I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden again this Monday in taking materials from my garden to display inside my home in a vase. This meme has kept my blog ticking over for the past few weeks!
You could be forgiven for thinking it’s still summer around here when you look at this first photo…
But we actually had a frost Saturday night which prompted me to cut some of the last Cosmos flowers on Sunday. They seemed undamaged, being near to the house. I also found that my Hypericum was flowering again after rejuvenating at the end of our summer heatwave!
I added the props just to assure you that it IS November here in Bavaria too!
My little green pumpkin comes out for display every autumn, and the golden Chinese Lanterns – Physalis alkekengi – are dotted around the rockery now, although even they suffered in the summer drought and haven’t produced as many seedheads as usual.
Other items I added to the vase are some Euphorbia – just starting to turn red – some Linaria leaves and buds, and a few fresh Geranium leaves.
The three hazelnuts in the photo were the only ones we salvaged – there were loads of young nuts on the trees in early July, but either the creatures had them or they also succumbed to the heat.
Thanks to Cathy for hosting this meme – do go and visit her!
P:S: I’m glad I prepared my vase a day early, as this morning the frost was even colder and the Cosmos looked like this…
😦
Are there any summer flowers left in your garden? Have you had frost yet?
Words and Herbs 
I love the physalis.
It is such a gorgeous golden orange isn’t it!
Yes, love its brightness.
Lovely vase and overall arrangement Cathy. The euphorbia is a great addition. I’m sorry the frost got your cosmos but it does look quite beautiful nevertheless. We didn’t have one frost last winter, so I hope we get some this winter as I do love its frosting effect and it means that the seasons are doing what they should. Have a good week.
No frost? I suppose your coastal location protects you. We get a lot of fog and mist in autumn, which means white frosts are mostly later in winter. But October or November always gives us a taster for what is to come!
If it freezes here, it will be in January or February. But I do have fantastic garden news, it’s raining in California! The entire garden is perking up! Your Vase on a Monday is so inspiring. I’m going to put on my parka and venture out with my garden sheers to see what kind of an arrangement I can make.
Hi Deb. Fantastic news! So glad you are getting some rain at last! Hope you could pick some flowers in the rain. 🙂
You are inspiring me to go out and scrounge up a vase – I missed doing one last week and it has become such a fun, creative outlet. Love your green pumpkin– and your frosted cosmos, although rather bittersweet, is beautiful.
Hi Eliza. Glad you made a vase after all! 🙂 Sadly the cosmos didn’t recover and has now been cut down. It was a lovely colour and the only one I didn’t label, nor did I save any seed as I am far too diligent about deadheading my patio flowers! LOL!
Just before the frost as if you had known! A beautiful and creative vase, Cathy, as usual!
Thank you Anca. Yes, I was so lucky to catch the cosmos in time.
Gorgeous blooms! It’s snowing like mad here this morning but it may not linger in the city. Some of the ski hills will open for the season this coming weekend in the mountains, though!
Ooh, snow! How exciting! I suppose the first snow is always lovely, but by Easter you will be glad of a change of scenery. Have a fun skiiing/snowshoe season Sheryl!
I remember your ceramic pumpkin form last year and I love that crackle glass vase. What a shame the frost is now wreaking havoc on the garden but I am sure we will be still be finding pleasure in our garden right the way through till next spring.The euphorbia leaf is a great addition to the dark pink cosmos, but all the foliage works well. Thanks for sharing
I think I picked that vase subconsciously, thinking of frost and ice! The cold nights seem to have passed for now, and we are back to low cloud and morning mists for a while.
Lovely Cathy! We have not had a frost yet, but there does not seem to be much to choose from here as all is looking a bit bedraggled today.
Rain can do as much damage as frost. We had heavy rain the week before and my lovely pink asters got spoiled… had hoped to use them in a vase, but maybe next year!
No frost here either, which is unusual. Average frost date is 10/15. Cosmos are done, but Zinnias still blooming away.
Glad you still have some annuals flowering for you Jason!
There are seasons between your last and the other pictures! We suffer under thick day-lastig fog. But when the sun comes out we see Golden October and autumn crocusses!
Yes, the sunshine days are inbetween foggy cloudy days here too – beautiful leaf colour though, even on a dull day.
Oh no that frost is heavy….glad though your garden is still summery….waning more with each frost so I was glad to pick my flowers…love the way you displayed the vase Cathy!
Thanks Donna. The garden is really slowing down and dying back now.
Lovely Cathy. I like how the yellow Hypericum flower resembles the center of the cosmos in the next to the last photo. We usually have a heavy frost by now but October started out cold then turned warm again. Now it’s just rainy (all the missing summer rain showed up at last).
The rain will keep some of your flowers going a bit longer I suppose, but still hope you get some sunshine again soon Susie!
How lucky you grabbed those last Cosmos before the frost hit – although I do love the arty frost shot too!
Thanks Joanna! Yes, I was lucky and beat Jack Frost to it!
No frost for us yet here in NW Lancashire in England and our summer flowers are still going strong… for now! We still have lots of buds on our Cosmos and Scabious but it’s only a matter of time before the cold weather reaches us too. Your arrangement is lovely as is your little green pumpkin.
Thank you Gillian. My Scabious is still producing a few flowers but the annuals are all over – except for some lovely Pelargoniums on my (sheltered) front door step! 🙂
Yikes! Poor Cosmos. You managed to pull off a beautiful arrangement in the nick of time, Cathy. Here, it really does still feel very summery, although there are some clouds blowing through (at last) and we have a 50/50 chance of some rain.
Hope you get a shower or two this week Kris. The lower temperatures here have helped a lot of summer flowers to keep going, but this frost signifies the end of the season I fear.
No frost here yet, in fact it has been very mild and the flowers think it is still summer. I love your November arrangement and your gourd. Have you saved seed from your lovely Cosmos?
Hi Chloris. Sadly I didn’t save any seed – it took so long for this one to flower and I was gaily deadheading every day before I realised it was too late!
I love that last picture. It’s foreboding yet beautiful. Our first frost was October 18th (if I remember correctly). In advance of it, I cut a huge number of flowers for our dining room table. It’s been pretty warm since then. Some of my zinnias are still around, but otherwise, only the marigolds and chrysanthemums are left.
That photo could have made a good Halloween post it’s so spooky! My garden is also looking a little sparser now, with not much flowering other than the sedums and grasses. Thanks for visiting!
Something ate my sedums this year!
Oh dear!
Oh I do like that glass vase Cathy which in itself looks reminiscent of frost. The physalis is most attractive. We saw lots of these in florist’s shops as well as decorating cafe/bar tables on our recent holiday in Europe and I made a mental note to grow some next year. We are still waiting for that first frost but no sign of it on the cards this week.
Thanks Anna, I must warn you about the Physalis… they are VERY invasive, so please think carefully about where you plant them. I will regret it for the rest of my days, despite the lovely seedheads in autumn!
I can’t believe the quick frost and the damage to the Cosmos! The weather shifted quickly, didn’t it! Your arrangement is really beautiful with the added props, Cathy, and I’m shocked, as well, that it’s November, but when you make such a pretty scene I welcome November just a little more easily! 🙂
The nights had been rather chilly for some time, so a frost was pretty much to be expected. Yes, October just flew by and now I am starting to think about Christmas already!
Your photo answered my question! But the buds don’t look damaged so you may have a few more flowers before winter really arrives.
The cosmos plants didn’t perk up later in the day and looked even worse the next morning, so they have been cut for the compost heap. 😦 They were so lovely while they lasted!
Good old Cosmos, hanging in there till the last. The angle of the sun gives it away: autumn is here. Congratulations on the forward-thinking. You’ve managed another beautiful vase. The photo of the frost-damages flower, though sad, is also stunning.
Thank you Alys. I loved this particular Cosmos, so its demise – although expected – was still sad. On the positive side, I have got all my spring bulbs planted (a squirrel has replanted a few I fear) and almost all my plant containers are now cleared away for winter. Time for some reading and crochet soon, and then Christmas baking too! 🙂
Cathy, you’ve been so productive. How are you feet holding up?
Congratulations on getting all the bulbs in the ground. I’m not at all surprised by the rearranging squirrels.
Did you save some of the Cosmo seeds? A few summers ago I had the most impressive pair of Cosmo plants (they grew as tall as me!) so I saved several of the seeds and made cards to go with them for Christmas. It was so much fun the following year hearing about the successful blooms in my friends gardens.
Crochet and baking sound wonderful. I’ve got my foot elevated and I’m coloring, reading and catching up on my email.
Hi Alys. My feet are slowly getting better and I am trying to go for walks regularly again – not too far and not daily, but progress nonetheless! How is your foot now? Hope the surgery went well. Take it easy now for a while! I love that idea of saving the seeds and sending them to friends… I will remember that next year as I didn’t save any cosmos seed this year. I did save some cleome seed though, and you have inspired at least one Christmas gift! Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that your feet are on the mend. Progress is progress so hurrah for you.
The surgery went well, though it will be awhile before I’m walking again. I just published a post today if you want to take a look.
I’ll find the link on the seed cards and will share it with you. I’m exciting that one of your friends will receive seeds this year.
Forgive me if I’ve posted this twice. My computer is a bit glitchy this afternoon: I wrote two posts on my Cosmo seed cards. Here is one: http://gardeningnirvana.com/2012/12/16/finishing-touches-seed-packets-are-a-go/
And the one with the design is here: http://gardeningnirvana.com/2012/12/05/cosmo-seeds-for-christmas/
Thanks for the links Alys. Such a lovely idea to make the cards too. You are such an inspiration! Take care. xx
Thank you! xox
I too love the picture of the frost damaged cosmos, good enough to print and have up on the wall. Maybe as a card or notelet. The collection of leaves and flowers you have chosen Cathy, and the little zing of yellow from the Hypericum are really good, and supported by your green pumpkin, and physallis too. I have always admired physallis, but it is one plant I have never grown…I need to consider that for next year! Like you I shall be turning to crafts and baking. Hope you keep posting about those.
Thank you for such kind words Noelle! I just warned Julie about the Physalis – it spreads rapidly with long rhizomes underground and before you know it the whole garden has been infested, so please take care if you do decide to grow some! (It is pretty in autumn though! 😉 )
gosh that was a hard frost – poor cosmos! I love seeing Physalis at this time of year, but probably won’t be growing it in my small garden after reading your advice above!
I only wish I had known when I was given the first Physalis plants by a neighbour… Some years I have so many seedheads to give away by the bagful!
Such a delicate arrangement and I really like the way you added the lanterns around the base. Lovely.
Thank you Dorris. I like to have a few of those lanterns dotted around the house in autumn. 🙂
The last photo says it all…looks can be deceiving. While the first photo might give you the idea of summer, the fact is that November can be harsh. When we were in Bavaria two years ago, there had been a big snow storm in October.
Yes, we have often had snow here in October, and that is why most people clean up their gardens for winter before All Saints’ Day on 1st November. At the moment it is sunny and mild, but that could change quickly at this time of year!
Look at those three perfect little hazelnuts! Even though it’s all you have left I’m sure there were many other grateful tummies out there this autumn.
So frost has made it your way too…. we had a hard freeze a few weeks ago and it’s been warm since. I’m not crazy about this.
I hope the dormice were the culprits – apparently they like unripe hazelnuts! And as a protected species here I like to think I have helped get a family through a dry summer. 😉 We had two or three hard frosts but the last week has been so warm and sunny. Not at all how November should be….
Still no freeze here though further out from Lake Michigan they’ve had some hard frosts. Lovely rose buds – it’s so strange to see the blooms on ‘Cassie’.
I’ve had the odd rose still flowering in November before, but never so many and lots of buds too.