Making lemonade outta lemons.

Bishop's Children Dahlias

Fall is officially here, with threats of frost.  After I put Charlie on the bus this morning, I played this game (which I have played in many seasons past), where I walk around the gardens and complain that there are no flowers left to cut.  "I can't possibly pull any cohesive arrangement together with what's left in the garden," I mutter to myself.  And then I spot a few prime dahlias, run inside to grab my clippers, and begin the process of convincing myself otherwise.

After gathering a few red, single petaled "Bishop's Children" dahlias, I decide to base the bouquet around this bright and cheery color, unlike most ivory and blush bridal bouquets I often make.  Then I head over to the "veggie" garden (which I should admit has more flowers than veggies planted in it these days) where I spot some lovely, tall Red Gem marigolds that I grew from seed sent to me by my mom this Spring.  The orange and red variegation compliment the red dahlias perfectly.  Their delicate, tiny flower heads are starting to give the bouquet and airy feel already.

Red Gem marigolds

I raided the zinnia patch looking for any and all primary colored ones available that haven't been completely absorbed by the downy mildew they are usually covered with, this late in the season, along with a few interesting Jazzy Mix zinnias, which come in yummy warm tones and unusual stripe combinations.  

Jazzy Mix Zinnias courtesy of Johnny's Seeds

For a touch of whimsy, I added a few euonymous vines stripped off the side of the barn, with their fall pods starting to show, along with a few rose hips gathered from the scruff of our property.  I may have also added the last cosmo available for a pop of white brightness in this otherwise color saturated bouquet.  I even raided my container gardens for some purple sweet potato vine as well as some ivy that I cut from a topiary that should have been trimmed long ago.  See, I knew there was a reason I let it go. ;-)

Added a bold ribbon and voila!