This week, I share my last, pre-frost bouquet– one made of three ‘C’s: Calendula officinalis, Centaurea cyanus and Cosmos sulphureus. And I could add another two ‘C’s– color and contrast!
These flowers are now just a sweet memory, but my garden gave me great joy this year and I’m already looking forward to next spring, when I get to do it all over again.
In A Vase on Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Click the link to see arrangements made by other gardeners around the world.
Eliza Waters 
Exquisite Eliza! Enjoy a fabulous week 🙂
Thank you, Maria! ❤
Love the contrasting colours
Thank you, Sheree. Me, too! 🙂
Mother Nature’s color just pop with joy here Eliza. Wonderful.
Thank you, Cindy!
Wonderful! So cheerful and bright. You picked the perfect vase too! 😃
Thank you, Cathy. They are definitely made for one another. 😉
A beautiful vase with gorgeous complementary colours Eliza! 🧡
Thank you, Xenia! 🙂
What a gorgeous image to end with, Eliza. Your mixtures of flowers and ceramics is stunning.
Thank you kindly, Steve!
This beautiful selection is the perfect way to round off a very colourful year… and looking forward to next year already!
🙂 Thanks so much, Anita, and for reblogging, too. ❤
Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie ~ Authors.
The blue blend is perfect
Thank you, Derrick.
Wow! This is beautiful. I’m now in my sixth season of gardening and still trying to learn what will survive in my little plot. I learn about so many new flowers from your posts. Thank you!
Thank you, Jerome, much appreciated! Gardening is an ongoing learning curve, even after 50 years there’s much to learn! 🙂
Colour and contrast indeed! The yellow and blue is stunning. 🙂
Now your pre-frost flowers have all been displayed, do you have any plans for next Monday’s vase?
Thank you, Joanne, good question! I might share arrangements that never made the blog, because I certainly make more than one a week during the summer, but only the good ones get photos of them. 😉 Otherwise, I glean foliage and grasses from the autumn fields and yard. Not as pretty as summer flowers, but it works. 😉
Grasses have their own beauty too. 🙂
I look forward to seeing what you share next!
Thanks for your encouragement. 🙂
Spectacular. The vase is a lovely shade of blue and it works so well with the flower colors. Love the cosmos.
Thank you, Susie. I do love that combination!
I’s also add ‘cheerful’ and that vase just makes the entire arrangement pop. Lovely this Monday morning. 🙂
Thank you very much, Judy! Cheerful it is. 🙂
I love the contrast between the bright blue and orange/yellow flowers. Gorgeous!
Thank you, Barbara! 🙂
Wonderful arrangement! Next year I will have to try growing Cosmos sulphureus to add more colors to the front yard.
Thank you, Hien. You’ll love them, so easy to grow and very photogenic. 😉
What a wonderful, heart-warming thing to see first thing on a Monday morning! Gorgeous! 😍 Love everything about this one, Eliza, thanks for sharing! Wishing you warmth and beauty in the coming week! 💕
Many thanks, Julie! ❤
I have another one for you….complementary colors, orange & blue (I guess that’s 2!). Lovely!
Thank you! 🙂 x
Amazing how the Centaurea matches the jog perfectly!
Thank you, Chris. I love that jug, it is a good one for cornflowers.
A perfect autumn vase. I heard it got frosty up there.
Thank you. Yes, Sat. nite was another frost. I covered two things because they were still going strong. We’re in the clear for another 10 days, but after that, I’m going to have to let them go. Hanging on until the very last!
What a joy to see those flowers!
Thank you, Ellen!
All your arrangements are so beautiful that I didn’t think it was possible to have a favorite. However, this might be it. The colors of the flowers against the pitcher are absolutely, incredibly beautiful. What a way to start the week. And, of course, this arrangement gets a Maine “Wowsah!” 😉
Thanks so much for that awesome compliment, Laurie! ❤
XXXOOO
WOW! It is cloudy and cold here. This really brightened my day. Thanks, Eliza.
Glad to know it brought you some sunshine. 🙂 Thanks, Sandy!
Welcome, Eliza.
Well, the sun just came out on the grey and dreary east coast of Scotland this afternoon! I am trying to think if I have ever seen yellow cosmos before. I think they are glorious! What a fantastic vase! I love it! Amanda
Thank you, Amanda! I prefer C. sulphureous over C. bipinnatus. Not as floppy and less prone to mildew. Recommended!
Beautiful colours and a striking contrast with the vase. How sad to have to bid farewell to such a bounty of blossoms.
Thank you, Anne. It is a long wait for us until spring, but it seems as I age, for better or worse, that six months will fly right by.
Jack Frost has a lot to answer for! Good to know that you were able to pick these blooms right up to the last minute – my cornflowers had finished some time ago. Is that 2 different shades of cosmos from one packet?
The cornflowers faded mid-summer, but had a second flush once the cool weather came. The yellow/orange cosmos originally came from the same pkt. but these were hand-selected last summer from colors I preferred. They also self-sow, but sporadically.
Not sure I have ever had cosmos self-seed…
Eliza your vases are as much a part of it as the flowers themselves. What a gorgeous blue!
Thank you, MJ. I love that blue glaze that was so popular here in the 30/40s, and snatch them up when I find them for sale.
You can’t beat this colour combination, Eliza, just beautiful 🙂
Thanks much, Annette!
Wow Eliza! VERY Colorful! Brightened my day!
Glad to know that 🙂 thanks, Reed!
Nice fall colors, and I love the way the bachelor buttons match the vase!
Thank you, Lisa. Yes, the match was perfect. 🙂
Such vibrant colors! Falls colors are fading too fast.
Thank you! I, too, feel like the season is going too fast, I love seeing the bright foliage. We’re at the tail end with the oaks and beech now coloring up.
That’s one glorious color combination, Eliza! I know you’ll find a lot of beautiful fall and winter scenes to share over the next few months.
Thank you, Kris. It is an adjustment to shift towards more gray/brown/tan after frost ends the season. One must rely on texture more than color.
I ‘c’ what you did there. : )
Hehe, thanks!
I love changes of seasons, all of them, that they are not constant, and completely out of our control, and your theme on c, and composition. Of course, compliments on the quality!
Many thanks, Noelle!
Wow – love those vibrant and cheery pops of colour! Just gorgeous.
Thank you, Fi!
All five ‘C’s’ work together wonderfully in this fall flower finale, Eliza. .Shows that the photographer rather than the camera makes all the difference. 🙂
Thank you for your kind comment, Steve. 🙂
Thank you, Noelle!
That says ‘cheerfulness’ loud and clear 🙂
🙂 Thanks, Adele!
Fabulous color arrangement and wonderful slideshow!🙂 Your lovely garden, flowers and words brightened many days this year!🙂
Thank you, S, so glad they were a bright spot for you. x
Lovely finale!
Thank you, Belinda! 🙂
So colorful! Love it. 😁
Thank you, Irene!
Color and contrast…indeed! You make all these colors work so well together ~ beautiful, Eliza. These photos leave a hint of summer and warm fall weather, which helps now with the cold and rain here 🙂
Thank you very much, Randall. I hope there are a few more nice autumn days ahead for you. We’re at the end of our foliage season, but the temps have been mild. I’ll take while it is lasts.
Sunday will be sunny here, and very much looking forward to a nice autumn hike. I’m all for taking every nice day while it lasts…not like I do not like winter, I do but only for about a week 🙄.
I hear ya! Winter is REALLY long here in New England.
Ha, ha, yes I guess I shouldn’t be complaining too much the New England winters take the cake, so to speak 🙂 Enjoy your colors and sunshine as much as you can!
Very appropriate colours for the season, lovely Eliza.
Thank you, Andrea. 🙂
The arrangement is such a perfect balance of colour and form, and I particularly like how the few cornflowers echo the colour of the vase – what a fantastically vivid blue.
Thank you very much, Carol. That little jug is a favourite.
blue bachelor buttons are the classic; or at least I think so. I did not know they bloomed in any other colors until I was in college.
They are such a beautiful color!
The blue works very well with the orange. Another winning creation!
Thank you very much! 🙂
So warm to look at on this cold day
Summer memories warm us through the cold season until we get back there again. 🙂