LOVE-IN-A-MIST -- A RARE TRUE BLUE BLOOM

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) is a beautiful true blue annual. It is an easy to grow wild flower that is adaptable to most soils. It readily reseeds, so once you have one, you'll be enjoying the unique blooms for years. It blooms from June through killing frosts in the fall.

Lasting several weeks in arrangements, the 12-24" plant does well in full sun to partial shade. It is hardy in zones 3-10. It is known for its delicate, feathery foliage.

Two things I like best about these pretty blue flowers is that it blooms in several different shades of blue--from a very light blue to a dark, true blue.  And, once the bloom is spent, lovely seed pods form that are unique and beautiful. They are widely used in arrangements as well as their blue counterparts.  It's a flower that all gardens would benefit from.

TALL BEARDED IRISES IN SPRING ARRANGEMENTS

Tall bearded irises "WEDDING BELLE," "EPICENTER," and "SPECTACULAR BID" make a pleasing color co-ordinated vase arrangement for Memorial Day.

"Wedding Belle" is an extra large 6 1/2" bloom of luscious colored light peach. Ruffles and lace abound on this beauty.

Plicata "EPICENTER" is a vigorous bloom with a light peach ground color, and is always a stand-out in the garden. With deep velvety falls, "SPECTACULAR BID" is an older, but tried-and-true variety. The trio goes well together.

These vase arrangements were used to put on grave markers for Memorial Day. They were cut in the bud stage, and this is what they looked like after two days. Their life in the outside lasted another 2 days in bright sun. Being favorite colors of my dad, I wanted to use them. They were placed on his marker, which has a vase on both sides of the stone. Use a floral preservative, as always, and check on them daily, if possible, snapping off spent blooms. If kept inside, they would, of course, last longer.

PEONIES AND SIBERIAN IRISES IN SPRING BASKET ARRANGEMENTS

Continuing on with the floral arrangements of spring through fall, I take up where I left off:

Herbaceous peony "HONEY GOLD," paired with Siberian irises and a white dome allium make a sunny spring statement in early May. With big, beautiful peony blooms of up to 6-7" across, "HONEY GOLD" is a fully double easy-to-grow herbaceous peony, with white petals and a pure light yellow center, with white intermixed petals in a nice center tuft. Siberian irises "CAESAR'S BROTHER" and rosy purple "SPARKLING ROSE" each have a long vase life, as well as the white allium "WHITE MOUNTAIN," to go with the long vase life of the peony.

As always, cut flowers in the bud stage in early morning hours for a longer lasting arrangement, and use a floral preservative.

Keep out of direct light, and if possible, in a cool place. Snap spent irises off as they age, making sure you have plenty of buds to bloom in the coming days when you cut and arrange.

And, of course, enjoy!

ORIENTAL POPPIES - The time to plant is now!

Oriental poppies are spring blooming flowers, with crepe-paper-like petals. The plants have lush, green foliage that dies down after blooming. After the blooms have finished blooming and the foliage starts to turn yellow, cut down to the ground. This time of year the green foliage reappears. Because of the spot they leave after bloom, plant something that will fill in the space--mums, asters, sun-loving annuals such as petunias, marigolds or daisies can fill in the void. They come in all sorts of shades of pink, red, orange, plum, and white. They are easy to propagate--just take a healthy leaf with the root attached.  I use a rooting hormone--just wet the root bottom and dip into the rooting powder. Plant, keeping moist, but not wet until the root is growing and viable. Poppies don't have many problems and need full sun. They shouldn't require dividing for 4-5 years, or until the crown is woody and the plant's blooms dwindle in size or numbers. They're not fragrant, but an arrangement of them can be spectacular.

 I

GIANT ALLIUMS, ROSES AND LILIES IN JUNE

By June, the huge globe alliums are in bloom. Some, like long-lasting Globemaster, reach 10" across, with hundreds of blue-violet florets. Alliums have foliage that emerges early in the spring, and Globemaster's leaves remain green longer than other varieties. Violet Gladiator and white White Empress, with 6-8" spheres, are also reliable and beautiful varieties that grow well in my zone 6 garden.  The first flush of hybrid tea roses are still in bloom, and a favorite, long-stemmed Brandy, is a luscious color of soft apricot-peach. Tree lily Conca d' Or, with its 6-feet tall stems, grows more beautiful each year. Lilies are exceptionally long-lasting in the vase, especially if the pollen ends of the anthers are snipped off. Alliums are also long-lasting in the vase.This June 14th arrangement will last well over a week with proper cutting--early in the morning or after dusk--using a floral preservative and keeping it out of direct sunlight or drafts.

TALL BEARDED IRISES IN SPRING ARRANGEMENTS - Inviting colors of Peach and Blue

The weekly arrangement for May 10 shows how harmonious the cool, blue color of tall bearded irises "Altruist" and the warm tones of "Southern Morning" can be. Early bloomers, these irises compliment each other as well as the lupine and English bluebells that are used in this color scheme. 

One of the most enjoyable things about putting these bouquets together each week is seeing that no two have been alike in the several years I have been doing them. Keeping this blog as a journal of what is blooming each week has been a valuable asset in keeping a record of bloom times and how they vary from year to year, and it has been very interesting, to say the least.There have been differences in bloom times as much as 3-4 weeks. Take, for instance, this year, the irises were in bloom almost a month before they usually are. This was due to unseasonably warm temperatures early in the spring.  

Selecting the blooms that will be used each week is something I never grow tired of. Each week is a new adventure!  

ORIENTAL POPPIES - Easy to grow and maintain

Oriental poppies in the spring garden

Royal Wedding

Harlem (reblooming)

Raspberry Queen

Ruffled Patty

ORIENTAL POPPIES are one of the easiest and problem free plants in my garden beds. These beautiful, crepe paper-like beauties only increase in beauty from year to year.  They are long-lived and tolerant in many growing conditions. Some of my favorites are pictured here--Goliath, Queen Alexander, Harlem, Miss Piggy, Royal Wedding, Ruffled Patty and Raspberry Queen.  They like evenly moist, but not wet soil, and full sun. Plant something close by, as after they've bloomed, their foliage yellows and dies out.  The empty place they leave can then accommodate other plants.  I have daylilies, lilies, zinnias and garden mums (plants that mature and bloom later in the season) planted in those areas.  In late summer/early fall, the beautiful bright green foliage starts to grow and forms a nice clump that stays through the fall and winter.  By early spring, a full poppy plant is ready for spring bloom. Raspberry Queen is 8" across--unbelievable!  Ruffled Patty and Miss Piggy are beautiful, cut-petaled varieties.  I have found them to be very hardy, pest-free and easy to grow.  Easy to propagate, just dig down and get a long piece of an outside stem, plant immediately, keeping soil moist, but not wet, until the plant root is established.  Little side shoots are always available and I find it's easier to replant these. Varieties vary in their size and height.  Some, when in full bloom, have long stems approaching 4-5 feet, while others bloom closer to the plant, at 2-3 feet. Poppies are definitely on my list of top 10 plants in my garden.  With about 20 or so of these gorgeous plants, the hardest thing about them is trying to figure out where I can plant more in my garden!

Miss Piggy

FYI:  For other perennials, just type in a plant for posts on many other plants

SPRING BLOOMS

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year in the garden.