In a Vase on Monday: On the Turn

09.09.2024 - 09:31 / ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com / Cathy

The garden is definitely on the turn, but there are still treasures to be found. Helichrysum ‘Bright Rose’, for example, has flowered prolifically this year but, with all the other material, I had not cut it very often and the plants were covered in blooms that were not quite buds but didn’t look like spent flowers**. With little rain in August, it wasn’t as if they had ‘balled’ either but, whatever their status, I took advantage of their numbers and used them as a starting point for today’s Vase on Monday.

Adjacent Scabious ‘Burgundy Beau’ have flowered well too but are winding down, so I cut the few remaining blooms in evidence and added them to the helichrysum. Seeing a colour theme emerging, I added stems of long-flowering Antirrhinum ‘Black Prince’, and single sprigs of reflowering Astrantia ‘Star of Beauty’ and Sedum (Hylotelephinium) ‘Autumn Beauty’ (note to self: remember to ‘Chelsea Chop’ the latter next year…). Gentle pink spikes of Persicaria ‘Pink Elephant’ slotted easily into the posy of accumulating blooms, whilst fading stems of Salvia verticillata ‘Purple Rain’ and seedheads of Clematis texensis ‘Princess Diana’ emphasised the changing seasons.

Placed in a Caithness Glass rose bowl in the original ‘heather’ colourway and held in place with natural pebbles, the overall effect is a vintage one, and seems appropriate for a vase on the cusp of Autumn. On the turn of the handle of the little music box, you might recognise the tinkle of ‘You are my sunshine’, an appropriate nod back to the summer that continues, day by day, to recede.

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** In the warmth of the house, the helichrysum petals have begun opening out,