Been busy here . . . in the midst of Flower & Garden Show season, so I missed last week’s bouquet. Let’s play catch up and here, I’ll feature Week 8 and Week 9:
“JUST ADD LIME”
Oh how I love this combination of everyday garden blooms, including daffodils, forsythia and euphorbia – with a few sprigs of variegated geranium for contrast.
The spring green color of new growth is indescribably beautiful.
- 5 stems donkey tail spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites)
- 3 stems Euphorbia characias
- 5 stems variegated rose mint scented geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens Group ‘Variegata’)
- 7 stems forsythia branches (Forsythia x intermedia)
- 7 stems daffodils (Narcissus sp.), unknown cultivars
“HEADY HYACINTH”
A simple length of linen twine gathers these garden hyacinths. They practically arrange themselves!
Ingredients:
8 stems hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis), grown by Alm Hill Gardens
Detail of the gathered bouquet
Seasonal Choices
About those long stems: The typical garden hyacinth blooms on a relatively short stem – maybe 4-5 inches at the most. This limits the way hyacinths can be used in floral arrangements. According to Gretchen Hoyt, the way to stretch those stems is to trick them into wanting more light. “The longer you can deny them light, the more they stretch,” she explains. At the commercial flower farm, this process begins in dark coolers where bulbs are pre-chilled. When they are transferred to the greenhouse, the hyacinth crates are placed (in the shadows) beneath tables where tulips grow. If Gretchen wants to elongate those stems even further, “I’ll throw newspaper over them,” she says. Leaving bulbs on the stems is optional, but some designers do so to give the arrangement a rustic appearance.