Our mild and sunny autumn has been a bonus for gardeners this year. Flowers usually past their best by the end of September have carried on into November. Here I am continuing my tradition of running around the garden once a week and picking whatever is in flower for my Mother-in-law, Joan. It’s a flavour of my garden that I am after – now my in laws are too elderly to visit us and see the garden for themselves. The flowers are loosely tied with string- and not arranged- as Joan takes great delight in making her own floral creations and placing them on the all the windowsills in the house.
In the centre of the bouquet is some Verbena bonariensis grown from seed. It’s flowered virtually all summer and been a magnet for bees. Seeds for cut flowers come from Higgledy Garden.
There’s some spikes of Persicaria Orange Field and deep red Persicaria Firetail. These flower July to October and are long-lasting in a vase. The spikes give a contrast to the daisy- like flowers of chrysanthemum Mei-Kyo.
Chrysanthemum Mei-Kyo is one of the last to flower in my garden. It’s totally hardy here and doesn’t need staking. Flowers last for at least two weeks in a vase.
My chrysanthemums grow at the base of the sweet pea canes on my cut flower bed. They do best in full sun, but these are growing on the north side of the hazel rod trellis. They grow to about 60cm high with a 50cm spread. Good quality plants come from Woottens plant nursery. I’ve been looking at their on-line catalogue for new additions to my plot and I rather fancy a chrysanthemum called Aunt Millicent- just for the name itself! It’s a very pretty pale pink flower with a greeny yellow centre. More like a daisy than a chrysanthemum.
Bright pink alstroemerias are growing in large 40cm plant pots in my poly tunnel. These provide flowers nearly all year round. Flower stems are pulled rather than cut, and this encourages them to produce new flower stems. Tall stemmed varieties suitable for cutting are sold by Viv Marsh Postal Plants. I’m hoping to add a white variety called Blushing Bride to my collection next spring. The poly tunnel, bought second hand for £20, needs a good clean. Another winter job. It’s much harder to keep the polythene skin clear of algae than for a greenhouse. But it gives me a 20ft space to work during wet weather- and provides winter protection for a mini orchard of peach trees.
Cathy at Rambling in the Garden started this meme three years ago, and it shows how gardeners from all over the world grow cut flowers and use them to decorate their homes. I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour around my garden and the flowers grown for Joan.
That’s a great tip about pulling rather than cutting the Alstroemeria, thank you for sharing. And what a stunning arrangement.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you. x
LikeLike
What a delightful vase, Karen, you surely are a talented lady. Love those chrysanthemums. It’s great to be able to pick all these beauties at this time of year and oh, what a setting with that gorgeous beech tree – wish it was in my garden 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you
LikeLike
Thank you Annette for your kind comments. I’m currently doing battle with the beech tree leaves-trying to corral them into one corner. They will make lovely leaf mound….if I can just get the better of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sometimes ot’s just nice to see them swirl around, so don’t battle too hard. How I miss the old beech trees in our Irish garden, my favourite tree really.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is lovely Karen – beautiful Chrysanthemum and I love the Persicarias too. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Cathy x
LikeLiked by 1 person
So Lovely!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Eliza x
LikeLike
Oh that’s a jam packed and most colourful vase Karen. The chrysanthemum has caught my eye and thanks for the tip of growing them at the base of sweet pea canes 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Anna. I’m happy to pass on any little tips on growing- as I seem to learn something new every day. Mostly by accident. Thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s much appreciated.
LikeLike
You have a lovely blog Karen. I’ve enjoyed scrolling back through past posts. I really like your philosophy too. Your bouquet of flowers is so beautiful and makes me yearn to add chrysanthemums to my plot again. I will look at your links for more inspiration. A 20 foot poly tunnel sounds like a great retreat on a wet day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you for your lovely comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to scroll back through the blog and write a comment too. I am enjoying finding like-minded gardeners on here. I must admit, I could mooch all day in that poly tunnel. It’s really useful for planting up containers- especially on a rainy day. I’ve got a radio and a kettle out there. And usually a tin of Mum’s fruit cake. What more could anyone want 🙂
LikeLike
Lovely to see the flowers with the autumnal backdrop. Chrysanthemum Mei-Kyo is a real star. Definitely worth checking out, especially if it is hardy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’ve had -3 for the last few nights and the chrysanthemum is still pristine. Sadly every one of the asters shrivelled up over night. So I’m growing more chrysanths next year. They do get a degree of protection from being planted at the base of the hazel twiggy sweet pea trellis. And any sprawly growth can be tied to the canes. Thanks for taking the time to comment again.
LikeLike
Such lovely November bounty! Mei-kyo is a beauty. And I so enjoyed reading your descriptions of your MIL! Not sure how I’ve missed your blog all this time, but look forward to following now 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks so much for your kind comments- and for following! It’s much appreciated. I am rather a quiet,boring, reliable, down to earth kind of person so I’m amazed that anyone is actually reading my blog! Thanks again. You’ve made my day 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful post! Such a treat to see such colourful flowers at this point in the season.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Belinda. Thanks for taking the time to post a comment. It’s much appreciated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just beautiful ♥
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. x
LikeLike
What a bountiful collection of blooms for Joan to disassemble! I too am pleased to see the links as I think I could live with an obliging crysanthemum like Mei Kyo so have put the link on an electonic post-it note on my laptop. And I am amazed at the thought of alstroemerias almost all year round – I have some in pots from Hayloft plugs which were waiting to go outside but perhaps I could keep them in the greenhouse all year, not having the option of a polytunnel like you have. I assume it is 20 feet long, as opposed to 20sq ft?!! What are the purple thongs that look like bracts? I can’t quite make them out. Thanks for joining in this week
LikeLiked by 1 person
They would be fine in the greenhouse. Growing them in large pots protects them from slugs. I’ve found the secret to success is to pull each flower rather than cut it off. It seems to send instructions to the plant to produce more flower shoots. It’s really easy to grow chrysanths from cuttings. Would you like me to post you some?
LikeLike
Thanks for the info – I must remember that about pulling the stems rather than cutting them. And yes please, I will gratefully accept some chrysanth cuttings if it is not too much trouble – shall I email you address details?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes please k.gimson@btinternet.com
LikeLike
Forgot to say…. yes, 20ft long poly tunnel. It was bought From a plant nursery that was closing down. The purple bracts are bougainvillea. I’ve got a standard shrub with a round head that sits out on the terrace all summer. It’s just gone back in the greenhouse for the winter.
LikeLike
Wondered if it might be bougainvillea – such a gorgeous purple. And isn’t it a bit late in the year to be flowering, particularly if it has only just come inside?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The bracts stay colourful until about February. They dry and fade and I spray them silver for Christmas. I trim it back by about 50cm all over in March and it goes outside in May. I wish it was warm enough to be outdoors all year. Blooming perishing -1 here today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. I think there looks like more flowers if I stick to one colour range.
LikeLike
What a colorful post, love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Louise.
LikeLike
Thank you x
LikeLike
I love that you take the flowers to your MIL; My MIL sees my garden only through the blog now as she, too, is too old to travel. It was she who first introduced me to flower arranging and has inspired me with gifts of books. You have a lot of flowers still. thanks for the links to the suppliers especially for the Alstoemerias.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s lovely that your MIL can see your garden via the blog. New technology is keeping us all better connected. My MIL is amazing, she can make just a few twigs and three stems of flowers look like a whole bouquet. It’s a skill for sure. She did the chapel flowers for 65 years. I watched each week as she took flowers from her own garden to make the chapel look beautiful. I’ve learned such a lot from her. Even little things, like saving and re-using every resource. The string I use to tie up the flowers is returned to me each week in a neat little bow to re use. And the foil I use to keep the stems fresh is flattened and folded.
I’m glad you find the links useful. I dithered over whether to use them. But it seems a good idea to share info on companies that have given great service and good plants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been looking for Altroemerias for a while. I have one plant I bought here but it has short stems.
LikeLike
I’ve been using the dwarf Princess series as ground cover here. I’ve been really happy with all the plants supplied by Viv Marsh. They are large 1.5lt pots, not plugs or bare rooted,and flower in the first season of planting. They are really well packaged, and the staff are ever patient with all my enquiries. I’m keen to support family nurseries like this one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. I do like chrysanthemums but don’t grow any on the plot (as yet!). xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Mike. If you look at the photo of the chrysanths this, you can see the stems of the the white cosmos growing through them. Cosmos grows so light and high up, it doesn’t seem to bother the chrysanthemums at all. So two plants in the space of one. So to speak.
LikeLike
Please excuse the disjointed English. I accidentally pressed send before reading through. Thanks also for your reply. Hope you are having a good week Mike. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am loving the shades and purple and pink on your blooms! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person