Incredibly, we made it all the way to November 1st before we had a killing frost, weeks beyond the average. I decided to comb my yard on Friday beforehand to see what flowers I could glean that had survived the light, spotty frosts we had previously. Protected by overhanging shrubs, I was surprised that I came away with four small bouquets, two of which I share here.
The blue pitcher above contains Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), gold Nasturtium flowers and stems (Tropaeolum majus), wild white Malva (M. moschata alba), Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota), white Chrysanthemums and a few pitiful Zinnia ‘Yellow Profusion.’
The milk can vase above holds Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma), Cigar Plant (Cuphea ignea ‘Vermillionaire’) and a vigorous late-blooming Fleabane (Erigeron annuus) tinted lavender from the cold weather.
As my gardens faded through October, I found I missed the creativity of making multiple flower arrangements every week from my garden, so this was an unexpected treat.
fall in a vase
Earlier in the week, I realized that I had never made one of my large arrangements the whole summer long. So I set off walking the trails by the river cutting berries from invasive Asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) and European privet (Ligustrum vulgare), and seed heads of Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica). They thrive down by the river and sadly, are slowly taking over, so a few less seeds self-sowing around works for me. From the woods, I added foliage of red oak (Quercus rubra) and American Beech (Fagus grandifolia). Passing through the garden, I cut Miscanthus seed heads, Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) and several branches of white Chrysanthemums.
white chrysanthemum
Knotweed seed
Hope you enjoyed my encore of In A Vase on Monday, hosted by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden. Definitely the last of the seasons fresh flowers, if I get the creative urge from now on it will have to be twigs, berries and seed heads, so stay tuned, I might not be finished yet.
For those observing Thanksgiving in the US, I wish you a wonderful and safe holiday. We have much for which to be grateful as we count our many blessings.
Cathy, at 
I spied a stem of Gooseneck Loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) showing red/burgundy that the frost had not turned brown. To that I added a stem of ‘Husker’s Red’ Penstemon, a sprig of Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and a Black-eyed Susan bloom (Rudbeckia hirta) filched from last week’s arrangement.
Eliza Waters 