I'm still digging through my old photos. I took a lot of pictures last summer but failed to post any. I think I lost my blogging mojo somewhere.
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| June blooms - Spirea, Filipendula and Scabiosa |
I usually try and pick at least one bouquet of flowers every month out of my garden. I love flowers indoors and putting together bouquets gives me another perspective on my garden.
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| A simple bouquet of peonies and lady's mantle in early July |
My theory is if my flowers look good together in the garden they should look good in a vase. But that's not always the case. Sometimes they don't go together at all or I'm missing some critical element and I find myself rethinking my planting schemes.
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| Siberian iris and lady's mantle |
Sometimes it's a simple issue of some plants don't make good cut flowers. I don't design my gardens for cut flowers so that's not necessarily a bad flaw.
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| Late July brings Filipendula blooms, Veronica, Pearl and Ligularia |
A mistake I do see though is a lack of green filler. I always struggle to find some green to set the flowers against. The reason is obvious, my garden lacks shrubs and other woody plants.
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| August bouquet - Asparagus leaves, Rudbeckia hirta and Rudbeckia 'Golden Glow' |
I get caught up in the blooms sometimes and forget that you need a backdrop. The green framework is what the flowers hang on and is very important. Something to consider for this upcoming garden season.
26 comments:
These are great bouquets Marguerite. I love seeing the summer flowers. I can't hardly wait for more blooms to come.
When I make bouquets and don't have filler I use hosta leaves and nip shrubs for various colors of green.
I am glad you enjoyed my sparse spring flowers. I hope your snow melts fast. Surely this week will get rid of most of it.
I know what you mean about the backdrop. I also make that mistake. You concentrate so much on the plant that you forget what is behind it.
I hope the snow is finally melting at your place.
How nice to have these beautiful bouquets to revisit while we wait for spring. I am lucky to have lots of sweetfern and cinnamon fern that grows wild on my property, so I use it for green filler on flower arrangements. -Jean
You're right about the greenery thing, I am planting more euphorbias some bupleuram and Bells of Ireland this year for that very reason... You might like to check out the In a Vase on Monday meme that my friend Cathy runs, even if you don't participate, lots of inspiration in the comment links, often leading to more planting ideas too.https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/in-a-vase-on-monday-bluenwhite/ that last vase is a gorgeous dose of sunshine, perfect for today's grey skies.
This are beautiful! I just shove cut flowers into a mason jar and call it a day. :o)
Wonderful ... I just love how Lady's Mantle makes peonies and iris pop! If you have hosta, use my trick of cutting hosta leaves for bouquet greenery.
Marguerite girl !
All these bouquets are beautiful .. lacking greenery or not !
I don't design my garden for cut flowers either .. some times I am lucky to remember to bring some in .. I love the peony and Lady's Mantle the most! .. Lady's Mantle makes a great filler. The simplest plant some times is overlooked yet has wonderful impact on a bouquet .. you did GOOD girl !!
Joy : )
It is true that cut flowers give you another perspective on the garden. I never seem to have enough flowers and always wish I had a cutting garden. When it comes to the green background to set of the flowers I find I am not very imaginative. Having more shrubs would definitely help. Nicer floral arrangements is one thing I want to work on this summer.
Gorgeous! I tried to pick a favourite bouquet but couldn't - each are lovely in their own way. Though I am partial to red/green and green/white combos.
Lovely bouquets, Marguerite! You can't go wrong with peonies; they look beautiful even without a green backdrop. I like to bring in a few flowers in the summer, but I'm not very imaginative at arranging them. I think I need more Lady's Mantle!
They are all lovely vases!
I have struggled to put together vases from my own garden as I have only one plant of most and feel bad about cutting them off. I am about to move house and in my new garden I will try to grow more flowers for cutting. I hope spring has arrived for you by now, Happy Easter!
I have plenty of green, but don't plant for cutting.
Would love to have your peonies, who look very happy with the lady's mantle!
Your Filipendula and peonies are gorgeous! Your bouquets look wonderful.
Thanks Lisa, I can't wait for flowers too. I wish the snow would go away soon too but it's snowing again as I type :(
I think my shrubs need to fill out a bit more and then maybe I'll have something to cut from. Compared to the perennials my shrubs are still babies.
Getting too caught up in the flowers! that's my mistake. My backdrop is also taking a long time to grow too, that could be part of the problem. (wish shrubs grew as quick as perennials!)
ahhh, ferns are wonderful. You are indeed lucky. I should buy some ferns for our shady areas, we are definitely lacking those.
Great meme Janet, thanks for pointing me over there! i love collecting bouquets and it's always great to see how other people put them together.
Thanks Tammy, there's nothing wrong with a simple mason jar. Whatever works for you. I happen to like collecting vases so I need the excuse to display them.
Thanks Joene. Lady's Mantle is the perfect accompaniment in bouquets. Goes great with everything I think. I need to try hosta leaves, never thought of that.
Thanks Joy, Lady's Mantle is highly underrated I think. I love it in the garden, such a classic.
Jennifer, your floral arrangements are gorgeous! not sure how you can improve. I feel like I never have enough flowers to cut either. Some just aren't great in bouquets even if they're gorgeous in the garden.
Thanks Jane. mostly these are just what's blooming and available, I wish I had more selection to pick from so I could design them a bit more.
how true Rose, you just can't do any wrong with peonies, or lady's mantle for that matter. I'm sure you're very good at flower arranging, it's just hard to find flowers that are suited to arrangements. Vases like stiff stems and gardens like plants that move.
Thanks Helene, I'm thinking about you and your move and wishing you the best of luck. Moving can be so much work and it must be hard to leave your beautiful garden behind. I know you'll create something equally stunning in your new home though.
and I would love to have some your African wildflowers Diana! Thank goodness for internet so we can share our plants.
Thank you sweetbay. You can't go wrong with those outrageous pink blooms.
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