Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Backyard Bouquets~ what to do with a Bucket of Blooms~


Dear Friends, old and NEW! WELCOME!
I hope this note finds you all well and enjoying the slow turn of summer into fall. And, for those of you who have been dried out and puckered up by the drought I wish you RAIN!  I know it's been tough on you and your gardens. We are only days away from a new school year and autumn is right around the corner, but summer is NOT over yet..It doesn't officially end until September 22nd the Autumn equinox. I don't need the calender to tell me that. My backyard blossoms are going strong and are sure to  keep us in ' house flowers' for weeks to come! That means you'll be enjoying them too no matter what your weather is!


 Each day I grab my bucket an go out to cut bunches of fresh flowers. To say the cut flower garden has provided an abundance of beautiful blooms is an understatement. In just one season I've gone from a Gardner who hardly cut anything for fear of leaving too large a gap in my flower beds to a free spirited farmgirl who cuts flowers with wild abandon! I'm having fun ' playing' with different floral arranging ideas...

Today I'll show you what to do with a bucket of blooms!

 

 Start with sharp cutting tools. I use Fiskars pruners. I have two sizes. One for cutting larger stemmed flowers and shrubs and a smaller one for removing leaves and cutting the bottoms of stems before they go in a jar or vase.


 You'd be amazed at how many flowers you can fit into a full sized Ball Mason Jar. 



This bouquet is made up of a mix of dahlia,s zinnias, snapdragons and parsley for an added green filler. I love a bold color pallet and this deep red dahlia makes the mid toned orange dahlias go POP POP POP!


Here I've added some pinks, and red oranges with one lovely white dahlia to set  the whole thing off...Then came the remaining zinnias and snapdragons with a snip of parsley just for a touch of added greenery.


Arranging flowers is a little like decorating.. I chose blooms that play well together then added a touch of whimsy just for fun.  Notice how the deep red in the petals of the bottom left dahlia speak to the same red in the zinnia behind the maroon dahlia in the above photo? I repeated that same orange zinnia throughout and added the hot pink for a wow factor!

Side view
The idea is not to be too serious ( get your play on ) and use what you have available in the garden! This is the beauty of growing sustainable cut flowers in your own backyard ( or front yard ). You'll get a less contrived look this way and feel good about creating something original with each bouquet you make! In the end, if it makes you smile you done good!!!

Side and Back  


 With only a sprig or two of parsley as filler that leaves plenty of room for FLOWERS!


Here it is finished and ready for any occasion inside or out!  This beauty was destined for the counter by my kitchen sink where I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time!
 Might as well enjoy it...

Stay tuned for more flower arranging with late summer and early fall cuttings from my 
Backyard Flower Farm ! 
 Love to all ! 
Deb

 How do you like to arrange your " YARD FLOWERS" ?

I'm sharing this post on Tootsiess Flaunt your Flowers Fertilizer Friday this week and Tilly's Nest
Down Home Blog Hop # 1 !





13 comments:

Kristi said...

Parsley as a green filler--brilliant!

Bonnie K said...

What a beautiful bouquet! I love the parsley as it is one of my favorite herbs. Food for the soul.

Unknown said...

Thanks ladies! :)

Lisa Lynn said...

Thank you for sharing your beautiful bouquet! My flowers have all been chewed on by Japanese beetles this year...so they just don't look good enough to cut and bring in the house. I am admiring them from afar, where I can't see the damage :)

Unknown said...

Hi Lisa Lynn, Oh, I had them too on my Lilly's'. I've yet to find an organic solution for them... They are tough buggers! At least you can enjoy them from afar! :)

One bolt short of a toolbox said...

Brilliant idea about the parsley, i would never have thought of that!

Jan @ door251

BernieH said...

Beautiful bouquet. Using Parsley leaves as a filler is such a great idea. I'll have to remember that one!

Robyn said...

What fun you are having with your beautiful flowers! Thanks for sharing the vibrant colors of summer with us, Deborah.

I love your mason jar/ vase idea and I love a pretty bucket full of flowers.

Unknown said...

I sure am Robyn...Glad you are enjoying my ' yard flowers' too!
Happy holiday weekend!

Tilly's Nest said...

What a beautiful arrangement. You are one very talented lady. I love coming to your blog for inspiration and refueling. Thank you so much for linking up to our blog hop!

Unknown said...

Ditto...Melissa! Thanks so much!

Krystle said...

Just thought I'd say hello as a first time reader. I discovered you through the blog hop at Tilly's Nest. Beautiful flowers. I wish we had the conditions for growing flowers, but at the moment it's incredibly dry in our little patch of Australia, and it's just starting to get hot. No good for growing much of anything.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts. Take care :)

Unknown said...

Welcome Krystle!
I'm so glad you stopped by... thank you..:)

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