A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in–what more could he ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars. – Victor Hugo
Spring and early summer are glorious times for anyone who appreciates gardens. Flowers burst like a rainbow across the landscape, their beauty is something from a surreal dream. A peak time for nature’s most colorful party always falls right around Mother’s Day – roses, peonies, irises, snapdragons, dahlias, and more are all in full bloom. One of the greatest joys in gardening is being able to share it. To have these beautiful blooms cascading throughout your yard means that those store bought flower days are over (at least for part of the year). This season MyScoop shows you some DIY arrangements and what types of flowers you can plant to bring these colorful displays to fruition:
1. Sorbet and Sunshine – This arrangement uses roses in tangerine, yellow, coral, and even white. Cut around a dozen to half a dozen long stem and arrange in a narrow, tall glass vase. I used a Weck jar from Alabama Chanin in Florence, which I am in love with. Whether it is flowers or a craft cocktail, these jars are so pretty and so simple. If you are intimidated by growing roses, well you probably should be. The huge plus to them besides their unparalled beauty is most take full sun. Other pluses include long bloom time (I’ve had them bloom through November before) and they do not require a lot of water once they are established. The downside, they are high maintenance when it comes to disease control, you have to watch out for black spot and use a natural fungicide killer like Garlic Rose GP Fungicide. The roses used in this arrangement include: Sunshine Daydream, Bolero (a white English rose), Coral Sherbet, Julia Child, and Free Spirit.
The fattest and most scrumptious of all flowers, a rare fusion of fluff and majesty, the peony is now coming into bloom.
–Henry Mitchell, American writer (1923-93)
2. Pink Puffy Peonies – Peonies are gorgeous and their beauty is fleeting, but they peak around Mother’s Day. Cut long stems and find a white vase. I chose this antique, large white pitcher. Whether you have bright pink peonies, white peonies, or pale pink peonies – the big bloom with fluffy petals against the white vase just pops. This will make for one gorgeous display. Peonies, if planted in sun with a little shade and watered properly until established, require relatively no maintenance. They will die back each winter but once the warm weather arrives they sprout into medium to large bushes quickly. Peonies may live longer than you do – some have been known to thrive for 100 years.
3. Her Purple Majesty – Iris, named after a Greek goddess for its beauty, this divine flower is also easy to grow and spreads each year. The centerpiece of this arrangement, the iris brings together a display of untamed beauty added by the twisted verbascum stems. This arrangement includes irises, columbine, verbascum, and salvia. In addition to being hardy, reliable, and easy to grow, the iris also attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, pollinators you need for a beautiful garden.
4. Spring In a Jar – One of the easiest ways to bring your garden inside is to simply do small arrangements in Mason jars. A random mix of poppies, dahlias, catmint, salvia, columbine, and even arugula blooms make up these colorful displays, but you can use whatever you have growing in your garden. The great advantage to these small arrangements is you do not need long stems therefore don’t have to worry about cutting off buds and new growth that hasn’t bloomed yet.