Saturday, October 15, 2011

You don’t have to be a professional floral designer to make stunning bouquets from the gorgeous flowers, foliage, seed heads and berried branches that are available at this time.  There is so much more to select from than just mums and asters.

Choose your color scheme based on where you will be putting your vases.  For rooms featuring earthy, rustic tones gather deep yellow, chocolate or burgundy colored sunflowers, black-eyed Susans and other rudbeckia daisies, yellow, orange and crimson gaillardias, and clusters of lingering yarrows.  Add in taller, fall blooming sedums with their shades of russet or red.

If you prefer purples, pinks and softer yellows, gather up the last of the annuals - pastel cosmos for cheerful fillers and colorful snap dragons for their attractive vertical spike.  Fragrant hyssop foliage and its fuchsia or coral and pink flowers are some of my favorite additions to arrangements.

Consider the contribution that herbs can make.  Clusters of purple-pink oregano flowers and dill with its green-turning- yellow flowers heads are wonderful to include.  Basil, Lovage, mint, lemon balm and lemon verbena foliage all add a delightful spicy fragrance from their attractive greenery.  Flat leaf parsley and culinary sage will also help fill out a vase.

Include ornamental grass seed heads.  They add a light yet beautiful spray.  The Miscanthus fountain grasses, Panicum switch grasses and Calamagrostis feather reed grasses all sport their own unique look, especially appropriate for natural looking arrangements.

There’s an abundance of other material to work with, including branches of berry producing cotoneasters, roses with shiny hips or thin stems of variegated euonymus. Carefully smash the base of any woody plants to help with uptake of water.

Branches of colorful shrubs such as euonymus burning bush, currants (Ribes odoratum) or compact American cranberry viburnum can be added for their brilliant red accent.  Know that they might not last as long as the herbaceous, non-woody plants yet provide a rich look and are worth including.

Look carefully for signs of bugs and gently wash off the flowers and foliage outside to avoid bringing insect pests indoors.

Select your vases or containers so that they add to the total presentation.  Odd bottles, mason jars and canisters with wide or narrow mouths will impact whether the arrangements fan out or show off their striking beauty vertically.  Scoop out pumpkins or gourds and place a jar with water and flowers in them for a seasonal effect.

Gather up short vases for short stemmed, diminutive flowers like pansies. 

Try to start with long enough stems to allow for re-cutting every few days. Remove the lower leaves which eventually decompose, clogging the water absorbing tissues of the stems.

For the longest lasting bouquets, change their water every few days or add floral preservatives to keep the water fresh.  Make your own preservative by combining 1 can of 7Up or Sprite, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1 splash hydrogen peroxide and 1 liter of water.

Have fun experimenting with what you have in your yard.  Pretty soon, you’ll probably find yourself eying plants in neighbors’ yards and public gardens, thinking about what you want to add to your own cutting garden next year.