Monday, July 19, 2010

Monthly Garden Bouquet

It's time for my monthly garden bouquet, care of Noelle at Ramblings from a Desert Garden.

This couldn't have come at a better time because it's too stinking hot outside to do any real work.  So walking around with clippers in hand was the best way to spend my time today.

There are several things to consider when cutting a garden bouquet.  Such as, what flowers do I have enough of that I can clip for a bouquet.  At this point in time my flowers consist mainly of those planted by the previous owner.  These are generally hiding under a thick coat of weeds.  If I can find them, I can cut them.  I did purchase some new plants in the spring but these are too small at this point to cut anything off of them.  The other option is weeds, of which I have a lot.

So after perusing the above options this is what I came up with
If you read my post on Friday you'll know I confessed to my dislike of lilies.  But the fact of the matter is that there's a heck of a lot of daylilies out there just ripe for cutting.  And I have to admit the strong orange and yellow colours suited this crazy heat we're having just perfectly.

The next step was to find something to complement the day lilies.  I liked these tall grasses with their fuzzy heads.  They are growing throughout the wild portion of our yard and are just breaking into seed which is an yellowish, orange colour which complemented the flowers.  I also liked the spikiness of them.

Also growing with abandon throughout our meadow is white yarrow which offset the strong colours of the lilies.

After putting this all together I realized I was lacking some greenery to pull the look together.  After looking throughout the yard I realized, I have none.  That's right, no greenery here.  So I substituted chamomile.
This brings up a good point.  A nice bouquet needs some greenery to set off the vibrant colours of the flowers.  The same can be said for your garden.  So if, like me, you can't find any nice greenery in your garden you might consider visiting your nearest nursery and purchasing some foliage plants such as salal, camellia, or ferns to better show off your collection of flowers.

7 comments:

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What a really pretty bouquet. I love the colors. I never think to add greenery to my bouquets I get so focused on the flowers. The Chamomile looks perfect.

Laura said...

Orange flowers really pop! Looks good!

Diana Studer said...

You haven't inherited any shrubs or trees that you can trim foliage from? Do you have a wish-list for foliage plants? Flowers are fun, but they pass. Foliage is what makes the garden.

Marguerite said...

Catherine - maybe it's just a matter of tastes but I always thought that a flower bouquet, and a garden, needs some greenery to give your eye a place to rest. Too much eye candy makes me tired and overwhelmed. Who knew chamomile would work in a bouquet?!

Laura - Thanks, I like the orange better in my vase than in my yard. It matches my bathroom.

Elephant's eye - i know, it's seem odd doesn't it?! There are large mature birches and apple trees but their health is poor and the leaves are fairly tattered. Some spruce trees but they weren't right for a vase. A couple small shrubs, again in poor health or simply not of the kind I'd like in a vase. This yard is just crying out for some structure. I purchased 3 Diablo ninebarks this weekend and a juniper to start.

Floridagirl said...

That is a splendid, summery bouquet and looks just right without any greenery. The colors do coordinate perfectly. As for greenery, sometimes I think I've got too much of it.

Marguerite said...

FloridaGirl, I don't think I could ever have enough greenery. Something about lots of shrubs and trees just makes everything feel so lush.

Noelle Johnson said...

Oh, your bouquet is just lovely! I do like how the lilies form the main focus of the bouquet, but I confess, that I love the greenery you added, including the chamomile. Thank you so much for participating :-)