In A Vase On Monday – Pure White and Yellow

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Eliza Waters

img_4687I’ve been enjoying the purity of the white cosmos (C. bipinnatus ‘Sensation Mix’) in my garden, so I thought I’d make an arrangement using them along with white phlox (P. paniculata) and white spider flower (Cleome hassleriana). Yellow zinnias (Z. elegans ‘County Fair Mix’) and lemony calendula (C. officinalis) add to the fresh look.

img_4690My frosted, white glass vase, etched with ferns, is one of my versatile favorites. I picked it up at the free table at our transfer station a couple of years ago. (This past Saturday, we picked up a nearly new espresso maker. I love that place!)

img_4692Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens.

Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.

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Silent Sunday

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Eliza Waters

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Eliza Waters

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The Tuesday View September 6

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Eliza Waters

img_4527It’s been two weeks since I last posted the Tuesday View as Cathy was away, which gave me the excuse to take a week off!

img_4533The annuals are the biggest stars in the garden right now and I am happy with their exuberance.

img_4534Along the back, purple, pink and white cleome (C. hassleriana) mix with white, dark and light pink cosmos (C. bipinnatus ‘Sensation Mix’), and dots of zinnias (Z. elegans ‘County Fair Mix’).

Calendulas (C. officinalis) are mixed throughout as they basically have a mind of their own. In the back, the one giant sunflower continues to grow higher and is finally blooming. It has started to lean and I hope it doesn’t topple, but at 14-feet, I’m not sure there’s much I can do to stop it. I’ve counted 31 buds on it, so I hope they get a chance to bloom.

Tall sunflower, cleome, cosmos, zinnias and calendula
Goldenrod, katsura turning, phlox, coneflower and nicotiana

On the right, through the middle, pink and white phlox (P. paniculata) continue to bloom, along with white flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata), pink coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), and the perpetual lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina). I took a shot that included the field of goldenrod (Solidago altissima) behind the garden and a bit of the katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) that has started to turn yellow, weeks ahead of schedule. The drought has pushed most trees to turn color early.

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Cosmos, zinnias and cleome

I’m linking with Cathy at Words and Herbs, joining participants taking weekly photos of the same garden over the course of the growing season to note its evolution.

Below are some of the previous views for comparison:

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April 1, 2016

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June 11, 2016

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June 28, 2016

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July 26, 2016

August 2, 2016

August 2, 2016

August 16, 2016

August 16, 2016

August 23, 2016

August 23, 2016

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In A Vase On Monday – Summer Crescendo

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Eliza Waters

IMG_4514With the abundance of flowers in my gardens and fields right now, I have plenty to fill this large, hand-crafted glass vase that I bought in Poland many years ago. It measures roughly 14″ x 6″ with a fluted top. I hand-carried it on the plane home in a large box, as there was no way it would survive shipping or in baggage.

I remember agonizing in the showroom over the variety of vases to choose from, each one unique, and finally chose this one. Befitting a beautiful piece of art, I keep it on display on a shelf in my livingroom. Sadly, due to its volume and height, it doesn’t get used often enough as it needs long-stemmed flowers.IMG_4515

Setting out with a large bucket of water in hand, I trimmed several red-tipped Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) branches from the overgrown hedge out front for greens. Then, I headed to the fields to pick woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus) and a couple types of goldenrod (Solidago species).  Several stems of black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’) fit the bill, and some dried grasses caught my eye as well.

IMG_4525From my main garden, I cut gold and orange zinnias (Z. elegans ‘County Fair Mix’) and white phlox (P. paniculata). Putting it all together was a lot of fun!

IMG_4519Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly flower arranging meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Eliza Waters

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In A Vase On Monday – Pink and Green

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Eliza Waters

IMG_4489IMG_4490I decided on a pink and green theme this week, using my late mother’s wine-colored, etched glass vase, presumably from the 1940s or 50s, with grapes and vines twirling around it in a decorative pattern.

IMG_4495I’ve used dark and light pink cosmos (C. bipinnatus ‘Sensation Mix’), pink zinnias (Z. elegans ‘County Fair Mix’), pink and white phlox (P. paniculata),  IMG_4491and white spider flower (Cleome hassleriana).

Lime green bracts of Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle,’ IMG_4494along with green foliage of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and zebra mallow (Malva sylvestris ‘Zebrina’) provide the greenery. For accent, I added panicles of fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides).

IMG_4492Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In the Garden, who hosts a weekly meme to showcase what is blooming in our gardens. Wander over to see what gardeners all over the world are arranging this week.

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Silent Sunday

Posted on August 28, 2016 by Eliza Waters

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Weekly Garden Highlights – August 26

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Eliza Waters
Golden meadow

Golden meadow

It has been a varied week, cool and dry earlier, now hot and humid with thunderstorms predicted later to hopefully cool things down.

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Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Yesterday, a Monarch (Danaus plexippus) visited my zinnias, elevating zinnias to a ‘must-have’ in my garden from now on. I actually got a shot of this one, as I missed ‘capturing’ the last one. My second sighting here this year, and both times it was zinnias upon which they fed. Doesn’t she look fine? (Males have a black dot on their hindwing). Probably freshly emerged from her chrysalis and fattening up for her 5000-mile journey to Mexico. What a marvel this insect is. I hope this is a good sign that this imperiled species is making a comeback. Fingers crossed!

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Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

On Sunday, I spotted what I thought was a Monarch, but it turned out to be a  Viceroy (Limenitis archippus), however, it was just as beautiful. To tell the difference, a Viceroy has a black band across its hindwing and only one row of white spots.

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

Another confusing butterfly is a Fritillary, of which, there are many varieties. The most common one in my garden is the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele).

Here are just a few of the floral highlights in my garden this week :

Zinnias (Z. elegans ‘County Fair’) are continuing to please with or without butterflies.

IMG_4350Spider Flowers (Cleome hasslieriana) are charming me with their shape and color. See the little visitor above and another below?

Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica) on Phlox (P. paniculata)
Hedge False Bindweed (Calystegia sepium)
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Radiating

Left: I like how the leaf veining in the Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) echoes that of the Cleome.

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Zinnia, Calendula & Flowering Tobacco

What’s happening this week in your garden?

 

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Eliza Waters

This gallery contains 3 photos.

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