Sunday, February 11, 2018

Backyard Florist

How to not have to spend $15 a week on a great floral bouquet.   Here is the info pals.   For me flowers give me a pep in my step, and while in my 20’s I would wear black and at night go cut and borrow neighbors floral landscaping for my flowers (I know not nice but I would take small amounts from several neighbors, they never knew ;)  or did they {:))!  Since maturing, I have resorted to growing my own.  Here are my picks for having flowers in the back or front yard to pick in lieu of having to buy or help my neighbors prune is what I would say. 

My top picks:

Hydrangea

We rented a house that had a Hydrangea bush and it took over a whole side of the house.  I literally supplied a friend’s wedding with our Hydrangeas as well as brought countless arrangements to friends and family those few years living in that location… I dried them for gorgeous wreaths; the possibilities are endless with these beauties.  Once in vases these lovelies will last 7 days in clean water and they look lovely when they start to dry so they are ideal for outdoor floral arrangements.

https://www.americanmeadows.com/perennials/hydrangea/hydrangea-everlasting-revolution?adpos=1o2&scid=scplp6582&sc_intid=6582&gclid=CjwKCAiA8P_TBRA9EiwAJrpHM0YJiUibwIHoq9xaJWamBX3-PyHX-1pOzqpcvowrec17oq79297t6RoCxmAQAvD_BwE 


Fever Few

Just sweet for everyday flowers.  Easy to care for and arrange well in any arrangements.  Also can stay lovely in a cool, clean water arrangement.  I will go into my arranging categories in next post.  We have the stuffer flowers (they can be stuffed and stay lovely) and the clean water floral (they need less stems, and clean water to stay fresh).  These Daisy like cuties are perfect for the kiddos to grow and cut for arranging as well.  



Zinnia 

I was not a huge fan until one fall I got an email saying the local Zinnia grower in Yolo county wanted folks to come take what they wanted of the flowers before she turned over her soil for the next planting.  My girls and I drove about 20 minutes out and went nuts literally filling 5 buckets to the brim. We made an insane amount of arrangements for friends and family and our community for the Jewish Holidays.  It was such a treat and now I love these guys.  So easy to grow and can be used for both elegant and casual arrangements.  The stems are long and you get about 2 months of use out of a bush that blooms, it is also a drought happy bush once established.  
 

Roses


This is a no-brainer.  You get an amazing bang for your buck if you have a successful bush or 3.  Having a few colors is ideal.  But you can do everything you need with a white or yellow rose bush. 
Fast acting:


The only rose bush you need:



Lavender

Because the herbalist in me uses Lavender for literally everything I had to add it.  If you are not using it for oils, baking, facial care, and all the things I use it for you can still make a mean arrangement using Lavender.  They are simple and if well taken care of just keep growing and growing.  Offering literally months of flowers and fragrance.  Spanish, French or English they are all wonderful.  My personal favorite is English.  I like the shape of it and how it dries but again any one is super.


Silver Dollar Eucalyptus


Well to be honest any Eucalyptus works for me.  But Silver Dollar is more my style in shape and ability to dry.  I love that the scent is more delicate than the bulky Baby Blue Eucalyptus, it can be overwhelming. 



Peruvian lily

These cuties are lovely, they turn into nice sized shrubs and will give you an abundance of stems to play with while they are flowering.  Once arranged these are so great because they last up to 9 days in a vase with good air and clean water. 
 


AMARANTH

THESE ARE JUST SO FUN TO POP INTO ARRANGEMENTS, GIVING THEM SO MUCH DEPTH, AND HEIGHT.  THEY STAY LOVELY FOR A WEEK OR MORE WITH PROPER ARRANGING (ANOTHER POST COMING).  These are easy to grow and you get an amazing amounts to play with with one plant.  Oh and you can also dry it, eat it don’t get me started.  My amaranth cherry pot recipe will be up in a couple weeks. 


Baby’s-Breath

I know it’s not everyone's style, but for me I just love it.  I love that they can stand alone in an arrangement and compliment arrangements as well.  I love that they don’t smell and just look like old fashion loveliness.  These are such great little plants to have because they can grow large and be used for months, they also require less water for us drought prone CA dwellers.



Rosemary/Sage

Double of course for culinary uses but these are shrubs you need in your backyard.  They make arrangements smell divine, and give them depth.  They dry amazing for wreaths as well.  I let one Sage shrub bolt for arranging and my kitchen sage of course I make sure stays trimmed. 

Rosemary

Sage



My go to place for knowledge and plant referring is www.gardenia.net

If you grab these and add to the trim of a yard or even to containers (if you are a renter) so that you may take it with until you find your dream home.  These are the goodies that will keep your home booming with flowers.  

Two more posts on the way soon:
Floral Arranging 101
Container Fruits

Have a good month pals, and I hope you feel the love on love day!

Tread Lightly
Love,
Mel

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.