeas are still blooming. Compost surprises are interesting.
Thank you, Alice!
All gorgeous. What a sweet kitty vase…my granddaughter would love it.
Thank you, Marian. They are on ebay… search ‘Minou-ettes by C. Pradalie pocket vase’ – a great gift idea!
Beautiful arrangements as always! I’ve found that everything grew bigger this year. I’m guessing it was all the rain we had early on.
I think it set us up well – thank you! ❤
They are all so beautiful. I love Dahlia, they look so luxurious and beautiful. ❤
Thank you, Noopur. 🙂
So great when the best bloom comes near the end of the season!
It’s really seems that way, at least with dahlias. Thanks, Peter.
I’m in love with the first arrangement with it’s delightful combination of warm and cool colors, a perfect reflection of the season itself and the container is very handsome. Those velvety dark dahlias are dreamy. The cat vase and sweet peas are a great combo too and sweet peas blooming all summer and into the fall are a sweet surprise. Nothing like that fragrance!
Thank you, Peter. It’s been a good year in my garden. 🙂
Very beautiful!!!
Thank you!
Wow you do have lots in bloom right now! And I’m most definitely not tired of seeing the Voodoo dahlias! They are wonderful in that burgundy vase! Lovely sweet peas too.
Thank you kindly, Joanna!
That’s a wonderful achievement with the sweet peas – do you sow them in the spring or the autumn? Love the pocket vase too (not the cat, but the shape of it) – must try and source one here. What a lot of dark magic is going on in your Voodoo Vase – gorgeous! – and I enjoyed the combnation of colours in the first vase too. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, Cathy. I sow sweet peas early spring – they won’t overwinter here. It was a cool, wet spring and they took a while to get established. Our summer was mild. That may have something to do with their longevity.
Not a cat lover, eh? 😉
Not ‘not a cat lover’, just ambivalent, Eliza! 😉
All 3 vases are wonderful, Eliza! I admit a special fondness for the vase containing the sweet peas. I love those flowers and am amazed they’re still blooming for you but of course I also love the vase itself too. The depth of the dahlia flowers also impresses me. As to the Nicotiana, you should definitely save the seeds – those blooms are fantastic.
Thank you, Kris. The sweet fragrance is wafting all over the room as I type – delicious!
Sheer delight!
Thank you, Belinda!
First I can’t believe you have sweet peas and they look yummy in that vase….then I never tire of dahlia and love the deep red of it….and lastly what a stunning autumnal display with tiki torch taking the lead….2 amazing vases!
Thank you, Donna. 🙂
Every time you post a flower arrangement I think, “Wow! This is my favorite so far!” They are ALL my favorite, but this is my new favorite. Stunning, Eliza, as always. I’m not sick of the dahlias, by the way. They’re incredible. ❤
Thank you, Robin. I’m pretty happy with this one, too. The colors and Tiki’s glow, along with the heady nicotiana is quite pleasing. Glad we share a love of dahlias, I’d have more if I had the room!
What a bountiful variety of flowers…..of course you needed three vases. Have a good week.
Thank you, Noelle. 🙂
That first arrangement is so lovely – autumn at its best! I love the vase itself, in fact all your vases are gorgeous and you have matched them with the contents perfectly. I love your Voodoo dahlia and am quite happy to see it again, and Tiki Torch too. Delightful! 🙂
Thank you kindly, Cathy! ‘Tiki’ has a wonderful way of carrying light – it seems to glow from within. I’m enjoying this one a lot.
Eliza, You’ve created such beautiful arrangements…There’s still so much blooming in your gardens! I must admit there are many annuals and tubers, that I have been avoiding like the plague, that extend color in the garden.
Fall is my favorite time of year and my favorite time to decorate. Your displays here are gorgeous! I like seeing the garden in the background of your first vase.
Thank you, Denise. Your photographer’s eye notices the details, much appreciated!
Oh my goodness what a beautiful variety of lovely flowers and vases. 🙂
Thank you, Judy. The gardens are full of bounty!
Love, love, love all three of these! ❤
Thank you very much, Julie! 🙂
So pretty! I love that last arrangement.
Thank you, Fi!
Beautiful bouquets, all of them!Have a great week, Eliza!
Thank you, Anca. Enjoy the beautiful autumn weather!
Not at all tired of ‘Voodoo’! These are all lovely – I love how the top one has the garden as a backdrop.
Thank you, Susan. Glad to hear it!
It all looks wonderful. The blues and oranges are beautifully autumnal but then sweet peas too! Mine have been dismal so I’m enjoying yours and the sweet vase too. I love the dark dahlias and don’t think i’d ever tire of them.
Thank you very much, Alison. ‘Voodoo’ has been a knock-out this year, so pleasing!
Your mixed bouquet is absolutely stunning Eliza. Such a rich array of colors, perfect as we go into fall. The red dahlia is lovely in its own right and worthy of a vase feature too. Is it a better than average year for sweet peas? I have a perennial one that has surprised me with continuous blooms this summer.
Thank you, Susie. Sweet peas usually peter out in mid-summer, but the weather turned unseasonably cool in August so they put out another boost of flowers. A happy surprise.
A post to make me smile! I especially like the kitty vase with the sweet peas.
Thank you, Laurie. I love that vase!
Three for the price of one this week and all beautiful. The first is stunning, it is always so exciting to get self-seeded beauties. Your dahlias are breath-taking, definitely one for next year’s list.
Love the first vase (and the flowers) seedlings are always interesting. Voodoos are lovely and I am still admiring your Sweetpeas..
Thank you, Amelia. 🙂
As always a delightful vase of exuberant and beautiful flowers. ‘Tiki Torch’ looks like an extrovert that demands a large supporting cast, which you’ve amply provided. Well done on the mystery hybrids. I’m expecting seeds of ‘Eliza Waters’ cultivars to appear in catalogues soon!
Ha-ha, that might happen! 😉 Thanks, Joanna.
Not one, not two, but THREE beautiful vases filled with amazing flowers for this special limited time only! (; Tiki torch dahlia tempts me!
Thank you, Kathy. I find I stare at dahlias more than any other flower. Such perfection!
If these beauties are what I have to look forward to in Autumn then I’m all for the season 🙂
They do sweeten summer’s end. 🙂 Thanks, Christy.
Gorgeous combinations, Eliza. I collect pottery so the first one really catches my eye. I wish I could do my pitchers justice like this! 🙂
Thank you, Jane. Ever do still life pix with your collection? Always curious! 😉
Yes! Would love to try more- it’s a good challenge to get the light and arrangements right.
Can’t wait to see!
Just gorgeous, Eliza!! The colors just jump out at me. Thank you!! ❤
Thank you, Amy! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing the beauty of your garden Eliza…as always it is so cheerful and glorious. I will never ever tire of the Voodoo Dahlias, and how perfectly elegant they look in your mother’s burgundy vase. Liked all your arrangements very much.
Thank you very much, Jet. A pleasure to share. 🙂
You have the nicest vases!
Thank you, Brenda! Being a holiday weekend, there are endless tag sales and I was tempted to pick up another handpainted pitcher, but I really had to nix that temptation. I did fall for an antique tea tin, however. It was so unique and the price was too good to pass up. 😉
Fantastic. I agree with Brenda! Great vases. I searched for pocket vases after seeing yours a few weeks ago and couldn’t find anything similar. I will keep looking. Also love your white gourds. Save the seed and see if you can do it again.
Thanks, Allison. Maybe eBay might have them? We’ll see what the compost pile will produce next year!
Beautiful!
Thank you!
Nothing beats home grown goodness 🙂
Agreed! 🙂