Last week I posted an ‘all of the garden’ bouquet with everything in flower. I thought you might like to see how the flowers look seven days later. I visited my Mum today and took all the flowers out of the vase and cut four inches off the bottom of the stems. I cleaned the jam jar and added fresh water.
What a joy to see Alstroemeria Indian Summer still looking fresh and colourful. As I said last week, I bought this new plant from Mary Thomas who has a nursery in my area. Mary lives in Sutton Bonington and opens her garden for the NGS. She also has a plant nursery, Piecemeal Plants and has a stall at the Belvoir Castle Flower Show where I treated myself to one or two special plants. To have them still in flower in mid-November is making me very happy indeed!
Chrysanthemums give good value in a cut flower garden and will last three weeks in a vase, if looked after by refreshing the water and just trimming the base of the stems slightly every few days. Mum hadn’t touched her flowers for the week, but they still looked as fresh as newly picked. This variety is Swan. The pure white petals surround a green centre which eventually fades to white to match the outer petals. A good value plant. We bought cuttings from the RHS Malvern Show a few years ago. I think I shared a batch of cuttings with a friend. There was a special offer of 12 cuttings of different types. The price for the offer worked out at about 80p per cutting. Plants are grown in 10”pots stood outdoors all summer. Usually I take them in the poly tunnel or greenhouse in November as frost and rain might spoil the petals, but this year we have had such mild conditions, the plants are still outdoors.
This is the very last David Howard dahlia of the year. It’s my favourite dahlia and goes really well with the alstroemeria, as if they were meant to be together as a pair.
The petals of the rudbeckias have dropped off, but I decided to keep the stems as the dark brown stamens made interesting ‘buttons’ of colour and shape. A contrast to the flowers.
This little rudbeckia is hanging on, grown from a mixed packet of seed from Mr Fothergills. I just couldn’t throw it out. It might not last another week, but we shall see.
I was surprised and delighted to see the little wild flower Oxeye daisy still hanging on. Such a lovely reminder of the banks of white flowers which flower all summer here. It’s so strange to see them blooming in November as the days grow dark. But welcome even so.
As usual, foliage is important in my jam jar flowers. This is a lime green bedding plant I keep going from one year to the next by taking lots of cuttings and keeping them in 3” pots over the winter. They are popular for hanging baskets and containers, but also make very good foliage for cut flowers. And I’ve temporarily forgotten the name. Perhaps you know it? There’s also a grey version, but I prefer the lime green.
There’s also rosemary which goes into every posy I create. Everything I do has a meaning and rosemary is for remembrance, as you probably know. I’m surprised to see the huge 4ft high plant I have in the veg plot in full flower today. Such beautiful Mediterranean blue flowers and gorgeously -scented leaves. I couldn’t be without it.
I couldn’t be without my senecio viravira which also goes into every single posy I create. It’s such a pretty leaf and sets off all the other colours. Plants are not always hardy so again I’ve taken cuttings in 3” pots, just in case.
Also, not easy to photograph, but Salvia Phyllis’s Fancy is as fresh as the day I picked it.
A slightly better photo. You can also see the red stems of dogwood which give colour to autumn arrangements.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this weekend’s updated photos. It only took me ten minutes to rearrange the flowers and refresh them. It’s so rewarding to see how long home-grown flowers can last. And my mum’s kitchen window is full of autumn colour and scent for another week. A worthwhile project and it makes me – and my lovely Mum very happy.
Have a lovely gardening week. And thanks for reading the blog and leaving a comment below. Follow Cathy for the ‘In a Vase on Monday’ meme. She has a very special anniversary tomorrow, so many congratulations Cathy! And thanks for hosting such a lovely, friendly meme with members growing and arranging flowers all around the world for the past nine years.
https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2022/11/07/in-a-vase-on-monday-life-more-sweet/
Bramble Garden 
I love how you have retained the rudbeckia centres for your bunch, karen. They are a lovely contrast, especially against the bright colours of ‘Indian Summer’.
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Thank you. I was so pleased to see the flowers looking so fresh after a week on a warm windowsill. I couldn’t throw those rudbeckias out. The centres have fluffy little brown stamens which look so pretty close up. Hope you are having a great week. All the best. Karen x
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It was lovely to meet you on Sunday Karen albeit virtually. In some ways though I felt that I already met you through listening to you occasionally on local radio and through reading your GN column 😀 Do you still do the column ? With avoiding supermarket shopping for over two years now I rarely get a chance to pick a copy up which is a shame. I miss the front cover seed packets too. Your mum must have been delighted to receive those beautiful flowers. I came across alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ last year and it has been on my wish list since. Cathy kindly gave me a cutting from salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’ – she is subtle but stunning in her own way. I think your foliage plant is the mouthful which is helichrysum petiolare – a lovely filler.
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The alstroemeria really draws the eye, I suppose it echoes the autumn tints as does the Dahlia. At first I thought Oh I would love that chrysanthemum but as it is not the hardy type, I’ll settle on admiring it through your post. Lovely meeting you on Sunday.
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Thank you Noelle. I’m actually going to leave some of the chrysanthemums in the ground over winter to see if they are hardy or not. It would be great if they survived the cold and wet weather. I only bring them indoors to make the flowers last longer. Lovely meeting you too. A very enjoyable evening. A good way to spend a cold,wet night. All the best, karen x
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Your arrangement held up very well, Karen. The chrysanthemums are beautiful and it’s wonderful that Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ is performing so well for you. My own plant hasn’t yet bounced back from the trials posed by summer in my hot, dry climate but I trust that it’ll show up again soon now that our average temperature has dropped. It was good to see you in person and to get to know you a bit better during yesterday’s call.
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Thank you Kris, I really enjoyed Cathy’s zoom meeting and seeing you all at last. I feel like we are a team supporting one another! I do hope your alstroemeria recovers. I’ve just picked the last flowers today and they truly are a delight. Thanks for reading the blog and for your kind comments. All the best. Karen x
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Really lovely flowers, amazing longevity for sure, still vibrant and beautiful.
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Thank you. Mum was so pleased with the flowers. It’s great to have something cheerful to look at on the kitchen windowsill. It’s a bonus when they last longer than 7 days. Thank you for reading the blog and for your kind words. All the best. Karen x
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Gosh, the longevity is great, Karen, but also reminds us how important it is not to neglect them in a vase (like I usually do)! Sadly I haven’t much patience for chrysanthemums, although I suppose they were in pots in an out of the way place for most of the year I might be able to tolerate them 😉 My 2 greenhouse ones are just starting to flower though, so should be in a vase soon
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Thank you Cathy. These chrysanthemums live in pots down the side of the greenhouse in the gap next to the poly tunnel. I must admit I totally neglected them this summer and didn’t even water them. They are standing on a gravel path which floods as it takes water from the greenhouse and poly tunnel, so I suppose that’s why they have done well there. I’ve got some pink ones which are hardy and they are planted in the veg plot. Have a great week, and congratulations again on your anniversary. Karen xx
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Ah, so they are not officially hardy ones? I suppose I had my greenhouse ones outside most of the summer and rarely wayer them too (they are certainly stunted). I could of course grow hardy ones in pots and shove them in the fruit cage till flowering time….hm, will definitely think about that, as the blooms would certainly be worth having
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You have ably demonstrated how to extend the lives of your jam jar posies
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Thank you Derrick. I like to make things last as long as possible. Have a happy week. Karen
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Hi Karen, so nice to meet you last night. I was very touched by your story. Your relationship with your mother-in-law was truly special and must be cherished. I hope that your garden and love for flowers will help you to get through this difficult time. Your bouquet is beautiful. Have a good week 🙂
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Thank you so much Annette. It was lovely to see you too. I felt quite a sense of achievement as my internet is very poor where we live, so it was wonderful to get on the zoom and actually hear everyone! Yes, I feel blessed to have had such a friendship with my mother in law. Yesterday, I suddenly felt like ringing her up and having a chat. I really miss her still. She was someone who always had my back. I miss being able to share our flower arranging. She always loved such small things in life. It taught me to appreciate every little thing. Thanks for your kind words – they are much appreciated. Have a great gardening week. Karen xx
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They have lasted so well Karen. A joy for both you and your Mum! It was lovely to see you again yesterday and I do hope we will one day be able to meet up again in person. The Alstroemeria is gorgeous paired with the Chrysanths and daisies. And the salvia is really pretty – I find they are so hard to photograph too! Have you ever done a post on taking Chrysanthemum cuttings? The one I used today is the only one that survives/thrives here and I would like to spread it around the garden. Have a good week Karen. 🤗
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Thank you Cathy. Yes wonderful to see you too! It seems ages since I saw you last. Surely one day we will meet again at Coton Manor. I would love to meet up and have a chat Uber tea and cake. Such simple things, we took them forgranted didn’t we? And now, things are not as easy for any of us. I haven’t written about the chrysanths cuttings yet. I take them after Christmas. Will have a go and post about them. They are very easy. If you have a hardy one, you can dig up and divide it over the winter. Just make sure it doesn’t get waterlogged when it’s not in growth else it will rot. Have a great gardening week. Temperatures are starting to go down here. Perhaps we have had the best days yet. Karen xx
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a reminder to us all, that it’s worth refreshing flowers! they respond to this treatment and also a reminder to me to seek out some chrysanthemums as the smell takes me back to autumn shows with dad .
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Thank you Christine, it was so lovely to see the flowers still looking good after 7 days on the windowsill. It only took a few minutes to sort them out, chop off the bottoms and put them in a clean jam jar, and they should last another few days. They looked like stained glass, with the sun shining behind them. Such a cheerful sight. I didn’t know salvias last so long in a vase. Yes, the smell from chrysanthemums remind me of my father in law Keith (Joan’s husband) he used to grow them specially for her. Lovely memories. Have a happy week. Karen xx
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More lovely photos and practical tips. Thank you!
It is grand to see the love you nd your Mim share between you.
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Thank you Suella. It was wonderful to see the flowers still looking so good 7 days after I’d taken them. Great to know chrysanths and alstroemerias last so long – and now I can add salvias to the list of worthwhile flowers to add to bouquets for Mum. Have a great gardening week. Karen xx
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It’s held up very well! It pays to start with the freshest of flowers. 🙂
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Thank you Eliza. I was so pleased to see the flowers still looking so good. Very useful to know that chrysanthemums and alstroemerias last so long. I didn’t know I could add salvias to that list too. Can’t get much fresher than straight from the plot! Have a great gardening week. Thanks for reading. Karen x
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