When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and, like a dream, glides away. — Sarah Helen Whitman, American poet, essayist, transcendentalist, spiritualist
We’re coming to the end of August and also the end of the summer bouquets. It’s been a strange season in a year we can all say we wish would end. One pleasant discovery is that with the demise of the dahlia garden, I’ve had to rely on other flowers and I’ve had to be more creative in building out my bouquets. David always told me I needed more greenery for balance. As you know, I’m all about stuffing the vase with flowers and more flowers. This time around, I have been using branches from the camellia tree — setting them up in the vase and building the bouquets around the branches. And here are the results.
Being creative here, I pull from many different flowers — from the top going down, orange alstroemeria, black scabiosa atropropurea, cornflower blue Centaurea cyanus or bachelor’s button, dianthus “pinball wizard,” red straw flower, white echinacea, chocolate cosmos, salmon-colored zinnia, and a perfect yellow miniature rose.
A close-up to highlight the zinnia, rose, chocolate cosmos, and red straw flower.
Close-up of the pretty brilliant-blue Centaurea cyanus, white echinacea, and dianthus “pinball wizard.”
The variegated camellia leaves add interest to this bouquet. I’ve learned to make symmetrical arrangements!
The other side of this bouquet looks like a completely different arrangment.
A close-up of one side of the arrangement: scabiosa atropurpurea black, a small yellow dahlia, red gerbera daisy, cream-colored scabiosa ochroleuca, yellow rudbeckia hirta “Chim chiminee,” and the pin cushion-looking trachelium caeruleum “perennial blue lace flower.”
The blue Centaurea cyanus and a pair of rudbeckias, Sahara and hirta “Chim Chiminee.”
Here’s a new favorite of mine: Scabiosa atropurpurea “Florist’s Pink.”
More Scabiosa atropurpurea “Florist’s Pink,” cream-colored scabiosa ochroleuca, and chocolate cosmos.
So while the sweet peas expired in July (see empty trellis to the left), I discovered that if I kept watering where the alstroemeria grew in abundance wth the spring rains, I would keep getting alstroemeria (not as big as in the spring and early summer, though). So that’s how I’ve been able to beef up my dahlia-less bouquets this August.
It took a few months, but the different varieties in this flower box of scabioas are finally blooming.
One of the rare variegated pink dahlias in the center of this small bouquet.
Close-up of the pink dahlia, scabiosa ochroleuca, Centaurea cyanus, and salmon-colored zinnia.
I love this horizontal bouquet with its abundance of scabiosa.
The rudbeckia Sahara is surrounded by scabiosa and Centaurea cyanus.
Close-up of the cream-colored scabiosa ochroleuca and red zinnia.
A mostly scabiosa bouquet, reminding me of a Rembrandt painting.
A blue Cupid’s Dart nestled among the scabiosa atropurpurea “Snowmaiden.”
A mostly scabiosa and alstroemeria bouquet.
Close-up of a rare orange miniature dahlia.
Now blooming – trachelium caeruleum “Hamer Pandora”! This is the deep-purple version of the “Perennial Blue Lace Flower” trachelium caeruleum.
Top view of this bouquet. White, chocolate, and bright blue colors really pop out in this arrangement.
The second-to-the-last bouquet of August. I love this one. There’s a nice balance to it.
Close-up of alstroemeria, zinnia, scabiosa, and rudbeckia.
Other side of the bouquet.
Close-up of the zinnia, rudbeckia, and scabiosa.
This is looking more like a fall bouquet than the last of two bouquets from August. Scabiosas, zinnias, gerbera, dianthus, and rudbeckia.
Close-up where the red gerbera daisy and the Rudbeckia hirta “Sahara” are ushering in September.
An interesting shape made by the twisting stems of the scabiosa atropurpurea “Florist Blue.”
Another view of this tall bouquet of mostly different kinds of scabiosa and alstroemeria.
Ah, the irrestible scabiosa atropurpurea “Fama Blue.”
White daisies and some differentiation to this scabiosa and alstroemeria bouquet.
Close-up of three different kinds of scabiosa – atropurpurea “Florist Blue” and “Florist Pink” and white ochroleuca, along with the bachelor’s button or cornflower.
I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year. – from Sonnet XXVII, Edna St. Vincent Millay, American lyrical poet and playwright
Now it is August. Midsummer. I came across this Edna St. Vincent Millay poem, and I thought this first line and title of her sonnet is what the flowers are saying to me. Enjoy.
A pleasant surprise from the front yard is the appearance of more peach-colored gladiola. Here paired with alstroemeria, chocolate cosmos, and love in a mist green seed pods.
An abundance of dahlias the day before 4th of July. The pale yellow dahlias were my steadfast variety this season.
The yellow dahlias gave it their all this season but petered soon after. Here the petals looks like sinewy flutes.
A rare magenta dahlia.
Dinner-plate yellow dahlia.
Dahlias, red lilies, and love in a mist green seed pods.
Another view with a red-and-white dahlia and orange with yellow tips dahlia.
A smaller bouquet with chocolate cosmos, orange alstroemeria, miniature creamy rose, pink zinnia, blue and light purple scabiosa, and creamy scabiosa ochroleuca.
Close-up of the blue and light purple scabiosa – I love the little filaments in the middle – and tight-budded miniature rose.
Same flowers of earlier bouquets, but here with helipterum roseum “Pierrot Crisp Everlasting” (the white miniature daisy-looking flower), a sturdy red gerbera dominates, accompanied by “red velvet” achillea millefolium.
Clearly I should have cut the magenta dahlia’s stem shorter!
A pink gerbera sandwiched between two dahlias.
An addition of white scabiosa caucasica “Perfecta Alba” sandwiching the salmon zinnia at the base of the bouquet.
David’s parents gave him this vase before I came along. It’s a beautiful Japanese vase and it works really well aesthetically with the four gladiola in various stages of blooming.
The deer used to snap up the few gladiola that popped up in the front yard. This year, despite the sighting of many deer in the area, they must be munching on other people’s gardens. Here’s a close-up of the gladiola blooms.
The ever reliable alstromeria. I continue to work on filling them in as I build out the bouquet!
The last remaining blooming sweet pea – my favorite, Frances Kate.
A beautiful yellow dahlia, like coral, highlights this mid-July bouquet.
A tiny compact bouquet, filled with a pink straw flower on the left, red gaillardia on the right, and the tiny white flowers of the lantana.
The other side of the tiny bouquet – a perfect orange dahlia and a rare pale orange miniature rose.
A beautiful bouquet highlighted by a white, dinner-plate dahlia. The three helipterum roseum “Pierrot Crisp Everlasting” tower.
A close-up of this beautiful dahlia, with the helipterum roseum “Pierrot Crisp Everlasting” top left.
This pretty zinnia didn’t bloom very often.
This bouquet reminds me of the bouquets at one of the chateaux in the Loire Valley in France, although mine is not artfully done so that it looks natural. The florists there were truly magnificent with their creativity and vision. Featuring the airy, pin-headed blue trachelium caeruleum “Perennial Blue Lace Flower,” scabiosa, red and white dianthus, cream-colored miniature rose, four different kinds of scabiosa, love in a mist seed pods, chocolate cosmos, and deep-blue Centaurea cyanus (also known as cornflower or bachelor’s buttons).
A close-up of this bouquet. See how intricate it looks up close!
See how brilliant blue this Centaurea cyanus is! It looks striking in front of the cream-colored miniature rose.
The trachelium caeruleum “Perennial Blue Lace Flower” next to white and cream-colored scabiosa, and a white gerbera.
A gladiola bouquet that will last quite a while because of the buds not yet blooming.
Light on the delicate peach-colored gladiola.
Perhaps the last Frances Kate sweet pea. Note the blooms that have yet opened.
A mixed bouquet.
The other side of this mixed bouquet.
I planted a variety of scabiosa. Here is the dome-shaped scabiosa atropurpurea “Florist’s Pink.” It’s a beauty. Next to a chocolate cosmos and the cornflower-colored bachelor’s button.
A stately gladiola arrangement.
A bouquet that has a nice spread. Note the red geum quellyon “Blazing Sunset” top center.
Another view of this multi-flower bouquet.
Another compact bouqurt.
Another view of the same bouquet.
Close-up of the miniature rose – you can see the light pink edging – paired nicely with the fragrant chocolate cosmos (it really smells like chocolate!).
The curved alstroemeria and achillea millefolium “Red Velvet Yarrow” make for an interesting arrangement shape.
Another version of the same bouquet.
Close-up with the blue Cupid’s Dart, also known as Catananche caerulea, yellow dahlia, and chocolate cosmos.
And that concludes our July, our midsummer, bouquets. Stay tuned for the late summer (August) bouquet and the fall bouquet blogs.
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