Summer Bouquets Nursery Landscaping Guide
Summer Bouquets Flowers In Your Garden
By Suzzie T Franklin
With a little bit of foresight, the most beautiful summer bouquets
can be found right in your own backyard. Many people find joy
in tending a flower garden they can be proud of, harvesting floral
varieties that can be given as gifts to friends and family.
A good pair of clippers and a piece of ribbon from the craft
store can go a long way to brighten someone’s day. While you’re
at it, don’t forget to create a vibrant centerpiece for your dining
room table!
Planting After The Winter Frost
Step one toward creating vivid summer floral bouquets is, of
course, the planting. The best time to begin is late March in
the West or May in the East, after the threat of frost has diminished.
According to Beth Benjamin, floral expert at Renee’s Garden Seed
Company, the best flower garden picks are cosmos, sunflowers and
zinnias.
In the front row of her garden, she’s planted purplish blue cerinthe,
deep violet love-in-a-mist and phlox. Her second row is comprised
of white cosmos flanked by chartreuse bells-of-Ireland and backed
by white ammi majus as filler. In the third row, round colorful
zinnias grow next to blue and red salvia.
The fourth row hangs ardent love-lies-bleeding to the left and
cherry pink cleome to the right, flanked by pink and rose cosmos.
In the rear, tall sunflowers grow with strawflowers at each end.
Making A Clean Break With Sharp Clippers
For perfect summer bouquets use sharp clippers to make a clean
break that won’t crush the stem. Given the right cut, water will
be able to travel up the stem into the flower head to make your
bouquet last longer. Another trick is to give the flowers a second
snipping underwater, by filling your sink with several inches
of water, which will send water up the stem, rather than air.
Before arranging, keep the blooms in a cool, dark spot for a
few hours. "There are many old wives’ tale recipes for flower
food," says floral consultant Libbey Oliver. "Flowers
fresh from the garden really don’t need extra nutrients. Instead,
every few days re-cut the stems and change the water in the vase.
This will prolong their life more than anything added to the water."
Florists do offer small packets of nutrients as well.
Fragrance Of Fresh Nature In Your Living Room
Summer bouquets can be colorful or fragrant, relaxing or invigorating,
country or contemporary, depending on your selection. Nothing
sets the mood like a bit of fresh nature in your living space.
A recent Harvard Study found that people who had floral bouquets
in their homes were generally happier, with greater productivity
at work. They felt more compassionate and more energetic, the
study found.
"Other research has proven that flowers make people happy
when they receive them," said head researcher Nancy Etcoff.
"What we didn’t know is that spending a few days with flowers
in the home can influence a wide variety of feelings."
About the Author:
Suzzie T Franklin has written a number of articles on gardening
and landscaping including
White Flowers,
Fruit Trees,
Tole Painting,
Lady Slipper Flower,
Plastic Flower Pot,
Zen Garden,
Wire Topiary Frames,
Window Bird Feeders,
Planting Guide,
Flower Seeds,
Gardening Vegetable,
Cherry Blossom.
Keep a lookout for more of his articles on this website.
Little Known Flower Facts....
How much sun do flowers need?
The amount of sun that a flower needs varies.
There are some flowers that need full sunlight in order to stay
healthy. They can occasionally be in shade but for the most part
need at least five or six hours of sunlight each day. On the flip
side there are some that must be in shade or partial shade for
most of the day.
One flower that needs a lot of sunlight
is the sunflower. Porulascas are a type of flower that loves hot
sunny areas. Roses can have a mixture of both and still flourish.
The best way to tell what type of sun or shade the flower needs
is to read the tag or package that comes with it.
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