November Sunshine.
I am joining in again with Cathy’s meme at ramblinginthegarden where the challenge is to fill a vase with flowers every Monday . On this dark November day, I really wanted to bring some sunshine into the house with some cheery yellow flowers. The vase is all wrong but I couldn’t find an all white one.
The flowers I used are Mahonia x media ‘Charity’. and Winter Jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum. The little, starry flowers are from the wonderful Michaelmas Daisy, Symphiotrichum ‘Monte Cassino’. The roses are ‘Iceberg’ and the fragrant Hybid Musk ‘Moonlight. The brown seedheads are from Rudbeckia hirta ‘Prairie Sun’. I also used some seedheads from Stipa gigantea. The foliage is Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold and I also used a spray of the golden variegated laurel, Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’.
I thought I would photograph it outside too, where the light is natural. Behind it you can just make out the large clump of the Michaelmas Daisy ‘Monte Cassino’ which I used in the arrangement. It has been in flower for ages.
Why don’t you go over to Cathy and see what other people have put in a vase on Monday. Better still, why don’t you join in?
Chloris
Lovely Chloris, yellow and white work really well together. Lucky you still having ‘Monte Casino’ mine has finished now. It almost looks more like spring than autumn which is nice!
Thank you Christina. It really is a funny mix of seasons with roses, Michaelmas daisies, Mahonia and Winter Jasmine. All it needs is a few daffodils and then we would have all the seasons. Monte Cassino flowers for ages. It shows no sign of going over yet.
I just love opening my reader on Monday morning to find such lovely arrangements! Your addition of the brown seedheads reminds me of the dried flower arrangements my mom used to make. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Hi Elizabeth. I was pleased with the effect of the Rudbeckia seed beads. I am keen to save the seeds of them because Prairie Sun really lightened up the border this year.
Lovely, my favourite colours and some of my ‘Twinkling Stars’! xx
Twinkling Stars is a good name for them. I love them.
A lovely bright vase for a dark Autumn day. We had some sun here earlier, but getting dark now already!
We have had some wonderful weather haven’ t we? It is going to be a shock when it turns cold.
I think it just has here – the gritters were out on the roads earlier.
It is a bright and cheerful vase for a gloomy day, Chloris! Every time I see that Mahonia, I want to add one to my garden. ‘Charity’ appears a bit tall but perhaps I can find another, shorter variety to add in my front garden area (if and when it’s ready to plant).
If you want a smaller Mahonia why don’ t you try Mahonia eurybracteata ‘ Soft Caress’? It is slow growing and has such pretty foliage. On the other hand you just can’ t beat the fragrance of Mahonia japonica.
Chloris I love the vase actually. It gives it a little pink at the bottom. And what an arrangement. So many beautiful yellow and white flowers. Variety of size and shape and then the foliage is amazing. The variegated Eounymus and touch of gold laurel bring it all together. Truly a sight for sore eyes here with little left.
Thank you very much Donna. I always enjoy your vases too.
Winter jasmine already Chloris – isn’t the year flying! I love the airy effect of that little white aster and it seems to have such a long flowering period which is such a bonus.
The Winter Jasmine is really early this year.
I can thoroughly recommend this Aster ‘Monte Cassino’. It is an absolute delight. Incidentally the extra ‘s’ in Monte Cassino is not a spelling mistake. It is named after Monte Cassino near Rome.
Gosh, how pretty, the roses and asters are shining in the second pic. Lovely.xxx
Thank you, the second shot looks much better because it was taken in natural light. It wouldn’ t work today. It is so gloomy.
Love your yellow and white vase of sunshine. The photo outdoors really shows off the entire arrangement to great advantage.
Thank you Susie. A vaseful of sunshine is just what I was aiming for on a November day.
That’s a lovely arrangement Chloris, the perfect antidote to a dark wet day. I hadn’t thought of putting mahonia flowers in a vase, but there again I only have the one and it only has two sets of flowers, being still on the small side. Not that it will stay that way!
Actually the Mahonia doesn’ t last very long in a vase which is a pity.
Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ grows very tall and lanky if you let it. It looks awful if you let it get so tall that the flowers are way above your head. The ones here had been neglected for years but it is easy to cut them down and make them more compact. I cut mine down in early Spring to just above a bud. They respond very well to pruning.
I love your choice of colour scheme today, its such a beautifully balanced bouquet.
Thank you Julie, I am very fond of yellow and white together. It always looks so fresh.
If it really was hastily plonked you have managed to do so very tastefully Chloris – and that is something many of us have learned with this meme: hastily plonked is invariably extraordinarily effective and the reason why so many of us get such pleasure from our Monday vases. You have picked out the whites and yellows brilliantly – and what a useful leaf that laurel is. Thank you for sharing today.
Well to be honest all my arrangements are plonked, I don’t know how to do them any other way. But I was really in a hurry with this one.
The Laurel and Euonymus were already in the garden, I probably wouldn’t t have thought of planting them. They are great for winter foliage. The Laurel is a spotty one, but some of the branches have pure yellow leaves which is great for arrangements.
I think most of us plonk, sometimes with an occasional added tweak. I think we have all been surprised to find how effective plonking is 🙂
Hello Chloris, what a lovely yellow and white arrangement – definitely a cheerful sight. I was so pleased to see the jasmine. I don’t expect to see it here in Scotland until January but it is, to me, so welcome as the first sign that spring is on it’s way once more. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Elizabeth. The WinterJasmine does not usually flower as early as this. I think that is a very positive way of looking at it, seeing it as the first sign of Spring. Well, I expect Spring will come soon enough. In the meantime we still have quite a few flowers to enjoy.
Another winner! I especially like the seed heads against all the white. (happy sigh)
Thank you Debra. I was quite pleased by the effect of the brown seed heads. I suppose we are going to be relying more and more on seed heads as the winter goes on.
I think the Rudbeckia seed heads are an ingenious addition to your lovely vase, as they contrast so nicely with the white Michaelmas daisies. It really is sunny and cheerful and your photo outdoors is lovely! 🙂
Thank you Cathy. I wanted something sunny and bright for November.The arrangements always look better outside in natural light don’ t they? It is going to be a bit difficult in the dark days of winter though.
Yes, you’ve certainly managed a summer-looking arrangement, using autumn flowers. The foliage complements them so well. Gorgeous! Roses have done so well this year, haven’t they? Well done on mastering aster’s new name Symphiotrichum! I’m still practising!
Thank you Ali. Yes, the roses have never looked so wonderful in Autumn before. I suppose the first frost will ruin them but meanwhile they are a joy.
This is so pretty, Chloris, yellow and white have never looked so good in a vase :). So glad I got myself some Monte Casino too. Winter jasmine isn’t flowering yet. Iceberg is one of my favourites but has been suffering from mildew in my Swiss garden and I hate having to spray.
I have never seen the Winter Jasmine in full bloom so early before. It seems funny combining it with roses in a vase. I never spray my roses, or anything else. Iceberg seems to be quite healthy here. My bushes were here when we came and they are quite old and have knobbly knees. Not a good look, but you can’ t have everything.
You achieved what you set out to do Chloris, it’s beautiful.
Thank you Angie, it is lovely to have so much still in flower to pick.
beautiful-but I have to learn to CUT the flowers….I need to get over my “issues” with cutting my flowers..Next year I am putting in a cutting garden!!