Eliza Waters

The annuals are starting to go a bit wild lately, happy with all the hot weather and sporadic rainfall, filling the garden beds to the point of bursting. A cloudburst Saturday evening pushed a few stems into the paths, so I decided to clip my way through and use the clippings for a vase. Love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus) has such a funky flower, like red-pink dreadlocks, and the plant is over 6 feet tall.

Pink spider flower (Cleome hassleriana), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and zinnia (Z, elegans ‘Aurora’) add bulk. While anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), flowering tobacco (Nicotiana alata) and seed heads of love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) add accent.

A second vase of natives offers an even wilder look in yellow-gold with a couple of blue accents: goldenrod (Solidago sp.), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), woodland sunflower (Helianthus divaricata), yellow foxtail grass (Setaria sp.), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and seed heads of love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena).

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden who hosts the weekly garden meme In A Vase On Monday, featuring flower arrangements from our gardens. Click the link to join the fun or see what others are sharing this week.