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Yesterday in the car there was time for a conversation I've waited all my adult life to have. Told Beloved I wanted 2-3 forsythia, specifically for cutting. Quince too. Those are the no brainers. Space to plant them, and cut on them, yet siting them as-if-natural. Where we buy them, will hunt/gather for other plantings specifically for cutting, groundcovers, trees, deciduous/evergreen shrubs, all are fair game for cutting.
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Pic, above, here.
Bulbs, below, I'll force in pots. Using plastic pots, for ease, and slipping them into terra cotta for the house. When I worked as a professional grower, bulbs that did not sell by the end of fall, we potted up, setting them outside in the woodland, in a cold frame with asbestos sides. Will use old windows for my cold frame, already gathered.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Containers, above/below, fascinate me. Would never have thought to use either in this manner, yet both are perfect. Designing gardens, yes. Floral arranging? Not so much. A skill set I don't have. Delightful lying to myself, you-can-do-this. If it's really important to get the cut flowers arranged, I have a back up plan. Take a picture, send to my friend Susanne Hudson, she can tell me what to do to fix it.
Pic, above, here.
I'm not naive enough to think the cut stems, above/below, just 'happened'. Skill. Pure skill.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Our potager is getting more/more 'done' and will be ready for zinna seeds next spring, above. Have been collecting wide range of buckets, containers for flowers, stems, bulbs. For decades. Muse must have known I would move.
Pic, above, here.
Studying historic gardens across Europe for decades I especially liked the mixed garden arrangement, above. Tours usually included tea/scones, and the owner typically made the mixed garden arrangement that morning. I was moth to a flame with them. And, the flower arranging room where they were created as desirable as the flowers.
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Cecil Beaton's flower arranging room, below. Our old farmhouse has 2 kitchens, with the lesser kitchen at the back of the house. We've already turned it into a large laundry room, with plenty of space left, for my flower arranging.
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
I like a bit of a pitiful touch, above, to flowers for the house. If Susanne had done the flowers, below, for me, I would say, "Make them a bit more pitiful." She'd do it to perfection, then we'd oooooh/aaaaah about how perfectly beautifully pitiful they are. It's important to know, and revel, in your oeuvre no matter what others may think. A touch pitiful, my oeuvre for cut flowers. Not to be confused with the wonk factor.
Pic, above, here.
A bit pitiful, below. Aren't they perfect?
Pic, above, here.
Pic, above, here.
Been buying old white cracked chipped ironstone for eons. Pic, above, a tutorial about planting bulbs 'pitifully'.
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Cuttings from the garden & forced bulbs, put together a touch pitifully. Odd what makes a person feel rich.
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Garden & Be Well, XOT
7 comments:
My mother belonged to the 'Jam 'em in a Vase' school of design, as she called it. What she lacked in design expertise she made up for in quantity and quality of blooms.
I am an awkward, clumsy flower arranger while my husband takes 5 minutes and a vase looks natural. That's why I have a "vase arrangements" board and just pinned many of your pictures to it.
I love the conversation you had about forsythia and quince to have for plentiful cutting. We left 2 quince bushes behind but never did plant forsythia, something I always regretted. I was always able to coax quince into bloom early for me in the house, such joy to bring spring inside early.
I look forward to seeing what you cut for the house in future springs, even the pitiful ones, and the containers you've been collecting!
I love mine pitiful too! Perfect word! bulbs listing slightly; Quirky and divine!!!
Hi Tara,
You're so right about what makes a person feel rich. Often we don't know until we're there. I also know just what you mean about the pitiful arrangements. Too-too perfect is often off-putting, but that little something that's not right, or a flower that's ready to drop it's blooms makes it more lovable.
xoxo, Brenda
Hi Tara,
You're so right about what makes a person feel rich. Often we don't know until we're there. I also know just what you mean about the pitiful arrangements. Too-too perfect is often off-putting, but that little something that's not right, or a flower that's ready to drop it's blooms makes it more lovable. xoxo, Brenda
Love the idea go growing more cut flowers in the garden - I too have an 19th century old farmhouse and would love to add a quince to the orchard for cutting purposes - are there any varieties you would recommend?
Deborah, look at Dirr's Manual of Trees/Woody Shrubs.... , he lists origins & dates for most plants. You'll want one contemporaneous with your home or earlier.
Enjoy the hunt, I am too !
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