The colors in my vase this Monday reminded me of my mother’s favorite ice cream, Tutti Frutti. I suspect she just liked saying the word while ordering. The ice cream was an unidentifiable, overly sweet fruit flavor in shades of pink, green and orange..lime, strawberry and orange, maybe? I am a confirmed chocoholic so it was not my thing.
The vase is also from my mother, a relic from her travels in the Southwestern US. The pineapple I found in my garden while cutting the Gardenias. It is small enough to fit in my pocket, though I found out the hard way that it was not a terribly good idea. Stabbed, yes. The pineapple is not quite ripe. I don’t think I am going to eat it as something took a bite out of the bottom. It is really cute, about 3 inches long, grown from a pineapple top from the grocery store. Vigilance is required to beat the animals to the fruit in the garden. Sigh.
A closer view:
The pineapple, on its good side. The flowers are: in peach, pink and green, Apricot Profusion, Cactus and Envy Zinnias; the pink flower is the same Dahlia from last week, identified as Purple Gem; white flowers are from Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana diviricata). A few stems of Tropical Red Salvia (Salvia coccinea) are in the back.
This vase has a delicious fragrance. A combination of pineapple, gardenia with a bit of sage and dahlia thrown in. I did not realize dahlias were fragrant. Another reason to grow them.
Visit Cathy at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see other vases.
Here’s to cooler weather and gentle rains, Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Lovely Queen. Pineapple in your pocket?
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A great name for your post and that pineapple is too cute.
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Thank you, I like the mini pineapples.
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Darling mini-pineapple and Tutti-frutti is a perfect title!
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Tutti frutti like Susie’s vase was – a nice cooling fruit salad would go down well here at the moment! What a perfect (we can’t see the bitten bit!) little pineapple – so cute! Love seeing your green zinnias… Thanks for sharing
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Thanks, Cathy. I think a cooling fruit salad would be nice here as well.
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Tutti frutti ice cream may be questionable but your arrangement is splendid, Amelia! The dahlia is very pretty. I love the tiny pineapple too. I should try planting the top of a pineapple here, although bromeliads don’t do nearly as well here as they do in your climate.
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Thanks, Kris. I think you can grow pineapples anywhere.
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Beautiful!
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Thank you.
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Totally beautiful! Way to go!
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Hey Cynthia!! thanks.
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Yer welcome!
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Beautiful flowers! Your zinnias and dahlias are doing great this summer. I kinda love that you can discover a pineapple in your garden while cutting gardenias!
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Thanks Susie.. the zinnias and Dahlia are getting smaller and smaller. Pineapple grows wild here in places on nearby barrier island.. Someday I’ll find a whole pineapple.
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Tutti fruitti is the perfect name for your arrangement this week Amelia – although I much prefer your beautiful bunch to the iced cream version! We have slightly sour sherbert lollies in Australia called ‘Fruit Tingles’ – your blooms match their shades exactly.
Love the pineapple prop – to be able to just casually pick one from your garden is special – even if something else got in early to have a munch first!
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Thanks, Sour sherbet lollies sounds good to me, I have developed a fondness for sour orange and limes since moving to Florida.. great for cooking. I have yet to grow a normal sized pineapple
The town I live in was the number one pineapple producer in the early 1900s. Wild pineapple pop up in the area.
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Oh yes, cooler weather and gentle rain please… until October! Love the fruity vase – your title reminded me of sweets we used to buy when we went on holiday to the seaside. 😃 They were these colours too. Wonder if they still make them…. Beautiful zinnias and dahlias. I had no idea they were fragrant either.
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October here we come! It is thundering here, teasing me but hot, hot hot… the Dahlia scent was a surprise to me…Thank you, Cathy.
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You get a lot of mileage from those tropical gardenias! I should look for them when I get to Southern California.
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I do, they bloom for a really long time. Major drought tolerance once established they go dormant in winter.
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