STEM-DYED ORCHIDS - A work of art made easy

The weekly arrangement for August 16th were some stem-dyed orchids. For a fun and easy way to produce exotic-looking colorful blooms, you can stem dye flowers.To do this, simply get a stem in bud of your favorite flower.I like to use white buds of orchids, daisies, lilies, roses and carnations. I use science lab vials, but you could use any deep, thin vial or vase.I got my vials online and they come 6-8 in a set in a wire open box-type container. I use regular food coloring, but there may be other mediums you can use. Put 3-4 drops of the color you desire, fill with water, and plunge the freshly cut stem in each vial. I keep the stems like this in my garage refrigerator, used for flowers, for a week. When I'm ready to arrange, I arrange with a floral preservative. When the buds bloom, they will be variable in lovely colors.I prefer to use blue, but shades of rose, orange and green are also pretty.

FALL ARRANGEMENTS - Tangerine, Orange, Coral, Red and Peach colors welcome fall

Fall is here, and the weekly arrangement for September 14 verifies just that--bright tangerine, orange, coral, red, and peach tones are a sign that fall has arrived! Paired with the dark bright blue of bush delphinium, this bouquet, using colors of various blooms from the garden of zinnias and roses, is rich and colorful. Plan your arrangements with flowers that are available in your garden. You'll be surprised what you can come up, even when you think you might not have enough blooms for an arrangement. There are many color schemes you can come up with--complimentary, or opposites on the color wheel,  like this arrangement. Monochromatic arrangements, or tones and shades of one color, are another way to provide a pleasing arrangement.  There are other combinations as well--the sky's the limit when arranging! 

BUSH DELPHINIUM--AN EASY-TO-GROW, NO STAKING REQUIRED, BLUE BLOOM

Delphinium are so pretty in their "true blue" colors, but can be hard to grow. They are heavy feeders during bloom time, can be difficult to keep erect.  Even if staked, they can snap because of their heavy blooms. Although I love them, I have found that the BUSH DELPHINIUM is a good substitute plant. They are easy to grow, reseed readily, have a long bloom time--from spring through fall--don't require staking, and are not finicky in the least. When they reseed, it is very easy to transplant the seedlings to areas you want in your flower beds, where they always add the extra 'pop' of color needed to liven up your garden bed. I like to use them through their long growing season in floral arrangements. They have an extra long vase life, and their bright blue blooms always add so much to the arrangement as a filler or accent.  In this 'wild flower' arrangement, it is the focal point instead of the filler. It's accented with bright red STATE FAIR ZINNIAS and my favorite white daisy-mum.