I occasionally am asked to make up special one time bouquets for people. Here is a big bouquet I made up for one of my customers this past summer.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Perennial Asters
There are many aster species but the ones most commonly used for cut flowers today are hybrids derived from Aster novi-belgii (New York aster) and Aster novae-angliae (New England aster). These are North American natives and you have probably seen their white or purple flowers in fields and along roadsides in autumn. While originating here in North America it is the English who really love perennial asters and all the well known cultivars were developed in England. Because their bloom coincides with Michaelmas, the Feast of St. Michael (September 29th), these asters are known in England as Michaelmas daisies. I'm a bit of an Anglophile and maybe that's why asters have always been one of my favourite flowers.
Red 'Crimson Brocade' asters with chrysanthemums.
Like chrysanthemums, late bloom and frost tolerance make perennial asters useful in the border and as cut flowers. Unlike warm coloured chrysanthemums, asters only come in cool colours - pinks, purples, blues, crimsons and white - with contrasting yellow or orange centres. If you are careless when combining chrysanthemums and asters, these colours can be a problem (think bronze and hot pink), but if you are a little careful, you can create smashing combinations like pale blue and yellow or bronze and dark purple.
Good filler flowers are always valuable and asters make especially nice fillers because of their range of color and season of bloom. In addition, the flowers are held atop multiply branched stems, so a single cut can yield a bouquet's worth of flowers. I sometimes create a bouquet by starting with a single big stem of asters and then filling in with other, larger flowers like lilies and dahlias.
New England Aster
Lavender 'Little Carlow' asters with orange lilies and agastache.
Aster novae-angliae or New England asters are among the easiest to find and grow, but are less desirable as cut flowers because they close at night. This is not very noticeable outside but if cut and brought inside they may look like they are starting to shrivel and fade. Some of the better known tall New England varieties are the purple 'Hella Lacy', light pink 'Honeysong Pink' and dark pink 'September Ruby'. Monarch butterflies flock to 'Hella Lacy' so you might want to grow it for that reason alone.
New York Aster
Better as cut flowers are Aster novi-belgii or New York asters. They are tough perennials and make beautiful long lasting cut flowers but they are a bit more difficult to find and grow. The taller New York asters usually need to be staked. Fussy gardeners should also realise they are prone to powdery mildew and will usually drop the lower third of their leaves by the time they bloom. This doesn't really matter to me and I never bother to spray them with anything to prevent it. However, if growing them in a perennial border it is probably better to position them toward the back so this won't be noticed.
Better as cut flowers are Aster novi-belgii or New York asters. They are tough perennials and make beautiful long lasting cut flowers but they are a bit more difficult to find and grow. The taller New York asters usually need to be staked. Fussy gardeners should also realise they are prone to powdery mildew and will usually drop the lower third of their leaves by the time they bloom. This doesn't really matter to me and I never bother to spray them with anything to prevent it. However, if growing them in a perennial border it is probably better to position them toward the back so this won't be noticed.
In The Gardener's Guide to Growing Asters (published in England, naturally) Paul Picton describes more than 280 novi-belgii cultivars. Of these, most of the commonly available ones like "Professor Anton Kippenberg' and 'Alert' are short. I've been able to locate only a few of the taller ones such as the fully double blue 'Marie Ballard', the dark red 'Crimson Brocade', and an unknown medium height lavender pink variety mistakenly sold to me as 'Fellowship'. I hope to add several others this year but they may not show up in bouquets for a year or two while I build up stock.
Other Asters
I also grow a hybrid aster called 'Little Carlow' with small 3/4" lavender-blue flowers. The plants are 3-4 feet tall so the flowers are the only little thing about 'Carlow'.
I also grow a hybrid aster called 'Little Carlow' with small 3/4" lavender-blue flowers. The plants are 3-4 feet tall so the flowers are the only little thing about 'Carlow'.
Lavender 'Little Carlow' asters with orange lilies and agastache.
Asters should be divided every few years, though the tougher ones will keep going even if you don't. Divide asters in the spring when the new shoots begin to appear. Experts recommend starting new clumps from individual new shoot taken from the outside of the old clump rather than splitting the old, woody center into pieces. I usually pot up the individual shoots in 3" pots and baby them along in a semi-shaded area for a few weeks before planting them back in a bed. I divide my New York asters every year and plant the divisions about 9"-12" apart. The new plants bloom at the usual time in the fall and a group of 6-8 can make quite show.
Cut asters when a third to a half of the flowers are open. The stems are woody and it is best to re-cut the stem under water when you get home.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Winter Reading - The Essential Earthman
The weather is just starting to get unpleasant so this is a great time to settle in with a good gardening book while the wind blows and the snow piles up. I've literally got about 15 feet of gardening books but aside from a handful of reference works, there are only a few I re-read over and over.
One of my favorites is Henry Mitchell's The Essential Earthman, the first of three collections of 'Earthman' columns Henry Mitchell wrote for the Washinton Post. Mitchell, who died in 1993, knew a great deal, but was still one of us - an ordinary but passionate gardener. He hated pretense and showing off, saying, "Gardening is not some sort of game by which one proves his superiority over others, nor is it a marketplace for the display of elegant things that others cannot afford." Deborah Needleman describes him as the anti-Martha Stewart, saying, "He would have hated her, and she would be appalled by him."
Earthman is full of cultural information about choosing and growing daffodils, dahlias, irises, water lilies and so on. It also contains some of the best guidelines for designing gardens I have ever read, including:
I also think the book is really funny, but not all of my friends agree. Earthman is filled with quotable observations like:
I'm not sure if new copies of The Essential Earthman are currently available at brick and mortar bookstores but you can get used copies very reasonably through various Amazon re-sellers. Check it out for yourself or that special gardener on your shopping list.
One of my favorites is Henry Mitchell's The Essential Earthman, the first of three collections of 'Earthman' columns Henry Mitchell wrote for the Washinton Post. Mitchell, who died in 1993, knew a great deal, but was still one of us - an ordinary but passionate gardener. He hated pretense and showing off, saying, "Gardening is not some sort of game by which one proves his superiority over others, nor is it a marketplace for the display of elegant things that others cannot afford." Deborah Needleman describes him as the anti-Martha Stewart, saying, "He would have hated her, and she would be appalled by him."
Earthman is full of cultural information about choosing and growing daffodils, dahlias, irises, water lilies and so on. It also contains some of the best guidelines for designing gardens I have ever read, including:
- Keep the center open
- Plan with severe formality then plant informally withing these formal bounds
- Give space to reflecting water
- Pay more attention than seems reasonable to foliage color and texture
I also think the book is really funny, but not all of my friends agree. Earthman is filled with quotable observations like:
- Compared to gardeners, I think it is generally agreed that others understand very little about anything of consequence.
- There are no green thumbs or black thumbs. There are only gardeners and non-gardeners.
and my favorite:
- Flowers are of course a sexual display unmatched in the living world and anybody who does not respond a little probably has no blood in him.
I'm not sure if new copies of The Essential Earthman are currently available at brick and mortar bookstores but you can get used copies very reasonably through various Amazon re-sellers. Check it out for yourself or that special gardener on your shopping list.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
elegans (ELL-eh-ganz) Elegant
Zinnias really are easy to grow and they make nice cut flowers. After trying a few different kinds I now only grow Benary's Giant Series, sometimes called BluePoint strain. They are quite mildew resistant have the largest flowers. My zinnias are not necessarily all that large because they grow best with good fertility and plenty of water and I can't always provide those conditions at the farm.
Zinnias can be started ahead and transplanted quickly before becoming pot bound but that doesn't seem to work much better than just direct sowing them. They cannot tolerate any frost so they shouldn't be sown until all danger of frost has passed, usually around June 1st here in SE Michigan. I usually plant mine about 6 inches apart in rows a foot apart but that is probably a little too close.
You can find seed for Benary's Giants at Johnny's, Stokes and other mail order outfits but I have never seen them in retail seed racks. They come in 13 different colors including three different reds (Scarlet, Crimson and Deep Red). The other colors are Bright Pink, Lilac, Salmon Rose, Carmine Rose, Yellow, Orange, Coral, White, Purple and Lime Green. I usually grow White rather than Lime Green because the White is quite greenish itself and is more robust than the Lime Green. I also really like Orange, Salmon Rose, Purple, Crimson and Scarlet. I probably should just buy packets of mixed colors but am always thinking I want more of one color or another.
The flowers should be cut when the center petals are still unfolding and before the yellow stamens appear in the center. The first flowers are on fairly short stems but the plants will re-bloom repeatedly throught the summer with longer stems. Some growers succession sow zinnias. I have done this a few times but have not noticed that the flower quality for the later sowings is much better than the re-bloom on the first sowings.
Just because they are cheap and easy to grow does not mean zinnias are not impressive, people are always asking me what they are.
Zinnias really are easy to grow and they make nice cut flowers. After trying a few different kinds I now only grow Benary's Giant Series, sometimes called BluePoint strain. They are quite mildew resistant have the largest flowers. My zinnias are not necessarily all that large because they grow best with good fertility and plenty of water and I can't always provide those conditions at the farm.
Zinnias can be started ahead and transplanted quickly before becoming pot bound but that doesn't seem to work much better than just direct sowing them. They cannot tolerate any frost so they shouldn't be sown until all danger of frost has passed, usually around June 1st here in SE Michigan. I usually plant mine about 6 inches apart in rows a foot apart but that is probably a little too close.
You can find seed for Benary's Giants at Johnny's, Stokes and other mail order outfits but I have never seen them in retail seed racks. They come in 13 different colors including three different reds (Scarlet, Crimson and Deep Red). The other colors are Bright Pink, Lilac, Salmon Rose, Carmine Rose, Yellow, Orange, Coral, White, Purple and Lime Green. I usually grow White rather than Lime Green because the White is quite greenish itself and is more robust than the Lime Green. I also really like Orange, Salmon Rose, Purple, Crimson and Scarlet. I probably should just buy packets of mixed colors but am always thinking I want more of one color or another.
The flowers should be cut when the center petals are still unfolding and before the yellow stamens appear in the center. The first flowers are on fairly short stems but the plants will re-bloom repeatedly throught the summer with longer stems. Some growers succession sow zinnias. I have done this a few times but have not noticed that the flower quality for the later sowings is much better than the re-bloom on the first sowings.
Just because they are cheap and easy to grow does not mean zinnias are not impressive, people are always asking me what they are.
Sunflower (Helianthus annus)
annuus (an-YEW-us) Annual
Sunflowers are supposed to be one of the easiest things to grow. If you feed birds you have probably found them coming up here and there all over your yard. How much can there be to know? I am a bit ashamed to admit that after growing sunflowers for the past 6 years for Good Scents, this was the first year I felt like I got the results I wanted. When it comes to growing sunflowers, as with so many aspects of gardening, the more I know, the more I realize I don't know.
I am only going to write about ornamental sunflowers, the ones grown for pretty flowers, not for seeds or oil. These started to become popular in the 90s with the appearance of pollenless F1 hybrids. Pollenless varieties are desireable for cut flowers because sunflowers produce copious amounts of pollen. When growing outside, bees collect and remove the pollen, but if cut and brought inside, the pollen instead collects on tables and counters creating a mess. Pollenless varieties produce little or no pollen and do not have this drawback.
Branching or Non-Branching?
Ornamental sunflowers can be either branching or non-branching. Branching varieties produce multiple stems growing out of the side of the main stalk, while the non-branching varieties grow a single stem and produce one flower at the top of it. If you are growing sunflowers to be enjoyed outside in the garden, the branching varieties are probably better. Branching sunflowers produce flowers over a longer season and have multiple flowers blooming at once at different heights on the same plant.
Each has its advantages, but for cut flowers I prefer the unbranched sunflowers. I experimented quite a bit with branched sunflowers, and while they produce many stems over a longer season, the stem length and the size quality of the flowers is variable. Because of their growth habit, branching varieties need to be planted quite far apart, at least 18 inches and up to 2 feet. This means they are not more space-efficient than the single stem varieties which can be planted quite close together unless you want the largest flowers possible.
In the case of sunflowers, bigger is not always better. A 6 or 8 inch diameter flower can be quite impressive outside but unless you are creating very large arrangements, a single flower that size can be hard to work into an arrangement. They are also so heavy that vases containing these huge sunflowers often tip over. Catalogs say to plant a foot apart for the largest flowers so this year I planted them about 6 inches apart and they were still about 4-5 inches across, plenty big for my purposes.
Colors
Most sunflowers are some flavor of yellow or another, from almost white to dark gold. On some the disks are brown and on others green. There are also some bi-colors with a ring around the disk like a giant black eyed susan, and quite a few that are described as "red" with names like Moulin Rouge and Claret. Red sunflowers are really a dark reddish brown mahogony color, like your grandmother's dining room table. For my taste they are too large and too brown to easily combine with other flowers for indoor arangements but they can look quite striking combined with other things outside. From what I can see all the red varieties are branching.
Varieties I Grow
The thing I didn't understand about sunflowers until this year is that to get a full season of sunflowers I needed to succession sow but also to grow varieties with different maturity dates with each sowing. In this way I got a continuous assortment of varieties coming into bloom all summer. I'd like to take credit for figuring this out myself but I read it in the Johnny's catalog.
These are the varieties I grew this past year with the number of days to maturity. All are single stemmed:
Premeir Lemon Yellow - pale yellow, black center - 40-50 days
ProCut Yellow - yellow, brown center - 50-60 days
ProCut Orange - dark yellow, brown center - 50-60 days
Orange Mahagony BiColor
Sunrich Orange - dark yellow, black center - 60-70 days
Sunrich Yellow - yellow, black center - 60-70 days
Sunbeam - yellow, green center - 70-80 days
How I Grow Them
Over the years I have tried starting sunflowers ahead in liners and direct sowing them. When started ahead and transplanted after a few weeks it seemed like the plants often ended up short and stunted. When I sowed them directly outside it seemed I never got them to sprout quickly or evenly. This year I compromised by starting them in liners and then transplanting them to the field as soon as the seed leaves had fully opened. This seems to be the best method for me. I get high germination quickly, and then by also getting the seedlings outside quickly, there is almost no transplant shock or stunting.
Sunflowers are supposed to be one of the easiest things to grow. If you feed birds you have probably found them coming up here and there all over your yard. How much can there be to know? I am a bit ashamed to admit that after growing sunflowers for the past 6 years for Good Scents, this was the first year I felt like I got the results I wanted. When it comes to growing sunflowers, as with so many aspects of gardening, the more I know, the more I realize I don't know.
I am only going to write about ornamental sunflowers, the ones grown for pretty flowers, not for seeds or oil. These started to become popular in the 90s with the appearance of pollenless F1 hybrids. Pollenless varieties are desireable for cut flowers because sunflowers produce copious amounts of pollen. When growing outside, bees collect and remove the pollen, but if cut and brought inside, the pollen instead collects on tables and counters creating a mess. Pollenless varieties produce little or no pollen and do not have this drawback.
Branching or Non-Branching?
Ornamental sunflowers can be either branching or non-branching. Branching varieties produce multiple stems growing out of the side of the main stalk, while the non-branching varieties grow a single stem and produce one flower at the top of it. If you are growing sunflowers to be enjoyed outside in the garden, the branching varieties are probably better. Branching sunflowers produce flowers over a longer season and have multiple flowers blooming at once at different heights on the same plant.
Each has its advantages, but for cut flowers I prefer the unbranched sunflowers. I experimented quite a bit with branched sunflowers, and while they produce many stems over a longer season, the stem length and the size quality of the flowers is variable. Because of their growth habit, branching varieties need to be planted quite far apart, at least 18 inches and up to 2 feet. This means they are not more space-efficient than the single stem varieties which can be planted quite close together unless you want the largest flowers possible.
In the case of sunflowers, bigger is not always better. A 6 or 8 inch diameter flower can be quite impressive outside but unless you are creating very large arrangements, a single flower that size can be hard to work into an arrangement. They are also so heavy that vases containing these huge sunflowers often tip over. Catalogs say to plant a foot apart for the largest flowers so this year I planted them about 6 inches apart and they were still about 4-5 inches across, plenty big for my purposes.
Colors
Most sunflowers are some flavor of yellow or another, from almost white to dark gold. On some the disks are brown and on others green. There are also some bi-colors with a ring around the disk like a giant black eyed susan, and quite a few that are described as "red" with names like Moulin Rouge and Claret. Red sunflowers are really a dark reddish brown mahogony color, like your grandmother's dining room table. For my taste they are too large and too brown to easily combine with other flowers for indoor arangements but they can look quite striking combined with other things outside. From what I can see all the red varieties are branching.
Varieties I Grow
The thing I didn't understand about sunflowers until this year is that to get a full season of sunflowers I needed to succession sow but also to grow varieties with different maturity dates with each sowing. In this way I got a continuous assortment of varieties coming into bloom all summer. I'd like to take credit for figuring this out myself but I read it in the Johnny's catalog.
These are the varieties I grew this past year with the number of days to maturity. All are single stemmed:
Premeir Lemon Yellow - pale yellow, black center - 40-50 days
ProCut Yellow - yellow, brown center - 50-60 days
ProCut Orange - dark yellow, brown center - 50-60 days
Orange Mahagony BiColor
Sunrich Orange - dark yellow, black center - 60-70 days
Sunrich Yellow - yellow, black center - 60-70 days
Sunbeam - yellow, green center - 70-80 days
How I Grow Them
Over the years I have tried starting sunflowers ahead in liners and direct sowing them. When started ahead and transplanted after a few weeks it seemed like the plants often ended up short and stunted. When I sowed them directly outside it seemed I never got them to sprout quickly or evenly. This year I compromised by starting them in liners and then transplanting them to the field as soon as the seed leaves had fully opened. This seems to be the best method for me. I get high germination quickly, and then by also getting the seedlings outside quickly, there is almost no transplant shock or stunting.
Botanical Names 101
I order most of my perennials from a wholesale company called Bluebird Nursery in Nebraska and their latest newsletter contained a short glossary of names frequently used as botanical species names and their meanings. I'm lazy about looking up stuff like this and thought it was quite useful. Here they are:
argentea (ar-JEN-te-a) Silvery.
carnosus (kar-NO-sus) Fleshy
glabra (GLA-bra) Smooth, without hairs.
gracilis (GRAS-i-lis) Graceful, slender
japonica (ja-PON-i-ka) Of Japan
majalis (ma-JA-lis) Of May, Maytime
officinalis (o-fis-i-NA-lis) Medicinal
sempervirens (sem-per-VI-renz) Evergreen
sylvestris (sil-VES-tris) Of woods or forests
vulgaris (vul-GA-ris) Common
I knew a few of these like sylvestris, vulgaris and japonica, and might have guesses at gracilis but officinalis, argentea, majalis and glabra were new to me. Now some of the names I knew make more sense. For example, I knew lily of the valley was Convallaria majalis, and knew it bloomed in May, but didn't realize the name could have told me that. I knew American inkberry holly was Ilex glabra, and knew it didn't have spiny leaves like many hollies, but the name could have told me that, too.
Years ago I ordered a book called How Plants Get Their Names from J.L. Hudson Seeds - maybe I'll finally crack it open!
argentea (ar-JEN-te-a) Silvery.
carnosus (kar-NO-sus) Fleshy
glabra (GLA-bra) Smooth, without hairs.
gracilis (GRAS-i-lis) Graceful, slender
japonica (ja-PON-i-ka) Of Japan
majalis (ma-JA-lis) Of May, Maytime
officinalis (o-fis-i-NA-lis) Medicinal
sempervirens (sem-per-VI-renz) Evergreen
sylvestris (sil-VES-tris) Of woods or forests
vulgaris (vul-GA-ris) Common
I knew a few of these like sylvestris, vulgaris and japonica, and might have guesses at gracilis but officinalis, argentea, majalis and glabra were new to me. Now some of the names I knew make more sense. For example, I knew lily of the valley was Convallaria majalis, and knew it bloomed in May, but didn't realize the name could have told me that. I knew American inkberry holly was Ilex glabra, and knew it didn't have spiny leaves like many hollies, but the name could have told me that, too.
Years ago I ordered a book called How Plants Get Their Names from J.L. Hudson Seeds - maybe I'll finally crack it open!
Monday, October 13, 2008
What to Expect Here This Winter
I originally started this blog so that my customers could identify the flowers in their bouquets and read about how I grew them. I won't be delivering any more flowers in 2008 after this Friday, but I plan to actually be posting more often. I really only have time to write about how to grow the flowers and what I like about them during the off season, so that is what I will be focusing on between now and next April when I get started again.
The non-gardening season is one of the most fun parts of being a cut flower grower because that is when I get to plan next year and reflect on what worked and didn't work this year. I hope to be sharing more of those things this winter as well.
The non-gardening season is one of the most fun parts of being a cut flower grower because that is when I get to plan next year and reflect on what worked and didn't work this year. I hope to be sharing more of those things this winter as well.
Bouquets for Monday, October 13th
I have missed posting for the past couple weeks. No excuse really, I guess I am just wearing down. This is the last week, though, so I felt I had to post a few pictures.
Most of the flowers are chrysanthemums now. There are also forced lilies, a few snapdragons and even some small sunflowers. There was a hard frost at the farm on October 3rd so all the zinnias and dahlias were killed.
These 3 bouquets all contain about the same materials except for foliage. This first one uses leaves from a Purple Smoke Bush.
This one uses peony foliage. Sometimes peony foliage gets spotted and ratty looking by this time of year but on some plants it stays clean and just changes color to red or orange. This one had turned a really nice deep red.
Lastly, here is a bouquet with some of that eucalyptus that I first wrote about 7 or 8 months ago. It is finally ready! You can see one of the small black centered sunflowers dead center in the bouquet.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Bouquets for Friday Spetember 26th and Monday September 29th
It is hard to believe it is the end of September and I have only 3 more weeks of deliveries. Bouquets for this week contained mainly chrysanthemums and asters. I also have lilies which were started in crates on July 15th, plus some annuals that are still producing like snapdragons, statice, zinnias and sunflowers.
I am both proud and ashamed of using roadside white asters in this yellow and white bouquet. Proud because they look quite nice and I don't have any white aster hybrids, but a bit ashamed because they are, after all. roadside weeds!
I made several burgandy and white bouquets this week just to get away from all the yellow, gold and red that is around in the fall.
I made many bouquets using purple and orange with dashes of gold. The lily here is 'Royal Sunset' and the picture really doesn't do it justice. The red-orange in the picture is actually kind of a deep pink and the yellow throat in the lily is more dark gold than it appears in the picture. The aster is a hybrid called 'Little Carlow'. The pinkish-orange spikes are an Agastache but the name escapes me right now.
I have a few of this wine red aster called 'Crimson Brocade' which is just beautiful. After dividing it again next year I should have plenty. I don't usually combine crimson and orange becqause they usually clash a bit, but it somehow works here, maybe because there is enough purple in the aster to bring out the purple-orange contrast.
I am both proud and ashamed of using roadside white asters in this yellow and white bouquet. Proud because they look quite nice and I don't have any white aster hybrids, but a bit ashamed because they are, after all. roadside weeds!
I made several burgandy and white bouquets this week just to get away from all the yellow, gold and red that is around in the fall.I made many bouquets using purple and orange with dashes of gold. The lily here is 'Royal Sunset' and the picture really doesn't do it justice. The red-orange in the picture is actually kind of a deep pink and the yellow throat in the lily is more dark gold than it appears in the picture. The aster is a hybrid called 'Little Carlow'. The pinkish-orange spikes are an Agastache but the name escapes me right now.
I have a few of this wine red aster called 'Crimson Brocade' which is just beautiful. After dividing it again next year I should have plenty. I don't usually combine crimson and orange becqause they usually clash a bit, but it somehow works here, maybe because there is enough purple in the aster to bring out the purple-orange contrast.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Bouquets for Friday September 19th and Monday September 22nd
The flowers for the 19th and 22nd are about the same as for last Monday the 15th except I had more asters available. This first has red aster 'Crimson Brocade' with pink, white and red mums:
Orange lilies, mums and zinnias with purple aster 'Marie Ballard':
This one is red celosia with pink aster 'Patricia Ballard' plus pink and white mums. I guess there is a snapdragon in there, too:
Lastly, here is a yellow lily combined with white and yellow mums, a sunflower and goldenrod.
All in all I thought they were quite nice!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Bouquets for Monday September 15th
After a whole summer of mostly annuals, things are now switching back to perennials with the cooler weather. We have not had a frost but most of the usual annuals like sunflowers and zinnias prefer warmer temperatures and longer days.
Asters have finally started blooming. The purple one below is 'Marie Ballard'. The taller mums are commercial but the shorter ones were grown locally. The feathery spike at the top is celosia.
I was talking to a local mum grower who told me the short stature is probably due to the drought in the summer - I just couldn't keep them wet enough.
I still had a few lisianthus and used them in Monday's bouquets. A new crop is just starting to flower and will be appearing in the next week or so.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Bouquets for Friday September 12th
I missed posting on September 5th and 8th, but I'm still using the same flowers: sunflowers, a few lisianthus, lilies, zinnias, statice, artemesia, delphiniums and dianthus.
For today's bouquets I had to use some commercial chrysanthemums because the chrysanthemums I am growing have mostly been too short. The place I used to buy chrysanthemum cuttings went out of business and the ones I have been able to find have just not grown tall enough.
I'm not including any pictures because they are so similar to what I have done in the past. I expect to start getting New York asters in a day or two and hope to have those for next Monday.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Bouquets for Monday September 1st
The lisianthus are starting to run out so I can't be as generous with them as I have been for the past several weeks. I have a third sowing coming along but they won't be ready for a few more weeks. I've been using more foliage to make up for fewer lisianthus. I often use few if any "greens", preferring to use small filler flowers instead, but this week nearly all the bouquets contained either baptisa, silver artemesia or Sweet Annie.
Because the contents of the bouquets has not changed much I have been mostly posting pictures of more unusual color combinations. Most of the bouquets are still in more traditional color combinations like red-yellow-orange, pink-white-purple and so on, but I have already posted so many pictures like that it seems silly to post more.
This one is a combination of silver artemesia, salmon zinnias, light purple lisianthus, gladioli and a few spikes of salmon agastache. The agastache has an aromatic, minty smell.
The next is yellow and white with ferny Sweet Annie as a foliage filler. The other flowers are lisianthus, zinnias, helenium (small gold flowers top left) and solidaster.
This last one contains no foliage and a combination of pink lisianthus, red, green and pink zinnias and white statice.
Because the contents of the bouquets has not changed much I have been mostly posting pictures of more unusual color combinations. Most of the bouquets are still in more traditional color combinations like red-yellow-orange, pink-white-purple and so on, but I have already posted so many pictures like that it seems silly to post more.
This one is a combination of silver artemesia, salmon zinnias, light purple lisianthus, gladioli and a few spikes of salmon agastache. The agastache has an aromatic, minty smell.
The next is yellow and white with ferny Sweet Annie as a foliage filler. The other flowers are lisianthus, zinnias, helenium (small gold flowers top left) and solidaster.This last one contains no foliage and a combination of pink lisianthus, red, green and pink zinnias and white statice.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Heirloom tomatoes
I don't grow very many vegetables. This year all I grew were sugar snap peas, lettuce, kale and tomatoes. In 2007 I bought a number of heirloom tomatoes from Project Grow's annual plant sale. My favorite was 'New Brooks', a pinkish beefsteak. I liked it well enough to try saving the seed, something I have never done before. All I did was take some of the seeds and wipe them across a paper towel with my fingertip to remove the pulp and then let them dry for a day or two on the paper towel. Then I removed them from the paper towel and put them in a ziplock bag to be planted this spring.
I planted the seed expecting to get tomatoes like the parent, and some of the 'New Brooks' plants did produce large pinkish beefsteaks similar to the 'New Brooks' I had last year. However, some some produced golden yellow beefsteaks. They are both good but I actually like the gold better.
Something similar happened with cherry tomatoes. I have grown a number of cherry tomatoes over the years, usually hybrids like'Sun Sugar' or 'Sun Gold'. After awhile I started seeing volunteer tomato plants that produced small cherry tomatoes about the size of a grape. They tasted pretty good so last year when I saved the 'New Brooks' seed I saved some seed from the volunteer cherry tomatoes, too. Surprisingly, these seed gave me plants producing two very distinct cherry tomatoes.
The smaller one is about the size of a small grape and is a pale orangey-pink. The larger one is bigger around than a quarter, but smaller than a golf ball and is classic, deep tomato red. They taste very different, too. The larger one is sweet and tastes...well, like a cherry tomato. The smaller one is a little more tart and more fruity or citrusy. I keep eating one and then the other and trying to figure out what is different.
I asked Royer, Project Grow's heirloom seed guru, how he could explain this since he had told me a few years ago that tomatoes typically do not naturally cross pollinate. Royer said that 'New Brooks' is not a very pure strain and he had also seen some of the following generation turn up yellow.
At any rate, these unexpected results have made the whole idea of saving tomato seeds much more fun! I've already saved the seed from all 4 varieties but will have to wait until next year to see what they produce.
I planted the seed expecting to get tomatoes like the parent, and some of the 'New Brooks' plants did produce large pinkish beefsteaks similar to the 'New Brooks' I had last year. However, some some produced golden yellow beefsteaks. They are both good but I actually like the gold better.
Something similar happened with cherry tomatoes. I have grown a number of cherry tomatoes over the years, usually hybrids like'Sun Sugar' or 'Sun Gold'. After awhile I started seeing volunteer tomato plants that produced small cherry tomatoes about the size of a grape. They tasted pretty good so last year when I saved the 'New Brooks' seed I saved some seed from the volunteer cherry tomatoes, too. Surprisingly, these seed gave me plants producing two very distinct cherry tomatoes.
The smaller one is about the size of a small grape and is a pale orangey-pink. The larger one is bigger around than a quarter, but smaller than a golf ball and is classic, deep tomato red. They taste very different, too. The larger one is sweet and tastes...well, like a cherry tomato. The smaller one is a little more tart and more fruity or citrusy. I keep eating one and then the other and trying to figure out what is different.
I asked Royer, Project Grow's heirloom seed guru, how he could explain this since he had told me a few years ago that tomatoes typically do not naturally cross pollinate. Royer said that 'New Brooks' is not a very pure strain and he had also seen some of the following generation turn up yellow.
At any rate, these unexpected results have made the whole idea of saving tomato seeds much more fun! I've already saved the seed from all 4 varieties but will have to wait until next year to see what they produce.
Bouquets for Friday August 29th
Once again, no new flowers. I don't think anything new will appear until the asters start blooming in a week or so.
As it turned out, none of the sea hollies I planted came up. However, I did have a couple at the house so I made a bouquet using them.
I also did more purple and orange, a combination I never seem to get tired of.
My friend Deb once told me that she only liked red combined with white so I was thinking of her when I made this last one.
As it turned out, none of the sea hollies I planted came up. However, I did have a couple at the house so I made a bouquet using them.
I also did more purple and orange, a combination I never seem to get tired of.
My friend Deb once told me that she only liked red combined with white so I was thinking of her when I made this last one.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Bouquets for Monday August 25th
I used a lot of Baptisa foliage in these bouquets. I also used Sweet Annie (Artemesia annua) in a few of them. Other than that it is still the same flowers just combined in different ways. Here is an example of the Baptisa foliage. It is almost as blue as eucalyptus, and certainly easier to grow but of course does not have that great scent.
I am getting more comfortable using the silver artemesia foliage. It looks really nice with blues and pinks, it might even work with yellow but I have not tried that. Artemesias all have a sharp, herby scent. I find it invigorating but some people might not like it.
I really liked this simple bouquet of white lisianthus and statice with orange zinnias. I keep meaning to do more like this but orange has generally been in short supply this year. Too much cantelope color and not enough orange.
I am getting more comfortable using the silver artemesia foliage. It looks really nice with blues and pinks, it might even work with yellow but I have not tried that. Artemesias all have a sharp, herby scent. I find it invigorating but some people might not like it.
I really liked this simple bouquet of white lisianthus and statice with orange zinnias. I keep meaning to do more like this but orange has generally been in short supply this year. Too much cantelope color and not enough orange.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Bouquets for Friday August 22
No new flowers but a few new combinations. This is Rudbeckia lacinata, light purple lisianthus and solidaster.
Pink lisianthus, white lilies, 'Amazon Rose Magic' dianthus, white zinnias and dahlias. People are always asking about the bi-color snapdragon - it is 'Opus Appleblossom'.
This is salmon pinks zinnias and statice with 'Echo Champagne' lisianthus and some orange gomphrena thrown in as accents.
The same salmon statice and zinnias combined with light purple lisianthus and solidaster.
Finally, white lilies, 'Cinderella White' lisianthus, yellow zinnia and rudbeckia, and solidaster.
There were also purple-white, red-yellow-orange, and all purple bouquets but I've posted plenty of pictures of thoser recently.
Pink lisianthus, white lilies, 'Amazon Rose Magic' dianthus, white zinnias and dahlias. People are always asking about the bi-color snapdragon - it is 'Opus Appleblossom'.
This is salmon pinks zinnias and statice with 'Echo Champagne' lisianthus and some orange gomphrena thrown in as accents.
The same salmon statice and zinnias combined with light purple lisianthus and solidaster.
Finally, white lilies, 'Cinderella White' lisianthus, yellow zinnia and rudbeckia, and solidaster.
There were also purple-white, red-yellow-orange, and all purple bouquets but I've posted plenty of pictures of thoser recently.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Bouquets for Friday August 15th and Monday August 18th
I never got around to posting about last Friday so I'm combining it into Monday. There is not much new to say because the flowers I have been using have not been changing much. Lisianthus, sunflowers, statice, zinnias, feverfew, dianthus, lilies, rudbeckia, ageratum - quite a list when it is all strung together but it has not changed much in the past few weeks.
I've been making lots of purple and white bouquets for the past couple weeks. The only thing in this bouquet that hasn't appeared in previous weeks is the big white dahlia.
I made several for Monday with this somewhat unorthodox color combination of "champagne" lisianthus with yellow statice and cherry red zinnias and dianthus. The lisianthus is able to pick up both the yellow and the cherry colors.
I never seem to get tired of combining apricot or orange and purple. I prefer orange but I've got melon colored lilies so this is what I came up with.
Last Friday I made quite a few bouquets with purple and white lisianthus, fuzzy blue ageratum and pale yellow solidaster.
Each week I end up making a few one of a kind bouquets though I usually don't take pictures of them because only one customer will actually receive one. Here is one that is made up entirely of apricot/peach/salmon colors. It is more Martha Stewart-ish than most of the stuff I do but I really liked it.
Last Friday I made one bouquet using silver and pink that was kind of fun. The silver is from artemesia 'Silver King'.
Looking at the bouquets from the past few weeks you can see why I go to so much trouble to grow lisianthus. They are beautiful cut flowers and I like to be able to have enough to use them generously.
I've been making lots of purple and white bouquets for the past couple weeks. The only thing in this bouquet that hasn't appeared in previous weeks is the big white dahlia.
I made several for Monday with this somewhat unorthodox color combination of "champagne" lisianthus with yellow statice and cherry red zinnias and dianthus. The lisianthus is able to pick up both the yellow and the cherry colors.
I never seem to get tired of combining apricot or orange and purple. I prefer orange but I've got melon colored lilies so this is what I came up with.
Last Friday I made quite a few bouquets with purple and white lisianthus, fuzzy blue ageratum and pale yellow solidaster.
Each week I end up making a few one of a kind bouquets though I usually don't take pictures of them because only one customer will actually receive one. Here is one that is made up entirely of apricot/peach/salmon colors. It is more Martha Stewart-ish than most of the stuff I do but I really liked it.
Last Friday I made one bouquet using silver and pink that was kind of fun. The silver is from artemesia 'Silver King'.
Looking at the bouquets from the past few weeks you can see why I go to so much trouble to grow lisianthus. They are beautiful cut flowers and I like to be able to have enough to use them generously.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bouquets for Monday August 11th
Nothing really different today from the past couple weeks. Lilies, lisianthus, liatris, sunflowers, zinnias, statice are the main flowers. The color combinations have been pink-white, all purple, red-white, red-yellow-orange, all similar to ones I have been doing for the past couple weeks.
I did make a few purple and green ones for Monday that were kind of fun:
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Bouquets for Friday, August 4th
Still using about the same flowers as for the last couple weeks. Solidaster, a naturally occurring hybrid of goldenrod and aster that I really like has started to bloom. Solidaster has tiny pale yellow flowers that can be combined with almost anything. Here is a picture of it combined with lily 'Suncrest', lisianthus 'Echo champagne' and dianthus 'Amazon Neon Red'.
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I feel like you can take almost anything and combine it with lisianthus and it looks elegant. The next picture is of white lisianthus with yellow zinnias, statice and yarrow and red gomphrena.
In addition, Friday's bouquets included many pink-white, all purple, and red-yellow-orange bouquets similar tot he ones I've been making for the past week or so.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Bouquets for Monday August 4th
Today's flowers were essentially the same as last Friday's. About half the bouquets were either pink-white or the all purple ones. The purple ones looked a little more elegant because I had a perennial statice as a filler.
The rest of the bouquets were red-yellow-orange, lavender-salmon or one of a kind like blue-white or purple-white.The red-yellow-orange bouquets had a stalk of this cool millet, 'Joker' that kind of looks like a cattail.
The rest of the bouquets were red-yellow-orange, lavender-salmon or one of a kind like blue-white or purple-white.The red-yellow-orange bouquets had a stalk of this cool millet, 'Joker' that kind of looks like a cattail.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Bouquets for Friday, August 1st
Whenever I am able to put the bouquets together quickly they turn out nice, and these went together real quick and easy. Lisianthus appeared in pretty much all the bouquets today. I did several like this with just different shades of purple. The lisianthus are 'Twinkle Deep Blue' and 'Echo Lavender' and they are combined with purple liatris, verbena bonariensis, 'Amazon Neon Purple' dianthus, purple zinnias and phlox 'Nicki'.
I did a number with pink lisianthus, white liatris, 'Amazon Rose Magic' dianthus and a red (deep pink) oriental lily called 'Arabian Night'.
With all the yellow flowers available in late summer I combined 'Cinderella Yellow' lisianthus (really a cream), with sunflowers, yarrow, rudbeckia, statice and zinnias to make a number of yellow and white bouquets.
I also made one that was just purple and white. The lisianthus here is 'Echo Blue Rim', combined with white snapdragons, deep blue statice, ageratum and phlox 'Blue Boy'.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bouquets for Monday July 28th
Monday's flowers were quite similar to last Friday except I had more lisianthus to work with. I made quite a few combinations with white - purple and white, pink and white, yellow and white. The double lisianthus with the blue edge is 'Echo Blue Rim'. The sweet william is 'Amazon Neon Purple', a first year flowering variety. The spikes are liatris.
The pink and white bouquets contained double lisianthus 'Conderella Pink', pink snapdragons and larkspur, white echinops and white feverfew as filler.
The yellow and white bouquets are about the same as last Friday except these include cream colored lisianthus 'Cinderella Yellow'
This last bouquet contains 'Twinkle Deep Blue' lisianthus combined with liatris, 'Amazon Neon Purple' dianthus. The green flowers are bupleureum. This is the first year I have successfully grown these, they need cold to germinate.
The pink and white bouquets contained double lisianthus 'Conderella Pink', pink snapdragons and larkspur, white echinops and white feverfew as filler.
The yellow and white bouquets are about the same as last Friday except these include cream colored lisianthus 'Cinderella Yellow'
This last bouquet contains 'Twinkle Deep Blue' lisianthus combined with liatris, 'Amazon Neon Purple' dianthus. The green flowers are bupleureum. This is the first year I have successfully grown these, they need cold to germinate.
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