The extended summer warmth means I still have plenty of flowers for cutting without worrying about more buds opening. With another heatwave with temperatures of 30°C and above, September is turning out to be a golden month… hence the title for this week’s Monday vase, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme.
The yellow and orange Cosmos ‘Brightness Mixed’ and ‘Sulphureus’ have done well again this year. The creamy yellow Cosmos ‘Xanthos’ is also very pretty and has produced lots of flowers. However, I find they don’t last as long both on the plant and in a vase, and deadheading is made tricky as lots of buds cluster together. The vase also contains Tithonia and Sunflower ‘Valentine’, and a couple of yellow Marigolds too.
The taller vase has one of my white cleome at the centre, from seed collected from last year’s plants. A big success, but I have ordered some pink ones for next spring as well.
I added Cosmos ‘Purity’ and a pinky Cosmos ‘Candy Stripe’, as well as some pink and orange Zinnias from a mixed seed packet. All have thrived in large pots in front of our living room window, creating a pretty panorama view! The Zinnias are so intricate…
I really don’t know why I have only discovered zinnias in the last couple of years!
My seeds for next spring and a few plants for autumn planting are already ordered, and the annual tidy up can wait until the end of October, allowing me to enjoy the rest of this month and the fine weather with very little to do except dead heading. 😀
Have a lovely week!
Words and Herbs 
I do love that Xanthos Cosmo!
It’s very pretty although not as tall as all the others I have grown.
Very pretty! Love that orange zinnia. I’m just home from the Dordogne, where it was also much warmer than expected.
I agree. The zinnias are great! Yes, I hear they have had no rain in parts of France for weeks on end.
Beautiful, Cathy! I love the happy colors you’re finding in your garden. ‘Xanthos’ is still one of my favorites along with the cactus zinnias. Love them!
Hi Eliza. The cactus zinnias are called dahlia zinnias here, and I find that a rather appropriate name too. They have really grown on me! 🙂
I’m huddled in my warm clothes waiting for our hot Indian Summer. Your sunny, bright Monday vases have me longing for all the joy of late summer here in coastal California.
It is strange that you should have a cool spell while we are basking in sunshine. Still, it can change quite rapidly here and no doubt autumn is not far off! Hope your late summer sunshine returns soon!
You have so much going on in your garden despite the weather. Well done for your vase this week.
Thanks John. The warm weather is keeping the garden flowers going as well as the container flowers. 🙂
Lovely joyful mix of yellows, oranges and white. Eliza also used a white Cleome today, it’s lovely; is yours C. spinosa or the variety she grows; also are yours spiny? They will definitely be on my list for next year especially as they set seed so well and quickly I already have some saved seed but I’ll save more as having fresh seed is always so much better than bought seed.
Hi Christina. Yes, Cleome spinosa. I bought a packet of mixed colours (‘Colour Fountain’) last year and they all turned out white! They are spiny, so Inuse gloves when I cut them, but they are also unpleasantly sticky to handle. I haven’t noticed the smell Eliza mentioned though. I definitely recommend them – I have already ordered some pink ones for next year. 🙂
My Cleome smell a bit too but I don’t think I’d describe it as scunky if it were I wouldn’t bring them into the house. My pink ones came from a packet of Violet!
I thought the spikey orange one a dahlia at first – but a zinnia?! I shall really have to have a good look round to choose zinnias for next year as they are so varied. And intersting to read about people’s success with cleomes – I tried once without success but will definitely have to have another go. It’s lovely to share your bountiful vase – thank you!
Yes, they call them dahlia zinnias here, but in the rest of the world it seems they are known as cactus zinnias. I really like them after being hesitant about zinnias at first. I recommend the Cleomes too – a bit sticky and prickly to handle, but gorgeous eyecatchers and they go on and on flowering until October! 🙂
I wonder if your zinnias are like the ones I photographed yesterday?
The name would certainly fit, but they look different again!
Dead heading is the only type of gardening to be done in those temperatures. I love Cosmsos but am adding Zinnias to my list of seeds. So many colours. Lovely.
I didn’t realise there are so many different types of zinnias, but I will definitely grow these again next year and will look out for other sorts too. Enjoy this warm weather Dorris – it looks like it will be the last heatwave for us this year but it has been fabulous the last couple of weeks!
This Weather is wonderful unless you have to work in it. Bit too hot for gardening. I have a second cousin named Zinnia and I had no idea what one was sixteen years ago, now I do and will add as many as I can next year. Hope you get time to enjoy the weather too.
They’re all such cheerful flowers. I still admire that pale yellow cosmos, even if it has a short shelf-life. I hope your temperatures stay warm and pleasant rather than toasty. We’re cooler than normal for this time of year right now but I just heard that our temperature could zoom up to 96F (36C) next week – yikes!
Oh, that is too hot for me too, Kris! Fortunately we have had cool nights which make the daytime temperatures bearable.
I love the Cleome and have not thought of it as a cut flower. It all looks great together and is bordering on Autumnal with the oranges and yellows! I love the Zinnias so much that I bought some Cactus Zinnia seeds to start here for the winter.
Those zinnias are pretty amazing, aren’t they! Yes, I have lots of yellow and orange annuals this year… my seed order for next spring has a few more pinks for a change. 🙂
The seed packs here were all mixed, which I don’t really like but am bravely coping! Planting seeds this week.
So pretty Cathy! Love the mix of late summer goodness. Thought I had some cosmos volunteering from last year but am beginning to think they’re weeds!
I remember having monster cosmos plants last year with no flowers until September, so perhaps they will produce some buds yet! It is good to have so many flowers still flourishing. I hope it stays like this for another month or so! 🙂
I love the use of the cleome as the fireworks in that taller vase. Our white ones were devoured early on by fleabeetles and have struggled ever since. The cosmos xanthos is a really lovely flower. I must look out for seeds.
My cleome always attract cabbage whites and the caterpillars then devour the leaves, but the plant never seems to suffer and carries on flowering!
Gorgeous and summery. Enjoy the sunshine 🙂
Thanks, you too Sam!
What lovely colours you have chosen. So pretty! I have been wondering why I never grew zinnias before, but this year has suited them with all the sunshine. Cleome is a beauty too. I hope you are enjoying this golden September.We have been promised a few more days of it here.
Hi Chloris. We have been so lucky with the weather for several weeks now after such a damp start to the year. The growth in the garden has finally subsided, but the annuals in pots are thriving with the cooler nights and all this sunshine! 🙂 Enjoy the warm weather you have been promised!
Such beautiful arrangements! Golden indeed.
Thanks Jason. 🙂
I love the autumn colours. I didn´t know how many different shades of Cosmos exist. Beautiful arranged.
Thank you Uta. Yes, there are cosmos in most colours now, but I haven’t seen purple yet… no doubt it will come!
I’m an autumn color girl, Cathy! I love pinks and light pastels, but I adore bright oranges, reds and yellows. Your garden colors this week are stunning! I have always had zinnias and cosmos in my summer garden. It’s very simple for me. They self-sow every year. I would like to try some new varieties and I love that you’re already purchasing your seeds for next year. 🙂
I always forget how much I like autumn too, with its rich colours. I have ordered the seeds early partly to make sure I get the sorts I want, and also because I have a clear idea right now of where things will fit in. You are so lucky that things self seed in your garden. Perhaps they do in mine too, but never get past miniature seedling stage due to the snails! LOL!
Such an inspiring display of colours!
Thank you Anca! 🙂
What a a gorgeous arrangement! Love the golden tones, Cathy.