Autumn has arrived! However, the daytime weather seems to have not read the memo yet, and the humid, damp days continue. Nights are cooler though, which continues to affect the garden: the Frangipani tree branches look barer with each passing day and the rose bushes continue to lose foliage without much regrowth at all.
I started to collect a few stems from the garden as my contribution to Cathy’s In a Vase on Monday post yesterday, between showers of rain. The Verbena Polaris continues to bloom and is looking healthier now than it has all summer.
There is so much new growth on my Camellia shrub that I needed to trim a few branches which were beginning to encroach on a walkway … and kept a few for my vase. I also noticed buds beginning to form, so took care not to take any of those branches. The foliage is beautiful and glossy, but you will notice the telltale signs of insect nibbles and heat scorch on the leaves. Hopefully, this will end as the weather cools.
When I was hunted back indoors by a downpour of rain, I left the cuttings in a container of water on the kitchen bench. By the time rain – which developed into a storm – had stopped, the garden was in darkness.
This morning I cut a few stems of a Tibouchina shrub called ‘Peace Baby’. Every year after flowering finishes I cut the shrub back hard. It begins growing again almost immediately, which shows the hardiness of the plant.
I knew I had a rose bush in bloom that I haven’t brought in for a vase before. I think I have mentioned before that the blooms don’t last long in the summer heat, so there was only one stem suitable to bring indoors. It is slightly affected by heat, but has two pink buds beside the open flower. The buds probably won’t open, but they look very pretty just as they are.
When I added the David Austin ‘Heritage’ rose to my vase, it crossed my mind that I should follow Cathy’s example by adding a prop to give meaning to the vase. My own heritage, although I was born in Australia, is English, but I don’t have a Union Jack to display. Hmm, what would tie into my British heritage, I wondered?
Although I hadn’t planned on adding any Desdemona roses, there she was, as usual, waving her beautiful white blooms at me! It would have been rude not to bring her indoors too. 😉
The vase needed a little “something else”, so back outside I went and picked all the pink Gerberas I had in the garden. These are all new blooms since last week, which shows have fast they flower.
When I placed the vase where it will be on display in the family room this week and took a photo, I didn’t realise that I had inadvertently discovered a prop for my English heritage, albeit a sad mention … let me explain.
As you can see, I have turned the page of the calendar, which now shows the month of March – the first official month of autumn here in Australia. Usually, I would have cropped out the top shelf of the stand, which contains some of my recipe books, but look closely … there lies my heritage.
The world heard the sad news last week of the passing of Dave Myers, one half of the cooking duo The Hairy Bikers. I always enjoy watching Dave, along with Simon King, joking their way through the dishes they cook during their biking journeys. And both Dave and Si are from England, specifically the north of England, which is where my heritage lies. I will continue to enjoy watching reruns of episodes from The Hairy Bikers – the food they make, and their strong northern accents reminds me of my parents, who arrived in Australia with my three sisters several years before I was born. ❤
Not wishing to end on such a sad note, I will now share the tiny vase of flowers I picked to sit beside my desk in my office. You will notice in the photo above, just one tiny Brachyscome ‘Mauve Bliss’. There are three in the vase, but the others are lost beneath the Gazanias!
To add context to the size of the flowers, the vase is only 6.5cm. tall, and the roses are miniatures. The peachy coloured rose bush has the most flowers in bloom just now and I really love this gentle shade of peachy colour.
When I dead-headed the Love Potion rose, I found there was only one flower suitable for a vase this week.
And the purple Salvia adds a touch of background interest.
So they are my two vases for this first week of autumn’s contribution to In a Vase on Monday. Don’t forget to visit Cathy, and other Monday vase contributors during this week to admire the new flowers that are springing out of the ground and adorning branches in the Northern Hemisphere. 🙂
In My World 
Beautiful tiny vase, I love the selection.
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Thank you, Cathy. 🙂
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Your first autumn vase is so pretty! I appreciate how much meditative thought you put into creating your arrangements. I love those little purple tendrils in the middle of the Tibouchina ‘Peace Baby.’
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Thank you, Barbara. ❤
The Tibouchina flowers look very different when you look at them from various angles. I love them too. 🙂
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So pretty! It’s barely spring here, so no flowers in our gardens. I know that late summer, early autumn is the best for cutting flowers from my garden. Your flowers are beautiful!
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Do you grow many flowers in your garden, Dawn? I would love to see photos of what you grow in your area. 🙂
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Both are beautiful, Joanne, and the small one is esp. delightful. I have a soft spot for tiny bouquets! 🙂
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Thank you, Eliza. 🙂
I’m the same; I have a few large vases, but I always end up using my smaller vases and cutting the stems shorter once I am indoors with my collection. And my tiny vase has become a regular Monday event. One day, I should just bite the bullet and arrange a large vase, just to be different!
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Ah, both are beautiful. I’m glad you added the smaller one to enjoy in your office. I haven’t heard of the “Hairy Bikers” but I’ll try to find a clip. tzgarden.blogspot.com
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Thank you, Tracy. 🙂
Did you find a clip of The Hairy Bikers? I really enjoy watching them, so I hope you do too.
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I love your Gerbera daisies more with each viewing, Jo. The white-flowered Tibouchina is fabulous too. The fact that you have so many flowers at summer’s end shows me how different our climates are, despite the fact that I can grow a host of Australian natives here. Southern California is known for its “dry heat” – our humidity in summer is generally low, although I’ve noticed a bit of a shift in recent years as the climate changes. Rain in summer – or actually any time between mid-April and late-October – is considered a freakish event.
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Here in Australia, our climate always varies from year to year – it always has – but our summers are usually very humid. We had a couple of years not too long ago when the summer weather was much drier, but then there were dreadful fires everywhere!
I have a Facebook friend, from Ohio, and she has just visited California. She says it’s the most beautiful state she’s ever been to. ❤
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Gorgeous as always! I’m envious of the beauty surrounding you. As Dawn mentioned, in the more northern part of the northern hemisphere not much evidence of spring is around just yet, however the weather here in New England treated us to two lovely days of warmer than normal temperatures- pleasant and perfect for being outside.
Just an aside I noticed in an Australian vs American English: you said you were “hunted”inside by rain, where I would say I was “chased” inside! Same meaning of course!
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Haha, I sometimes second-guess things that I write, and wonder if everyone knows what I’m talking about. I suppose I’m very Australian, but I grew up in an English household – I even spoke with an English accent until I was a teenager, what with my whole family being from Northern England. Then when I met my husband, there were a few times he didn’t understand what I was saying … lol …
I hope your weather is warming for you now, especially after spending your holiday at a beach. ❤
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I really enjoyed this post Joanne! Not only all your lovely flowers, but the references to your heritage too. Sadly I have never seen The Hairy Bikers, but have heard how popular they were. And it is fun to hear how the changing of your season to autumn is at precisely the same time as my spring season arrives!
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We may notice several similarities between our climate during the next month or two, Cathy. 🙂
If you look up The Hairy Bikers online, I’m sure you’ll find some videos on YouTube of their shows. They were a very entertaining pair together, and the best of mates too. ❤
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You create the prettiest vases 💗
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Aww, thank you, Michaela. I’m glad you enjoy them. 🙂
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I have never considered miniature roses before, but seeing yours makes me think differently about them – who would guess how small that last vase was?! And I love the shape of the contents of your jug – somehow, I have never felt skilled enough to create a ‘wide’ display like this. The gerberas and foliage work so well – and it was interesting to read about your heritage too
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I’m not skilled in flower arranging at all, Cathy, which is why I usually add whatever is in my garden and hope for the best! I try to balance the flowers and foliage, so they sit in an even-ish ‘globe’ shape, but even then, the balance isn’t always right. I really enjoy having flowers in the house since I started joining in each Monday though, so thank you for hosting IAVOM every week. ❤
Do try growing miniature roses too, they really are lovely in both the garden and a vase. 🙂
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We are a mixed bunch on IAVOM but most of us would not, I think, consider ourselves skilled in arranging – but that doesn’t stop our vases looking pleasing, as they invariably do!
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Both the vases are really pretty, and the miniature vase with small rose is delightful.
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Thank you so much, Noelle. 🙂
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