The weather has taken a turn for the better the past few days – not too hot and no longer humid. Now this is what I call summer! Temperatures are in the mid 20s, and there is a light breeze… ahhh.
My golden vases are filled with Cosmos Brightness Mixed (orange), Cosmos Xanthos (which is not as yellow as advertised, but a lovely creamy colour), Cosmos Purity (white), Achillea, Fennel, Tithonia, Golden Euonymus foliage, Scabiosa ochroleuca and a Sedum bud.
The tubular vases contain Sunflower Valentine, Tithonia and Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit (a new one in a pot again this year as they never survive the slugs in spring in the ground)…
Have you noticed someone has been nibbling the petals…
Whoever it was thankfully left the Cosmos Xanthos intact. I really like this new Cosmos flower which I have grown from seed for the first time…
Finally a look at my sunflowers from the local “Blumenfeld” where you can pick Sunflowers, Gladioli and later Dahlias too, just for a few cents.
And the remains of last week’s vase are still looking very pleasing too…
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting this lovely meme. Do visit her, or even better join us all as we share flowers from our gardens across the globe each week!
Sunflowers scream summer. A good collection of them you have.
Thanks Lisa. August wouldn’t be August without sunflowers!
Cathy, all your arrangements are lovely and summery. Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit is a striking color, as is the pretty Cosmos Xanthos. Would be fun to have a pick-your-own flowers place nearby.
The flower fields are very small, often just a thin strip next to the road with a space to pull over. They are all over the place here, and my nearest is just a few minutes away on my way into town! ๐
Ehat a brilliant collection of sizzling summer colours – I can almost feel the sunshine.
And I hope you can feel some real sunshine this week Chris! ๐
I love the Sunflowers, we grow Cosmos and Tithtonias here as well. The colors are the epitome of summer.
I am so glad I discovered Tithonias. I grow them from seed and have never seen them anywhere else in Germany. ๐
Wow, that is great. We have some here -Bolivian Sunflowers that are used as a hedge – 10-12′ height and winter bloom.
Now that does sound amazing! ๐
Oh summer! What an amazing time of year! This week’s vases are brimming with the colors of the season.
Yes, August is such a bright month, with lots of yellows and oranges. ๐
Can you tell us more about this local โBlumenfeldโ, Cathy? It is not a concept I have come across. Those sunflowers are gorgeous – what’s not to like?! – but then so are your other blooms. It’s an interesting idea to grow echinacea in pots – bloggers tell me you shouldn’t crowd it out so I wonder if a pot would get round this as I do like a packed border! I have decided I quite like Xanthos, although it is a bit of a wishy washy colour – but it’s short and bushy in a way that my other cosmos aren’t. Thanks for sharing today – I enjoyed reading your post
Hi Cathy. Yes, I was disappointed with Xanthos at first, but it is rather pretty and has grown on me. The flower fields are small strips of land always next to a major road, and dotted all around the countryside, with a space for parking. There is a big box for putting your money in, and two knives strung up for you to cut your flowers. They are usually sunflowers and gladioli, but more and more also offer dahlias and later on pumpkins too. I did a post on our local one a few years ago: https://wordsandherbs.com/2012/07/30/flower-fields/
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Thanks for telling me about the flower fields – what a wonderful concept. I am off to follow your link now and I wonder if it will tell me who plants them…
I love sunflower season – nothing beats them for beaming happiness. C. ‘Xanthos’ is enchanting, I must look for it!
There were lots of adverts for Cosmos xanthos in the seed catalogues and it looked really yellow, so I was a bit disappointed at first, but now rather like the creamy shade instead!
Hurrah for beautiful weather and lovely vases brimming with summer blooms. I can feel you smiling from here.
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Great firey display, Cathy! I grew up with Blumenfelder, too. Only in the Wendland they are called “Blumenacker” or “Blรผtenacker”. “Cheyenne Spirit” is so much prettier in your pictures, than in the catalogue photos I’ve seen. Your’s looks like a glowing brick red, not neon orange. Must add it to my seed wishlist.
The catalogues are so misleading sometimes. I got my Echinacea in the local Baumarkt and they had lots of Cheyenne Spirit on sale, all varying colours ranging from bright orange to deep deep red, so perhaps mine will produce some orangey flowers too at some stage! Good luck with growing it from seed. ๐
I love that yellow cosmos! Your sunflowers are also wonderful – I’m disappointed mine did so poorly this year but I’m already considering my seed choices for next year in the hope of turning my luck around. I hope you continue to enjoy such perfect weather. To my amazement, we’re also enjoying comfortable temperatures right now, which is extraordinary for August.
I hope that your fine weather continues for you Kris. It makes it so much more pleasurable being outside now that the big heat and humidity have gone. ๐
So right, this is summer!
At last! ๐
Beautiful summery flowers to go with your summer weather. Enjoy it all Cathy.
Thank you Gillian!
It must be nice to have a farm to visit for your flowers, do you get there regularly?
I like that cosmos, you’ve done a good job raising it from seed. Does it look as nice in the garden?
It is just a strip of field between us and the next town, only a couple of minutes away. So Inoften stop off on my back from the shops. ๐ The Cosmos is in a pot, and is very sturdy and quite tall too, so I am sure it would look really good in the ground.
How fun this week’s vase is for me, Cathy. I have plenty of cosmos in my garden this summer. You have some beautifully vibrant colors! I only have yellow at the moment, but would love that orange! And how delightful to have such a place to go and pick sunflowers. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t smile at a bouquet of sunflowers. Enjoy your wonderful summer weather. It sounds divine! ๐
Thanks Debra. I love the orange cosmos too as they coordinate so well with the sunflowers and tithonia. Growing them from seed means they don’t really start flowering till late July in my garden, but then they last until October! ๐
Your Cosmos Xanthos looks wonderful – a soft, summery color! A lovely selection of colors all round, in fact ๐ So glad you finally get to enjoy some sunshine and summer weather after so many wet weeks!
Thanks Amy. Despite all the rain we had it was hot too, but this latest weather – dry and just warm, not hot – is much more pleasant!
Thanks for sharing sunny blooms…enjoy your garden.
Thanks Noelle!
Oh! Look at all of those beautiful Cosmos! Xanthos is gorgeous! I’m glad you’re enjoying some nice weather. We’ve had a bit of a break from the high heat and humidity, but the forecast for the weekend has us right back up there again. No fun working outside when it’s like that! But, oh, those Cosmos again!
I love the Cosmos too and grow different ones each year for my pots. I might try some more pink and red ones next year after seeing that lovely deep pink one in your front bed!
Beautiful summery bouquets.
Thanks Beauty Whizz!
perfect celebration of summer
Where would we be without sunflowers in summer?! ๐
Yes! That says summer to me too!
๐ The Tithonias are especially a symbol of ‘summer’ for me as they have only been flowering for a couple of weeks now. They will last until October though, hopefully! ๐
What gorgeous, upbeat colours Cathy. I hope you are enjoying the summer! A pick-your-own flower field sounds like my idea of heaven.
The flower fields are lovely to pass, even if I don’t stop and buy every time. ๐
This looks really like (late) summer. The coloures are more orange and brown. The sunflowers look like a Still-live. Yes, they are stll living. May the time of summer last for a while!
I am sure we have a good month of summer ahead before it gets autumny Uta. Enjoy the rest of summer while it lasts though! ๐
Golden indeed, these are the colours of August, so vibrant. I love them.
I love them too and have been filling vases with cosmos and Tithonia all week! ๐