Orange Passion: that’s the name of this gorgeous Echinacea…
And after counting 13 flowers/buds, I decided to take the plunge and cut one!
Dodging the raindrops, I could also collect a few other bits and bobs too…
(Yes, we had some rain at last!)
I mixed in some Goat’s Beard, Heuchera foliage, a few sprigs of Lavender and some Willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium)…
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting the In a Vase on Monday meme, where we are challenged to fill a vase with flowers from our gardens. It’s so enjoyable. Why not join in?!
🙂
By the way, I wanted to update fellow vase-on-Monday bloggers/flower arrangers on the Centranthus (Red Valerian) I used here two weeks ago. It looked lovely for three days, then lost a few petals but still looked good on day five, so definitely one to use again.
Have a nice Monday!
Words and Herbs 
It is gorgeous, Cathy. I think Aruncus is great for flower arrangements. Mine is finished now
I love Echinaceas but I find the some of the really yummy ones don’ t come back in my garden. Have you had this one for long? It must be more than a year old if it has 13 blooms. What’s your secret?
I’ve tried so many Echinaceas Chloris, and the only one that comes back is the traditional pinky red one I was given by a friend years ago… This one was bought in the spring at the plant fair, and has been lovingly cared for in a large pot, with copper tape around the base to deter the slugs! I will plant it out in the autumn and keep my fingers crossed! 🙂 Even if it doesn’t return, I won’t regret buying it as I am loving it at the moment!
It is lovely. I bought some stunning ones last year but there is no sign of them this year. I don’ t understand why there is this problem with them. The ones that do survive make a nice clump and do very well.
Yes echinaceas are poor ‘do-ers’ for me too, so it’s lovely to see this one as a centrepiece for your vase – and I smiled when I read about you deciding you could spare one of the 13 blooms, as I also have that sort of conversation with myself, today deciding that i definitely couldn’t spare one of my two spikes of Campanula ‘Sarastro’! It’s great searching around for the extras, and your aruncus, willowherb and lavender do a stalwart job in the vase – thanks so much for sharing it with us.
Now if there had been just two Echinacea flowers, would I have cut one? …. I doubt it! But that makes us search further, and the results are always lovely, often surprisingly so, maybe sometimes unsatisfactory, but I’m still enjoying this so much! 🙂
What an unusual coloured Echinacea – wonderful! I’m still waiting for rain so it’s good to hear that you’ve had some !
I was so grateful for the showers we’ve had, including a 24-hour “soak”! Hope you get some soon Claire!
24 hour soak is what I’m dreaming of!
I like that colour Echinacea very much, did you grow it from seed or buy it as a plant? good value, whichever if it has 13 blooms. the whole arrangement is lovely.
Thank you Christina. I bought the Echinacea as a relatively large plant, and it was definitely worth the investment (only 8 euros actually!). It’s in a large pot, and is being tended carefully before being planted out in the autumn…
That’s a beautiful Echinacea, Cathy! Mine are only just beginning to bloom but I did cut one that turned up red (when it was supposed to be orange).
My red one is in the ground and hasn’t flowered yet either, but this one is in a pot, so has been given extra attention! 😉
Very nice and the Orange Passion really pops!
Thanks Andrea. I love that orange too!
Orange is one of my favorite flower colors! This one is a hit! (Though, sadly, I tried to grow the orange echinacea in my previous garden and the perennial turned out not to be so perennial after all.)
They are tricky to grow and it’s comforting to hear I’m not the only one who has had problems… I just hope this one turns up again next year!
All lovely! Nice choice to center your arrangement around Orange Passion–what a beautiful color. It works well with your other colors too. I had to look up the Willowherb as it was unfamiliar. Looks interesting. Your lavender has such a deep rich blue, my is rather pale in comparison.
I have several different lavenders Susie (no idea of the names now) and the darker ones flower a little later, along with one white one that still hasn’t opened! Willowherb is actually a weed here, but this cultivated one is supposed not to self-seed. It has spread a bit though.
Lovely Cathy, you always do a great job arranging the flowers. Love the orange Passion! 🙂
Thanks Michael! 🙂
Nice color, and I like how the goatsbeard gives the whole arrangement an airy feeling. I think my orange Echinacea is down to one stem, but the seedlings (all the regular pink/purple color) are going strong and I like their color just as much.
The pink ones seem to be the strongest, but in a pot this orange one is excelling… the main problem here is the snails in spring eating the fresh shoots, so the pot has copper tape around it which is very effective.
Even more impressive that you’re seeing all those blooms from a container plant! I guess our dry weather is good for one thing at least…. fewer slugs, but more watering.
I love the eclectic nature of your arrangement that comes together so well, it is really gorgeous.
Thank you very much for such a nice comment Charlie! 🙂
Were you taught that, too? We learned many years ago not to take a flower unless there were at least 12 others left. It’s so hard to grow some flowers, I rarely take any but I can see that you do *not* have a scarcity problem! 🙂
Oh, I didn’t learn that… so it was coincidence. I don’t pick wild flowers unless there are plenty around though. This particular flower has definitely earned its keep!
Absolutely lovely! Great use of goatsbeard as well, it all goes so beautifully together.
Thank you Sheryl. It’s still looking good on day 4! The goat’s beard in the garden is looking brown and tired today though… shame it doesn’t last longer as the bees loved it!
I honestly did not know that there was orange echinacea. Very nice! Such a classy arrangement.
Thank you! It has lasted very well in the vase and I’m hoping this pretty Echinacea will stick around for a while in my garden too, as I know the pinky red ones seem to be the easiest to grow.
the pink ones are pretty easy, a staple in any garden really. A few of my plants this year look all knarled up- like they have bugs but i don’t see any- and the other plants near them of the same kind look completely fine. Any experience with that?
I think I know what you mean. But in my case it is most likely the sun or lack of rain that dries the leaves up. I’ve been watering the potted one and it looks much healthier altogether.
What a fun arrangement and yippee for the rain!
And we have had more rain since, so the garden is happy! 🙂