Garden Notes with Deb: Sweet Spring Cuttings

 

Dear friends, 

How's your garden growing? All of a sudden I turned around and my peonies were in bloom!

I have the scented gardenia variety and I look so forward to them every year. I used to leave them on the bush outside so when I walked by I would get a sweet whiff of that beautiful scent. NO MORE!

Sometimes the rain would weigh the delicate blossoms down and I would find them laying on the ground. 

Now I cut them as the first sign of opening ( or a little later)  and arrange them to enjoy inside.

 

 I don't grow enough to make them part of my flower farm stock but they are perfect for making a few sweet spring arrangements. 

They are lovely on their own, but I like to add other elements for contrast and interest. For the longest stems possible, cut from the top of the crown of the plant. That way you'll have as much length as you need for small, medium, and large jars, vases, pitchers, etc.

These cuttings are from my established beds and borders.

The additional use of chive blossoms, catmint and Russian sage made for a heady herbal aroma!

The house smells wonderful! If you don't have any Gardenia Peony in your garden yet... You MUST get some!

My Ninebark shrub is just beginning to put on its tiny white blossoms. I added this shrub ( a native to New England) to our landscape garden two years ago and it's a beautiful performer;not to mention the color of the foliage is beautiful all season long and a few cuttings tucked into an autumn arrangement are right at home with the deep rich colors of the season.

All of the seedlings, tubers and corms are coming up in the raised beds. See those tiny green sprouts reaching for the sun? Such and exciting time of year for a backyard flower farmer. 

There's lots left to do here to get ready for the Farmers Market but I'm looking forward to it!
I'll be back to share next Wednesday in Garden Notes with Deb...

Color Me In Flowers

 

Dear friends, 

Late yesterday afternoon the skies clouded over and a panic ran through me because I knew if I didn't run out and cut some flowers, they'd turn to mush in the rain like this poor drowned dahlia below.

You know I love my dahlias so I ran ( yes, ran ) out into the sprinkles and cut two buckets of flowers  as quick as I could. I set them aside while I made dinner. Once our tummies were full, I played with the flowers in a tarnished pitcher until I was happy with the results. Then I tucked them in for the night with a cool drink. This morning we went outside for a photo shoot!

This particular grouping of colors jumbled together just made my flower lovin heart go pitter -patter!

The mix of bright orange, deep plum, burgundy, purple, magenta and pale pink feels like a chintz covered sofa in an English cottage sitting room. Rich, warm and cozy! I used to have a pair of pants that looked like something similar! Hm... a tell tell sign of where my future was headed perhaps?

Something tells me I'm not gonna get anything else done today... I'll be too busy staring at these beauties!!! Honestly, they take my breath away!Which is why I just had to share them with you!

Dahlias, nine bark, hydrangea, native aster, Autumn sedum joy, and variegated tall phlox.

 Enjoy friends!

Zinnias~ Brash or Beautiful?

 The zinnia is by far one of the boldest and brightest flowers you can grow in a cutting garden. 

These brazen-faced, hotheaded, self assertive and if I may, uppity flowers bring the heat and spice to a fading flowerbed quicker than many deep- rooted perennials and they last longer too, blooming right up until the first frost.

I'll admit, I'm a fan of their brightly lit petals and brash undertones.

What's not to love about the nervy and vivacious zinnia? 

They adore showing off in the garden and in the vase. And, the magnetic attraction between them and the local bees is something to behold.

They can't keep their fuzzy little bums away from them!

I planted several packets of Botanical Interest Cut and Come Again seeds in late spring in  our deep raised beds of 12 inches and we've had blooms since mid-July. We always get a very high germination rate with Botanical Interest seeds ( even the Heirloom varieties)! Love them!

 Zinnias give so much for the little care that they require. All they need to start a fiesta in your flower garden is good draining soil, ( rich in organic matter ) plenty of sunshine ( 6- 8 hours per day)  and steady doses of watering during germination. Once they've got their leaves give them a good drink every few days ( more water during severely hot weather) but don't over water. These cheeky blooms, like it HOT! 

Every garden needs a PARTY GIRL!

What do YOU think about this popular heirloom bloom? Brash or Beautiful?