The zinnias had their last gasp this week. There were so many buds I could not bring myself to pull them out until I picked the last flowers. I cut the flowers for this vase and pulled all but One plant. The One still out there is a doozy. Hot pink and orange mix. The zinnia plants were huge and required a lopper to get through the main stems, they were woody and an inch in diameter. I have never seen anything like it. Many other plants are at the end of their season and have been included in this mixed vase.
The lone remaining zinnia:
Time for the close ups:
Blue flowers are from the old fashioned favorite, Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata); white flowers with yellow centers are ‘Bridal Bouquet’ Frangipani (Plumeria pudica); white flowers in foreground are Tropical Gardenias (Tabernaemontana divaricata) and yes, the scent wafting from this recycled florist vase is wonderful.
The fruity side, miniature pineapple is ‘Lava’ variety – I think, not particularly edible, but can be juiced. I usually dry them, spray paint them gold and use them in holiday arrangements. Multi colored zinnias are the last of the Zin Master plants – I’m letting the One still flowering go to seed. White daisies are Bidens alba, a very prolific native wildflower.
I’m looking forward to Autumn here. It’s marginally cooler and I just planted the first seeds of the gardening season. This always makes me happy. Cooler weather and new plants!
To see more vases visit Cathy’s blog by following this link RamblingintheGarden
The Shrub Queen 
My goodness, Amelia, the blue plumbago virtually smacked me in the face when I looked at your vase! 🤣 They seem to really emphasise the last hurrah of summer with your wonderful zinnias and your tropical goodies. Your zinnias have been absolutely brilliant – I wonder if saved seed will produce equally strong offspring?
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Cathy? The Plumbago is kind of in your face. I just kept cutting one more piece. Letting one zinnia plant go to seed, we will see what happens.
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I love the pure colors in this arrangement, A. The white and blue provide a calming backdrop that lets the zinnia colors pop. The mini pineapple is like a swizzle stick!
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Thanks, Eliza, one of these days I need to make a drink with rum and a pineapple swizzle!
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👍🏼
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I’m immediately entranced by any arrangement that includes a small pineapple! I’ve got to figure out how to grow a plant like that in my climate. I love the Plumbago flowers too. They’re blooming like crazy here at the moment but not in my garden. All the plants I see are absolutely huge (some the size of compact cars) and I can’t figure out where I could put one but maybe I should try one in a large pot…
https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/
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The pineapple is forget it about it easy here and Plumbago does great in pots.
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Plumbago sure is a nice blue. I really liked it when I first met it, then learned to dislike its aggressive growth, but still sort of like the color.
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I concur, the Plumbago are just creeping along and suddenly huge.
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and difficult to eradicate when they get a bit too far into where they are not wanted.
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This is fabulous, loving the little pineapple! Your zinnias went to town this year.
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Thanks, Tracy. I need to get the winter batch going.
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Yay to cooler weather! Love all that blue plumbago and am intrigued at how you got the pineapple to sit so high up – do they have such a long stem? In any case it looks great there, and tops off your arrangement perfectly!
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Yes, these are (sounds weird) long stemmed pineapple.
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I meant to admire the zinnias too. An amazing variety and I hope you manage to save some seeds. 😀
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Thanks, Cathy – I left one to go to seed. Fingers crossed.
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I really like the surprise addition of the pineapple. I have never heard of a zinnia with such a tough stem.
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Thanks, I enjoy the pineapples. I did not quite get all the zinnias out and will be interested to see if they reappear from roots.
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It looks like the storm is missing us this time. I’m still trying to get my final cleanup done. It is so hard to get people in here.
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Yes I was watching ..that was close. I tend to leave things a bit in September as you never know. I have hired two clean up crews for the garden and neither ever showed up.
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It is so hard to get people to help. I don’t know why anyone is unemployed.
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A stunner full of flowers I have no hope of growing!! ….except the Zinnias and mine are covered with buds so I am hoping we don’t get a sudden September frost! It seems cut flowers just get going and the end of season rolls around! I love your display.
https://zonethreegardenlife.blog/2024/09/09/in-a-vase-on-monday-september-9/
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Thank you. I usually feel the same about your flowers.
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Oh my goodness, I love that coneflower blue color! And the combination of elements is so creative and wonderful…and the pineapple! Fun!
Beth @ PlantPostings.com
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Thanks, Beth.
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Lovely designe. The pineapple is a great surprise addition. I love the Blue Plumbago and it feels just right with the whites. Zinnias are so hard to let go but nice you can get another crop soon. Mine planted in July have brightened up the otherwise fading garden here. Hope you’re doing well.
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“design” 😀
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Thanks, Susie..the French word for design? ha. I haven’t planted the new zinnias yet.
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I love zinnias. It hurt my heart to pull several of the plants this week. They still had blooms and buds, but the leaves and stems were so brown and dried out from mildew they became eyesores in the garden beds. The butterflies and I are missing them.
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Same here, but the mildew was nasty.
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