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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
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Tara,
ReplyDeleteYou'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,
ReplyDeleteYou'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?
ReplyDeleteDeborah, 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.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the hunt, I am too !