Tag: Anthemis ‘Susanna Mitchell’ daisies

Australia · from my garden · garden flowers · gardening · in my garden · roses · subtropical weather

In A Vase on Monday ~ 2024!

Joanne22 Comments

Happy New Year!

It may sound odd to people living in the northern climes of the world when I say that as we enter the middle month of summer here in Australia, there are slim pickings in my garden. The heat causes flowers to wilt faster than usual. And on Christmas night we had a mini cyclone through the area. We lost power for five hours, but we were lucky: some poor people lost power for several days.

My roses, hardly species that they are, seem to cope well with Mother Nature’s tantrums. So again, I have chosen roses for my Monday vase, this time deep pink Gertrude Jekyll, which I have paired with pale lemon-coloured Anthemis ‘Susanna Mitchell’ daisies.

The Susanna Mitchell daisies are a spring flowering plant. I thought I had seen the last of the blooms for this season when they began to wilt and die, only to discover that after a spot of rain, they had a second flush of flowers. I am very impressed by these plants, they have been in flower since September and if the plant invades its neighbour and needs cutting back, it doesn’t look as if it has been trimmed. I even stuck a couple of wayward runners into a bare patch of soil and they are growing very nicely, without any special treatment.

Gertrude Jekyll is a David Austin rose. Its namesake, Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) was an influential garden designer and author in England, who, according to the David Austin website, advocated for “incorporating roses in mixed borders” ~~ a woman after my own heart! Most of my rose bushes are planted in a long garden running the length of my side front fence, sharing the garden bed with various other plants such as camellias, buddleia, petunias, impatiens, gerberas, and even a couple of Australian native plants.

There are insects galore making homes in my garden during summer, and inevitably I find a hitchhiker or two when I bring the flowers indoors. This week’s interloper can be seen on the lower Susanna Mitchell daisy.

My slightly scorched vase this week is my contribution to Cathy’s In A Vase on Monday challenge at Rambling in the Garden. Thank you, Cathy, for encouraging me to go outdoors and find the beauty in my garden during the hottest part of the year. 🙂

Australia · garden flowers · gardening · in my garden · roses · subtropical weather · summer

In A Vase on Monday

Joanne9 Comments

… and A Week of Flowers ~~ Day 4

The vase I chose to use this week is one I bought several years ago on a whim, and have rarely, if ever, used. That will change from now on, as I hadn’t realised – because of not using it – that this vase is perfectly sized and shaped for displaying narrow-stemmed flowers, such as gerberas and Susanna Mitchell daisies.

Amid the colourful gerberas and pale yellow daisies, I have also added two Olivia Rose Austin and two red roses …

I bought the red rose bush several years ago and planted it among other rose bushes. None of the plants grew well in the position I chose; some didn’t even survive! So a couple of winters ago, I transplanted the surviving rose bushes. The red roses are from one of them. Clearly, the plant is much happier growing in its new garden bed.

This beautiful, delicately scented, pale pink rose is Olivia Rose Austin, a David Austin rose named for his granddaughter. After seeing the gorgeous flowers on the first Olivia I bought a few years ago and enjoying them so much, this winter I bought a second plant.

I received my first gerbera plants as a gift about twenty-five years ago, and they are still growing well. In my subtropical climate, I have learned that if a plant thrives, even when neglected, it’s a keeper. This palest pink gerbera flower is a recent addition to my garden. I love the fine, two-toned petals, pink at the ends with white closer to the centre of the flower.

This orange gerbera, while not as finely featured as its neighbours in the garden, is an extremely striking plant. Visitors often comment on how lovely it looks.

The red gerberas are from my original plants. If you look closely you will see a small hitch-hiker, in the top, right-hand corner of the photo, who ended up indoors with the flowers. Escaping from the heat of the garden, obviously. 😉

Anthemis ‘Susanna Mitchell’ daisies are a new addition to my garden this year. They seem to love everything about the soil, heat, drought and rain my subtropical climate throws their way, and are thriving! Susanna is a spring bloomer and her flowers are coming to an end; there are still plenty of blooms left, however, to enjoy indoors.

Like last week’s vase, this week I have positioned my vase on the mantlepiece in the family room. By next week, I will have started to decorate the room for Christmas, so space will be limited in this room and every other room in the house! I will always find somewhere for another vase of flowers though. ❤

Thank you to two Cathys – Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting In A Vase on Monday each week. And also to Cathy at Words and Herbs for suggesting A Week of Flowers to brighten everyone’s days for the week.