As the nights grow colder, my annuals are slowing down considerably. I cut most of my Cleome and a generous handful of Verbena bonariensis for today’s vase. Dahlias, however, have been stalwart and continue to bloom a deeper, richer color. Shown are ‘Chilson’s Pride’ (above) and ‘Pinelands Princess’ below.
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the weekly garden meme In A Vase on Monday. Click the link to see what other gardeners have created this week.
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Eliza Waters 
Gorgeous!
Thank you, Michele!
Welcome, Eliza! 🌸
Beautiful! 👌
Thank you, Priti!
🙏
They look like they’ve enjoyed an autumn shower ❤️
Thanks, Isha. We’ve had a lot of those!
I am looking forward to my dahlias coming up again – probably sometime next month. Yours are particularly beautiful.
Thank you, Anne. I’ll get to enjoy yours next!
That is a stunning dahlia, Eliza…
Thank you, J & A!
Lovely arrangement for this last full week of October.
Thank you, Judy. Frost isn’t too far away, a matter of days, I expect.
The dahlias and Cleome work really well together. You’d never know winter is coming!
Thank you, Chris. Frost is a matter of days away, then it’s curtains for the season. 😦
Oh my, those dahlias are so bright and cheerful!
Thank you, Barbara. It’s been a great year for them. 🙂
Those dahlias look fantastic. I was thinking it might be too cold up your way.
Thanks! We are getting close to frost… maybe tonight, but definitely by the 1st. It’s been a great party!
It’s always fun to see Verbena tucked into a vase. Like Chris’s goldenrod and liatris, I’m so used to thinking of them as ‘wild’ plants, it’s surprising to see them as cut flowers.
I love using wildflowers in my arrangements for a natural look. As a child, those were my first arrangements. 😉
You have a beautiful gift for flower arranging, Eliza. This is just stunning.
Thank you kindly, Dale. I love having fresh flowers in the house. Soon I’ll be regulated to store-bought, simply not the same, alas.
No way store-bought can come close to the beautiful bouquets you create!
Aw, thanks, Dale. If I wanted to spend a small fortune at a florist, maybe close enough. However, I’m too cheap to do that, ha! 😉
I was going to add that part. No matter what, theirs couldn’t hold a candle to yours and yes, would cost way too much!
Loving your support! 😘
💞
Oh, those gorgeous Dahlias and the purple Cleome 🥰 Probably frost tonight for your area?
It is forecast to be 35º, but there may be pockets of light frost. Definitely by Nov.1 (29º)
Beautiful soft fall colors. My garden is slowing considerably. With the cold and wet conditions most annuals are petering out.
Thanks, Donna. Yes, we’re lucky to have made it this far. This month has been all gravy. 🙂
Your dahlias have stood up longer than mine, Eliza! My cutting garden is a mess, badly in need of the overhaul required to get on with the preparation for cool season flowers.
I might get another week out of them, frost predicted Nov. 1. I’ll cut as many as I can!
Splendid! It is gratifying to see dahlias that are not ‘Cafe au Lait’.
Thank you, Tony. Hey, you’re not tired of it, are you? Such a beautiful hybrid!
YES! Not only am I not at all keen on fads, but I was also unimpressed with it from the beginning. I would have preferred simple white or simple pink or any simple color. ‘Cafe au Lait’ is sort of between white and dirty pink. The other horticulturist here procured a single specimen. He was unaware that i was unimpressed with it before ever getting acquainted with it. It performed reasonably well and it was reasonably pretty, but the color was just so mundane.
Wowsah! So impressed.
Aw, shucks. 😉 Thanks much, Laurie!
WOW! These are gorgeous! :-O
Thank you, Denise! x
Gorgeous! Your dahlias are extraordinary 😊
Thank you, Belinda. The season is coming to a close, I’m going to miss them!
i love this one, Eliza. The cleomes look great with the paler Dahlias. I must grow some V. bonariensis.
Thanks, Amy. I’ll send you seed if you want… I got tons.
We finally have some dahlias in the house with the threat of a frost tonight. A slight threat but still possible. This bouquet is lovely.
Thank you, Steve. I’m hoping we skinny through tonight, but it looks like Nov. 1 will be it.
Oh, my! I love your beautiful arrangements with the autumn colours in the background, Eliza.
Thank you, Kim!
Wonderful! My favorite colors!
Thank you, Tanja!
Pretty flowers!
Thank you, Mary!
Lovely rich colors, Eliza. ‘Pinelands Princess’ is a beauty.
Ah, so pretty Eliza. I am sighing deeply over the purple Cleome which looks gorgeous mixed in with the dahlias. Does it self seed? It didn’t like our dry summer again here. Hope you have lots more dahlias to pick before a frost. 😃
Thanks, Cathy. Yes, cleome self-sow like crazy, along with the verbena, both of which I’m trying to cut before they spill too many seeds. I yank hundreds every spring! Another week left before frost is predicted. I cut what I can every few days. The season will end with the full moon it seems.
Looking at your beautiful flowers after a late October day in the 70s, I could almost imagine for a moment it’s summer.🙂
Thank you, S! We might see 70s this week, too. The last hurrah? I’ll take it!
Wow! I can almost imagine those dahlias shouting, ‘Shazam!’ They are so pretty, and the petal count must be amazing. I grow Verbena bonariensis also, I love it, for some reason here in Southern NJ it didn’t get as tall as previous years. I will keep trying. The butterflies love it.
Thank you, the dahlias were wonderful this year, esp. prolific! Verbena is a butterfly magnet, for sure. 🙂
Eliza: This is so pretty. This might be my favorite vase this week, mainly because I’m having a Dahlia crush right now. And the purple and pink elements are so lovely. 🙂
Thank you, Beth. Dahlias are amazing, with so many cultivars to choose from, what’s not to love? 🙂
The dahlias in my community garden are still looking very nice, but my zinnias are fading. I miss having cut flowers in the winter! Your arrangements are always so beautiful. But, I wonder where you put one that has cleome in it? I walked by some the other day and remembered it smells vaguely of skunk…does the variety matter?
Thank you, Lisa. Nice to see your comment!
I suppose some are smellier than others, but I remove most of the foliage after cutting them, and never notice its smell in arrangements. It could be that my olfactories have already fired and I can’t smell them until they regenerate!
I love how the cleome and verbena elevate the dahlias to another dimension – really striking, Eliza
Thank you, Cathy. 🙂