Merry Walk Antiques: Garden Thoughts: Flowers Outdoors and In

Such ambivalence! On the one hand, I am wandering through this glorious fall weather looking for just the right, bright seasonal perennials to finish up the gardening year. On the other hand, I am also awaiting my bulb order and planning where things will go for spring. Waiting patiently with me, this dear little Breton carved panel which lives right by the new door to the side patio. We are ready to dig!

I'll start with my yearly diatribe about chrysanthemums: where are all the delicious varieties of yesteryear? The quill-petalled, the pom-poms, the daisy-flowered? Almost impossible to find...just garden center and nursery ad nauseum cushion mums, which might as well be made of plastic for all the charm they add to my beds. Surely there is more, somewhere? Yes, it turns out, and some of it is already in my yard, transplanted from my former home: Chrysanthemum Nipponicum, known in this country as "Montauk Daisies".

I have loved these for years, as they are a lovely shrubby plant all season, and then just when everything else is going, they burst forth with traditional daisy blooms. I brought these over from the other house, and they have never been so happy! It is wonderful when a plant shows its appreciation so exuberantly.

But a little more color was still needed, and Trader Joe's (no, I don't own their stock ) usually , and this year, certainly, has the answer:

Brilliant colors: a rich red and my favorite apricot, both daisy-petalled and with lime green centers.
Three of the apricot ones, potted for now, on the little side terrace where I can see them from the dining table:

And the red one nicely nestled in an antique Desvres wine cooler. (The wine cooler is for sale, but not my
mums!).

It, too, will be tucked into the ground a bit later on. With any luck, these will winter over, and be a start for next year's fall collection.

I can't think about flowers, without also thinking about faience, because there are such great jardinieres and vases to use, and also, so many decors with floral motifs. Even now, as I sit writing this, I am surrounded by gorgeous old plates and vases: they are all for sale, but I have the fun of looking at them until they leave me.