Pack in the Pachysandra

Many gardeners find Pachysandra to be an encroaching nusiance. But I love this evergreen groundcover not only as a plant bed groundcover, but as a bouquet filler! The large, glossy and grass green lobed leaves help accentuate your bouquet’s colors and textures. The simplicity of the leaves provide the perfect backdrop to make your summer or winter arrangements pop! Cut Pachysandra as low as possible; just above the last bud. This plant has a long life as a cut flower; I can usually use the same cuttings in 2 or 3 consecutive arrangements. 

Happy Gardening!

What’s In This Bouquet: 

  • 3 sprigs of Pachysandra
  • 7-9 Daisys in bloom and bud form (Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Becky’)
  • 3 Cone Flower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Merlot’)
  • 3 grouped blossoms of Veronica (Veronica longifolia ‘Eveline’)

Pure Perfection with Peonies

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In my mind Peonies mark the official start of summer for gardeners as they tend to bloom around Memorial Day. Although their bloom is brief, it is worth savoring every fragrant moment. Even after the ruffled and fragrant flowers finish blooming, Peonies dark green, round, and shrubby form provide a tidy and structured element for one’s garden. Most gardener’s make use of flower ring supports because the luscious and abundent flowers have stems that cannot fully support the 3-4″ ruffled blooms. Peonies come in a variety of colors ranging from white, pink to deep raspberry. Peonies are best fully appreciated when cut and brought inside.

Happy Gardening!

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What’s In This Bouquet: Fill vase with as many Peonies as you can fit. Mix fully opened blossoms and ones still in bud form. A large or short vase will do. These Peonies are a light pink variety called Raspberry Sundae. Special thanks to my friend who let me cut these beautiful flowers from her garden as my Peony plant is too young to yield an abundance of flowers.

Tempting Tulips

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Tempting tulips

Happy Spring! And what welcomes Spring better than a colorful array of Tulips popping through the ground?! Yes, Tulips are a labor of love because most gardeners will treat them as annuals and require re-planting every Fall. But for me the burst of color in April thru May is worth the hard work each year! Plus you have the opportunity to do something different every year.

Some people treat themselves to manicures or a fine bottle of wine, for me I prefer to splurge on a couple dozen specialty tulips. Luckily Colorblends, a wholesaler of flower bulbs, is located locally right out of Bridgeport Connecticut. Now the hard part is only selecting a few tulips from their plethora of colorful and tempting Tulip blends. Visit www.Colorblends.com to line up your purchase for this Fall!

Last Fall I made my own Tulip blend that consisted of a single blossom purple tulip variety called Yume no Murasaki, and a double blossom pink/red/yellow tulip variety called Moris Gudanov.

What’s in this Bouquet: 5 Purple Tulips (Yume no Muraski) and 2 Red/Pink Tulips Moris Gudanov. Cut the tulips so they aren’t too tall in relation to your vase height. Use the Tulip leaves as green filler. Tulips have a mind of their own, don’t try and control the arrangement too much, just let them be their carefree selves. 

Last Minute Holiday Centerpiece!

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We all run out of time around the Holiday Season. Here is a tip on how to make a quick last minute Holiday centerpiece. Collect cuttings from evergreen shrubs/trees around the yard or use trimmings from your tree. For best results use a mixture of textures; Pine, Concolor Fir, Holly are shown. Cut them into 3-5″ lengths. Find your favorite vase, jar or bowl. To add a touch of nostalgic holiday spirit, use a family heirloom as a non-traditional vase. I used pewter goblet from my husband’s grandfather’s set. Soak a small cube of floral foam and start filling the vase! Keep filling until your case is overflowing. To add a pop of color, grab some berries or ribbon and place around the arrangement. I borrowed some berries from a holiday garland I already had. If your using ribbon, create a loop of ribbon and secure it to a toothpick for easy assembly into the arrangement.

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Wonderful New Year! See you in the Spring!

Fun with Fall Foliage

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Want to add a touch of Autumn to your bouquet? Simply gather some colorful leaves that compliment your bouquet,  hot glue them to a stick and place in arrangements! Happy Gardening!

What’s in this Bouquet: Anything that is still blooming! Zinnias, Snapdragons, Allysum, Dahlia, Limelight Hydrangea. Maple and Elm leaves secured to a stick.

Stop and Smell the Roses

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Roses put on a delightful early Autumn show with their colorful display of flowers. The electric hot-pink double blossoms of the Double Knock-Out Rose will undoubtedly catch your eye and truly make you stop and smell the roses. Double Knock-Out Roses are also known for their disease resistance and easy to grow dark green shrubby form. This is a plant that should be in every yard! Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) and Miniature Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Little Bunny’) make perfect companion plants. Happy Gardening!

What’s In This Bouquet: (3) Double Knock-Out Roses, a handful of Speedwell ‘Eveline’ (Veronica longifolia ‘Eveline’ (purple spikes)), a cluster of Zinnias (pinks used in this arrangement), and 3-5 sprigs of Miniature Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Little Bunny’).

Summer’s End Medley

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Not ready to embrace Fall just yet? This Summer’s End Medley highlights the best flowers of summer that are still
blooming!  So get out there and gather what you have to make your own Summer’s End Medley! This mix will instantly add a pop of Summer into your home. Enjoy it while you can!

What’s In This Bouquet: A mix of Vinca Flower, Snapdragons, Zinnias, and Sunflowers.

The Best of Summer

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Nothing beats the vibrant colors of summer like a mix of Zinnias and Rudbeckia! Zinnias and Rudbeckia arrange flawlessly into any summer bouquet and will instantly add a bold burst of summer color! This flowering dynamic duo are two of the easiest, strongest, and longest blooming summer flowers. Mix these into your backyard gardens to guarantee an abundance of colorful blooms July through September.

 What’s In This Bouquet: Equally mix Rudbeckia goldstrum (gold flowers) and Zinnias (pink, orange, red, and purple flowers). Add a soft filler of Sweet Alyssum (white flowers).