In a childhood favourite book of mine, ‘Anne of Green Gables’ by L.M.Montgomery, Anne declared: ‘I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers’. I have to agree with her, October is a magical month. We have had crisp, sunny days and flowers which go on and on blooming , and added to this the leaves are on fire with the most brilliant colours. Time to do an autumn vase to celebrate the beauty of the season.
As usual, I put it in the birdbath for its photograph It is arranged in a brown earthenware jug. Now it is indoors, it is sitting in large a copper pot.
I am always extolling the virtues of the glorious Forest Pansy, Cercis canadensis which is a wonderful deep red all summer and has now taken on the most amazing autumn tints. Unfortunately, it is quite brittle and easily damaged by clumsy men with lawn mowers. Alright, it is probably my fault, I did plant it too close to the edge and I am in fact, very grateful to the man on the mower. Particularly as he is so suspicious of outdoors. Anyway, I have now extended the bed so that accidents can be avoided in future. But as the two branches were broken, they were crying out to be put in a vase. They are luminous where the light catches them.
The red leaves of Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia were a great match.
I hate Pyracantha for its viciousness and the way it grabs me whenever I walk past, but the orange berries are a delight.
The fluffy seed heads of Clematis tangutica create a frothy effect.
For autumn coloured flowers I have used a late flowering Kniphofia rooperi, two dahlias:’Nescio’ and the lovely orange species Dahlia coccinea which has grown very tall.
I used some yellow-flowered Heliopsis which is a very invasive , but useful for picking.
There are a few marigolds and some sprays of my beloved Alcalthaea suffrutescens ‘Park Allee’. This has now built up to the size of a shrub and goes on and on blooming. I have sent off some rooted cuttings to some of you. If I promised you some and have still not sent you one, please remind me.
Thank you Cathy at RamblingintheGarden. Everyone enjoys taking part in this meme. If you haven’t joined in yet, all you have to do is find flowers from your garden and pop them in a vase to share with us.
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
I couldn’t agree more with Anne and oh how you have captured October in your vase…those subtle oranges in flower and foliage are just magical!
Thank you Donna, it is a magical month when just for a short moment everything is aglow. I wish I could bottle it.
This is a great creative autumn vase!Perfect combination of colours!
Thank you Anca. I loved your dreamy pink shades this week.
Beautiful colours and the form of the Cercis canadensis is just gorgeous. I was one of those you promised a cutting from the wondrous Alcalthaea suffrutescens; I’m in Suffolk for until next Friday so if you have one you could send it here and I can take it back with me; and would you by any chance have any bits of rooted comfrey you could let me have; it seems that it is only available to buy in spring and I would really like to have some.
I hope your MIL is doing well. Of course I will send you some Alcalthaea. I will go and look at the Comfrey to see what state it is in. Could you email me your MIL’s address so that I can get it off quickly?
Wonderful mix of Autumn in a vase. I love cercis candenesis but there is no doubt it is rather precious, snapping at the slightest jostling. Mine is in an old Dolly tub and I think I shall have to put it in the ground. What soil are you on, how is it growing?
It does break easily doesn’ t it? I shouldn’ t really blame the Pianist when he is just trying to mow the lawn. My soil is neutral and well drained. It doesn’ t like to dry out, so I water it when we have drought. It is in a sunny position. It is doing well but I am going to plant another in case it turns up its toes.
Nice !
Merci Christiane!
What a glorious autumn vase. We are just beginning to see a bit of color in our foliage, but your offering really showcases the colors of the season.
Yes, the season is so fleeting, we have to celebrate it before the colours disappear. Actually, it has been so mild here that the gardens are full of blooms.
Beautifully autumnal.
I love these autumn shades. The red of those Cercis leaves was the starting point for this arrangement. They are so beautiful.
What a range of material in your abundant vase – a perfect combination of things! I thought the cercis leaves were epimedium until I read the text. Great to see the clematis seedheads included – I keep looking at mine and being aware of their potential in a vase, but their time has not yet come! Whereabouts inside have you put what must be quite a big copper pot with your lovely blooms, Chloris?
My large Victorian copper jardinière lives in the dining room. It usually has green plants in it but sometimes I use it for flowers and branches.
Oh such wise words from young Anne. I love the contents of your vase Chloris, all except for the dreaded yellow peril which as you say is “very invasive”. I’ve fought an unsuccesful battle for years to eradicate it. You haven’t promised me a cutting of that lovely alcalthaea suffrutescens ‘Park Allee’ but should you have one to spare either now or in the future I would be delighted to be a recipient.
Yes the ‘ yellow peril’ is well named. A friend gave it to me with a health warning. Still it is handy for arrangements. I shall put you on the Alcalthaea list Anna.
You certainly have October in a vase for sure! I just loved the combination of berries, seedheads, autumn leaves along with the flowers! Beautiful!xxx
Thank you Dina, that is just what I was trying to do, capture autumn in my vase.
Very nice combination, those Forest Pansy leaves are beautiful-they never look that good over here!
Can you grow Cercis canadensis over there? It is a beautiful tree all year round.
Not where I am in Florida but we had them further north and they did not compare to yours! Cercis canadensis is native to the Southeastern US.The native ones are beautiful, pink lavendar flowering understory trees that grow at the edge of the forest (even by the side of the road on interstates) Forest Pansy was just kind of punky.
Your Forest Pansy is lovely and makes a great friend to all the other special additions to this week’s vase. Anne of Green Gables was my daughter’s all-time favorite book so I’ll have to agree with Lucy on October, although ours is just now becoming a true October! Just a tinge of color here and there but it is quickly changing.
Is your autumn always so late starting? I am looking forward to some autumn colour from American blogs, your trees make a much more impressive show than ours.
I can see a few signs of autumn color in my central Piedmont area of North Carolina but it’s slow. To the west in our mountain area of our state, the colors have become richer–a huge tourist attraction.
Very pretty. I’d say autumn is in full glory in your garden, in your vase, and in this post. All of a sudden it’s fall here, too–seemingly overnight!
Let’ s hope the wonderful leaf colours will last a while.
I’ve always loved October for the same reason – that shift in temperatures and the crispness in the air. Unfortunately, Mother Nature appears to have us stuck in the heat of summer in some distorted version of Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day.” Your vase is the very picture of what October should be.
October is !ovely and crisp, but I wouldn’ t mind a bit of hot groundhog day. I’ ve packed away my summer clothes today and it is always a sad moment.
Anne is lyrical about all seasons I seem to remember (a favourite childhood heroine of mine too), and I agree this October has been quite magical. We were out walking at ‘golden hour’ yesterday evening and the light and the leaf colour was sublime. Fabulous vase – this is the style I was aiming for on Sunday evening. Today I have a bit more time so I may have another go arranging my jug.
Thank you Sarah. Yes I have been getting excited about the light this autumn. We have had so many beautiful days with the leaves afire and glowing.
Simply lovely, and perfectly illustrates how colourful this time of year is in the garden. xx
Thank you Flighty and that is exactly what I was trying to do with my vase.
Simply gorgeous! All that colour and those lovely big leaves make a real impact. I couldn’t agree more – October really is a magical month.
The light is so special at the moment too. The garden seems to glow.
I love how you use the Redbud leaves here, especially combined with the white flowers.
Thank you Jason. Redbud is a good name for it, the buds are very red. I don’ t know where our name, Forest Pansy comes from.
I think ‘Forest Pansy’ is the cultivar name.
I agree with you about both the Forest Pansy and the Pyracantha Chloris. I really think your arrangement is an Autumn delight.
Thank you Brian. Pyracantha looks wonderful in autumn, but it grows so fast and those thorns can do real damage.
A stunning celebration of the beauty of October!
Thank you Peter. I am glad you like it.
I agree with your observation about the light making the garden glow, this year there’s something extra special going on between it and the autumn foliage. I’m glad it’s not just me who’s planted it where it gets brushed, it’s very brittle isn’t it. Such a gorgeous small tree, although my FP flowers less profusely than the plain green form. Wonderful vase, Chloris, full of warm colours and interest.
Thank you Kate. I didn’ t realistic that the Forest Pansy was so brittle at first, I just thought it was my clumsy husband. Then I realised that every strong wind does a bit of damage. The little flowers are quite insignificant really, but they are not the point of it.
Lovely gentle tones in this arrangement. I’d love to have a Forest Pansy, they are so beautiful. Your Alcalthaea is still going strong. I can see why you love it so.
Thank you Allison. I do reccommend Forest Pansy, it is fabulous. Indeed, the Alcalthaea blooms until the first frosts.
Lovely and warming, autumn in a vase, I can smell baked potatoes …….
Baked potatoes, now that’ s an idea. A nice autumny thing to do. That reminds me, I really need to make a bonfire.
You really do have a way with arrangements. The colours and textures and shapes always seem to work so well together.
Thank you Cynthia, I cannot really arrange, I just plonk, but I enjoy combining colours a d textures.
Yeah, right. Plunk? No way, my friend. You have a real eye for this stuff. seen any of my arrangements lately?
You’ve featured one of my all-time favourite plants in ‘Forest Pansy’! I plan on planting one next Spring. Out of the reach of the lawn mower and the very valuable “man who does”…
My ‘ man who mows’ doubles up as my husband. He took exception to being demoted to ‘the man who mows’. It’ s not even a very good description as he doesn’ t do it very often or very willingly. You won’ t regret getting a Forest Pansy, a beautiful tree.
My “man who mows” is my husband too, he is willing but not too frequent on the mowing front, but with me now having a dodgy back his help is invaluable. I had ‘Forest Pansy’ in my previous garden and really miss it. I just hope my chosen space proves to be a good one, I’m not sure it will catch the light at this time of year.