My late aunt was known for her love of gardening. I have written
about her backyard before in this column because it was overflow-
ing with flowers of every shape and size. Flower arrangements
were her specialty.
Every Saturday until the age of 102 she would put vases together
for Sunday morning church from her own yard full of daisies and
roses.
After her journey here had ended, I brought home her favorite vase,
broken and mended again and again over many years. It now holds
a special place in my china cabinet to remind me of the joy she re-
ceived when she was able to share her bounty of cut flowers with
her friends and family every week. (see photo below)
Even if you have the smallest yard, it is easy to cultivate your own
cut flower garden to share with others, or to bring a little bit of the
outdoors into your own home.
A cut flower garden can be thought of as that part of your yard or
even a container dedicated to growing the specific types of flowers
that can be cut and displayed indoors. There are just a few simple
guidelines to follow.
Make sure when choosing plants that they can stand up to living in
a vase. They should bloom on long, sturdy stems and not wilt easily
when cut.
If you have enough room, try and include blooms for each season
as well as different evergreens and grasses too for added texture
and interest in your arrangements.
When harvesting your flowers, make sure you cut further down the
stem than the length you think you need. You can always trim, but
it’s harder (but not impossible) to add back on!
Collect your flowers and foliage in the morning so they are plump
with moisture and will last the longest after cutting. Get them into
water as soon as possible to prevent wilting and keep in a cool place
until ready to arrange.
Amanda's late aunt's vase is still in use in the author's home.
Watch your pets if you have a curious one like mine. My kitty loves
to taste fresh flowers so I have to keep them far out of his reach for
the protection of both the cat and my arrangements.
As long as the blooms will last cut in water, your imagination is the
only limit to what you can use in cut flower arrangements. Here
are a few of my own ideas.
I love daisies, and they make beautiful cut flower presentations.
Purple coneflower was one of my aunt’s favorites because of their
vibrant color and sturdiness in a vase. Shasta and ox-eyes, black-eyed
Susans, and gerberas are some other good choices.
Yarrow, bluebonnets, yuccas (both yucca and hesperaloe species),
inland sea oats and mealy blue sage are easy to grow natives that
make nice cut flowers and foliage options.
You can also trim some trees to use in arrangements, such as mount-
ain laurel (flowers and foliage), red bud (blooms in early spring),
possumhaw and other hollies, junipers, and wax /Greek myrtles.
Roses are the traditional cut flower used for many years in arrang-
ements for almost any occasion. While the floral high center roses
struggle here in our heat and soil, we still have some good options
to include in our arrangements.
Some of my favorites are Belinda’s Dream, Souvenir de la Malmai-
son and other Bourbon roses, Lafter and other Teas, and using the
smaller bendable canes of Red Cascade.
Other flowers and herbs not to be forgotten include rosemary, sage,
basil and mint for pretty foliage and fragrance and bulbs (or similar)
including irises, daffodils, gladiolas and daylilies.
Just remember that next time you want to fill your home with cut
flowers, you may only need to step out of your front door for a world
of endless of possibilities from plants that give again and again,
week after week. Happy gardening everyone! ❦
