The garden is blooming profusely with all the heat and rain we’ve had in the past week. The Astilbe chinensis var. taquettii are peaking and the Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) are abundant. The Zinnias (Z. elegans ‘Cactus’) are starting to bloom and are being visited by lots of butterflies, including Monarchs, which I love seeing. Their numbers seem to be increasing slightly from their near-absence in previous years.
Also in the arrangement are Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana alata) and Spider Flower (Cleome hassleriana), and a few sprigs of wild Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) and Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).
My second vase features yellow, red and orange Cosmos (C. sulphureus), lavender-tinged Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus), white Nicotiana, blue Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro) and Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea).
I’m joining other gardeners celebrating the abundance in our gardens with our host Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Click the link to see their arrangements.
Eliza Waters 
In the dry drabness of our winter, these blooms lighten my heart and show promise of what is to come. Lovely arrangements, all of them!
Thank you very much, Anne. Glad that they brighten your winter’s day!
Beautiful flower arrangements with LOTS of colors. Glad to hear your Monarch population is increasing. I haven’t seen that many here yet but I have seen several swallowtails. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Lonnie!
Beautiful flower arrangements Eliza, I love them both and so happy to hear you have more monarch butterflies this year too 🙂💖🦋 xxx
Thank you, Xenia! Yes, I’m hoping that the Monarchs lay lots of eggs. 🙂
Divine 🍁🌼🍀🌼
Thank you, Karen!
I have always loved those pink spikey flowers, but never knew the name… Astilbe, I think you called them…
Yes, this is the one Astilbe that does well in full sun, whereas the others prefer shade. Thanks for your visit, Anita.
EL MAGNIFICO ELIZA THEY LOOK FANTASTIC AND THE AROMA, CHINA
china.alexandria@livingthedream.blog
Thank you, China!
Reblogged this on LIVING THE DREAM.
Thank you for reblogging!
Both bouquets look beautiful. Yellow cosmos reminds me of coreopsis, globe thistles are so interesting. What are those leaves in the blue vase…an ivy?
Thank you, Alice. Those leaves belong to a ground cover that has white, shooting-star flowers in June, but the name escapes me right now! Brain fog…bzzzz. 😉
This is lovely Eliza!
Thank you, Sarah!
Such beautiful arrangements Eliza. A real pleasure to look at!
Thank you so much, Belinda!
Such lovely abundance. Summer, summer, summer!
Yes, I’m reveling in high summer!
So gorgeous, Eliza! 😍
Thank you, Julie! 🙂
Beautiful Flowers Eliza!!!
Thank you kindly, Reed!
Both color schemes are lovely, Eliza. Astilbe is yet another of the plants I’ve longed to grow but can’t (even though you occasionally find it for sale in local garden centers here in the spring). I’m quite into the orange-blue mix now – the Cosmos and Echinops make wonderful companions.
Thank you, Kris. This is the only Astilbe for sun, so maybe it would work in your part-shade? The orange cosmos are new for me this year and I’m loving them so far. They seem sturdier than the pink/white ones, that tend to flop everywhere.
How you are able to get so much color in the Summer is amazing to me, Eliza. I begin to fizzle in my gardens until my Rose of Sharon flowers and my Butterfly bush flowers does as well, which it is right now. I have my Asian Lilies in bloom and some roses and my lavender. But, I was just thinking I have to put more color in my gardens especially those special flowers like Echinacea for the Hummers and bees. Both vases are just stunning! I’ve got my “work” cut out for me. I’m coming here for inspiration and guidance. Talk to you later on the Morning Glory seeds. I’ve decided yes but I’ll email you about it. (smile)
Thank you, Amy. While I have many perennials in bloom now, self-sowing annuals really add a lot to the late summer garden. I’ll make sure I save you some MG seedsand any others that may catch your eye… nicotiana, nigella, calendula, cosmos?
Send them all, Eliza. THANK YOU. Do I plant these every Fall or do the seeds fall and the flowers again come up next Spring? I’m only familiar with cosmos and they did not come back for me as I had hoped. I’ll email you my addy. Really looking forward to Spring next year. I more or less took it easy with my garden this year, recovering from so many of my cat babies who left us one after the other. I’m taking care of me this year. (smile)
Good for you, Amy. Self-nurture is very important!
💝💝💝
So pretty!
Thank you, Fi!
All beautiful blooms, artfully arranged!
Thank you very much, Leah!
Nice. We don’t do so well in jungle heat, but many plants sure do love it. 😘
So true – thanks, Bela!
That Astilbe is pretty spectacular and I love those Cactus Zinnias (the closest I will ever get to Dahlias, I fear) I have always love Echinops as well and the combination of plants is wonderful. Wonderfully abundant vases.
Thank you very much, Amy. Cactus zinnias are my favorites among the genus.
Do globe thistles grow in FL?
I have never seen any Globe Thistles here. I think they were hard to grow in Atlanta. We have some interesting purple native thistle.
Lovely vases Eliza! I wish we had some of your rain. It’s been nothing but blisteringly hot here, and everything is stressed because of it. It’s nice to see someone is getting the rain that seems to go all around us, but never on us.
Thank you, Cindy! I am grateful for the rain we’ve had so far. I’ve only had to water a couple times this summer, a chore I dislike. It has been so hot here as well, I can’t go out for more than a few minutes.
Both arrangements are lovely. I have that same Astilbe, and this morning I watched the bees buzzing all around it. 🙂 Besides pretty flowers, you do have some of the most beautiful vases I’ve ever seen.
Thank you kindly, Judy. I’ve been collecting vases since high school (eons ago, lol!) and have way more than I’ll ever use, but I can’t seem to give any away. Each one has its story. 😉
Very beautiful arrangements and a great job photographing them too!
Thank you so much, Denise!
These are really pleasing. I especially like the neat little bouquet in the blue vase. It’s so nice to have flowers, isn’t it?
Oh, yes, I can’t imagine life without lots of flowers around. 🙂
What a treat to share two vases with us, Eliza – I was just admiring the use of astilbe in the lovely pastel first one when I saw the bright and fresh second one. Completely contrasting vases, aren’t they?
Thank you, Cathy. I couldn’t neglect the brighter colors that were begging to be picked. 🙂
What a great time of year and so good to know that the butterflies are increasing. I’m sure the other insects are too. You must be doing the right thing.
Thank you, Alison. I hope you’re right. One can only try!
What a wonderful, joyous mix of colour and texture. I imagine you could sit and gaze at them for a while, if not for the rest of the garden waiting for attention! Nice to see Cleome in a vase – I knew they belonged in the cutting garden!
Thank you, Chris. I love the garden at the height of summer, it is a glorious place to be!
Such beautiful arrangements. I actually like Echinacea tea! Very healthy!
Thank you, Robert.
Echinacea is such a good immune system booster!
Yes indeed!
Lovely arrangements Eliza. Especially the first one. 🙂 Your garden must look gorgeous right now!
Thank you, Cathy. Your 2 gardens must be lovely as well. I’ve really been enjoying mine this year – it’s very floriferous! 😉
Your first vase seems prettily nostalgic Eliza, as though from another time. The second is like a modern, multi-coloured flag – beautiful arrangements.
Thank you very much, Andrea.
I really like both arrangements, but Coneflowers is a favorite of mine. Makes me think of my mom. Beautiful Eliza! Something great coming out of your humidity!
Thank you, Maria. The heat and humidity certainly does make for an abundant garden!
Yes, yours are fabulous!
I like that blue vase,such pretty color.
Thank you, cobalt blue is one of my favorite colors.