The autumn colours are gorgeous this year and our hedgerows are ablaze with Euonymus, Viburnum and Virginia Creeper. But I decided to use some of the (what I consider) lesser known shrubs in my garden and containers for an autumn vase, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her weekly meme.
My new favourite vase contains some Itea virginica ‘Little Henry’ (back right), Leucothoe ‘Little Flames’ (front left), Spiraea japonica ‘Magic Carpet’ (front right), and the large red leaves on the left are Diervilla splendens ‘Diva’, which is a shrub I can recommend… very drought proof, beautiful foliage and pretty little yellow flowers in early summer.
The Itea and Leucothoe are quite happy in pots in the yard, even in the extreme heat of summer and freezing winters, although I did wrap the Leucothoe up well last winter. I did, however, have to plant out the Spiraea as it didn’t like being confined. The Diervilla is planted in The ‘Edge and is still relatively small, resembling a Weigela in its growth but with much prettier glossy leaves and remaining very compact. (Up to about 1.5 m tall).
At the centre of the arrangement is a fennel flower, for some sparkle and some onomatopoeia – Phenomenal pholiage and phennel! 😉
I didn’t stop there though, as I noticed that despite three nights of frost my Gaillardia ‘Burgunder’ was still flowering. It got a matching autumnal vase with some yellow Tansy and Chrysopsis at the back (barely visible in my photos I realize!) and the lovely Chrysanthemum that featured last week at the front – Chrysanthemum indica ‘Bienchen’ (which means ‘little bee’).🐝
That Gaillardia deserves a medal for its flower power, but some golden leaves will have to do. I just looked back at some of my posts last year and noted that it was just as tough and long flowering in our drought year.
I wonder if you have pretty autumn foliage yet as well?
Many thanks to Cathy for hosting. Have a great week everyone!
Words and Herbs 
These vases are beautifully put together friend. Have a great week!
Thank you Eunice. 🤗
It was peak fall foliage last week over here Cathy and the trees have been gorgeous. Zero degrees right now but it’ll be 19 by Friday!!! Your colours are perfect for your new favourite vase eh? Do you press and dry leaves at all?
Ooh, stay warm Chris! We are back to fairly mild again. Interesting you ask about pressing the leaves…. no, I haven’t done it in years but I came across my flower presses the other day and may well pick a few leaves now to press. So thanks for the reminder! 😃
My favourite colours…gorgeous 💚
Thanks Cathy. Yes, the colours are definitely some of my favourites too. 😃
Your first vase is perfect for displaying autumn colors. We are still very green and leaves don’t start to turn until nearly December. Even then, most are not very colorful.
We really do take the autumn colour for granted here, and although it may not be as spectacular as Canada or the northern states of the US it does get pretty here in places. However, the fog and lack of blue skies in November is often the price we pay! 😉
Oh Cathy the foliage is really gorgeous especially in that vase! Love the combo. And your second vase the perfect complement with those deep rich fall colors.
Thank you Donna. The rich colours make me smile!
That vase is perfect for your phenomenal pholiage, Cathy – it’s a good idea to feature foliage tis week. Do you remember Christina’s foliage meme? Looking again at your second vase, that vase is perfect too for the colours of your blooms – definitely autumnal shades
Oh yes. I often think of Christina’s blog and her grasses in particular. She gave me some good ideas for drought-proof planting when I was still a novice at the old garden. I realize now I didn’t incorporate any grasses in this week’s vase! I will definitely have to use some again soon. 😃
Your autumnal foliage has been prettily put together. When I wrote my post I thought I might be jumping the gun, so I am particularly pleased to see you golden Chrysanthemum, a favourite colour of mine.
Thank you! The chrysanthemum looks best just as it is opening, with hints of orange at the centre. 😃
Love this capture of Autumn in a vase🥰
Thanks Val! 😃
Both the foliage-focused and the bloom-based arrangements are lovely, Cathy! I may be filling some future vases with flower-like stems of Leucadendrons 😉
They are equally autumn-like Kris. Great idea. 😃
What a lovely Autumn bouquet !!
Thanks Gwennie!
This autumn arrangement is so good!
Thank you! 😃
Love that Gallardia, they are amazing little flowers. Luecothoe and Itea are native to where I am from and I am intrigued that you grow them in containers! Wonderful vases today.
Thanks Amelia. The Gaillardia really are fantastic. Even with the voles trying to dig them up, they are still producing buds!
It is one of those rare plants we can all grow.
The actual vases are beautiful, and then with the plant and flower combinations they look marvelous! I have a ‘Little Henry’ Itea, too, and the foliage is so pretty in the fall. 🙂
Thank you! Yes, I love Little Henry and am glad it likes being in a pot too, so I can see it from the kitchen. 😃
Your garden still produces! Love the wordplay, too. 🙂
😉 The decay is starting to set in with damp weather though now…. It has been such a lovely long late summer/autumn so I can’t complain!
I love your arrangements this week, Cathy, and the container vases are standouts! I was taken with the idea of some of your shrubbery doing well in pots! I love the idea, and I’ve never done that before. I can understand that not all will do well confined, but with a little investigation I might be able to come up with something that would do well. You do inspire me! 😉
Thanks Debra! I am so glad I have provided you with some food for thought! 😉 I have a very hot yard between the house and the barn, and finding container plants that can cope with the summer heat AND are hardy has been tricky, but these two have done very well. I am constantly on the lookout for more plants that cope in pots, and this year found out that salvias, small asters and coneflowers also do well. Next spring I plan to blog about what made it through the winter… or not. 😃
I think I’d love to try some salvia in pots. And I haven’t done well with coneflowers in my garden, which mystifies me. My mom lives across the street and for her they grow so abundantly they are almost a problem. LOL! So maybe next spring I will try them in pots. 😉
Great! 😁
Gee, with the spelling and the leaves of Diervilla splendens ‘Diva’, I was expecting Photinia. Well, of course, this would not be the right season for that. A bit of Phormium would have worked nicely also. As you can imagine, phall color is not something that Californians are particularly experienced with.
Photinia always looks good, not only in phall/autumn! 😉 But it does tend to get nipped by frosts in spring. Usually it bounces back though. I had to look up Phormium… not hardy enough for us! 🍁🍂🌾
Photinia likely looks good ‘because’ it gets nipped. It is like shearing, which promotes colorful new growth. Ours gets rather boring without shearing. I did not consider the hardiness of Phormium, since it is so resilient to everything else besides frost.
Dang, that vase is killer. It almost stole the attention away from the gorgeous arrangement. They go beautifully together.
😉 Thanks! That vase is a current favourite!
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Very helpful recommendations on foliage plants, Cathy. Great to see such lovely colour in your vases today!
Thanks Allison! We have some great colour but the leaves are starting to drop rapidly now!