TALL BEARDED IRISES and ITOH PEONIES -- Never-ending floral arrangement possibilities

After the tree peonies bloom, and before the herbaceous peonies bloom, another variety of peony, Itoh (e' toe) peonies, make their appearance in the garden. These stunning flowers combine the best of tree peonies and herbaceous ones, having magnificent big blooms, and an easy growth and care feature.  Pictured here is "Hawaiian Pink Coral" peony. Paired with it are Tall Bearded Iris 'Eagle's Flight," and three different purple globe alliums in various sizes. I like the coral pink color combined with the lavender of the alliums.

Alliums are best planted in the fall. They come in all sorts of shapes, colors and sizes, as you can see in the picture. They dry beautifully and add a nice interest in the fall garden.

The lupine is just starting to bloom, and it also comes in a myriad of colors and combination colors. An interesting thing about lupine is that they readily self sow, but are not true to the parent plant, so you don't know what you're getting until they bloom, They are easy to transplant when young seedlings, but have a 95% failure rate when transplanted when they're a young full plant or older plant. Lupine are great combination plants for tall bearded irises, peonies, and poppies. Their tall spikes withstand high winds and they do relatively well in both full sun and part shade.

When cutting for a floral arrangement, cut in the bud stage, Lupine start to bloom from the bottom up, so lower ones can be in bloom, but give the top a good measure of buds for long-lasting blooms in your arrangement. By the 2nd or 3rd day, the buds should be in bloom, as you can see by the photos below. I always use a floral preservative for maximum vase life.

Because peonies and irises come in so many colors, the composition of your arrangements can be endless!

TALL BEARDED IRIS "GLOBAL CROSSING" AND SPRING BLOOMS IN ARRANGEMENTS - 2015

I love the spring blooms from the garden. The arrangement for April 26 features one of my favorite complimentary color-combinations:  pink and blue. Early bloomer tall bearded iris "Global Crossing" is the perfect choice for the dark pink blooms of clematis "Sugar Candy," single late tulip "Don Quichote" and huge light pink blooms of tree peony "Kamata-Fuji." Dark blue lupine, English bluebells, and the beautiful blooms of heartleaf bergenia were also used in the arrangement. 

Arrangements such as this, if cut properly, will easily last a week.  I use a powdered floral preservative, but you can easily make your own. 

HOMEMADE FLORAL PRESERVATIVE

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon bleach

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Add 1 quart lukewarm water.

This floral preservative provides the bactericide-acid-sugar solution your cut flowers need. 

SPRING TREE PEONY BLOOMS WITH SINGLE LATE TULIPS - A romantic color palette

The first blooms of romantic tree peony blooms, paired with the delicate colors of a variety of single late tulips make this arrangement of April 19th an eye-pleaser.  The peony blooms, when fully open, can be as large as 8-10" across.  Pink and white-colored lupine finish the arrangement off. Peonies used are light pink "Yoshina-Gawa," white  "Sugared Silk," and red "Shimi-Nishiki."

As always, choose flowers that are in the bud stage, or close to it.  Harvest blooms before the sun comes up, or after dusk in the early evening, after the sun has gone down.  I always immediately plunge the cut stems in cool water.  When ready to arrange, cut an additional 1-inch off stem under water.  This unseals the stem end so water can continue to travel up the stem to give water to the bloom.  Arrange, and keep in a cool, dry, dark place until ready to use.  Change water every other day if possible.

FLORAL ARRANGEMENTS 2014--USING PEONIES, ROSES and LILIES

The last three weeks of floral arrangements include lovely spring peonies, first-of-the- season roses, Asiatic lilies and fillers of lupine, and allium.  As always, pick flowers after the sun has gone down, or before it comes up in the morning. Choose blooms that are in the bud stage, cutting the stem a 2nd time under water, then arranging with a floral preservative in the water. The first arrangement pictured sat outside in sunny conditions for an hour after the picture and you can see how the blooms have all opened up.

After an hour in a sunny area

White roses, yellow mum and asiatic lily

First hybrid tea roses of the season with peonies

TALL BEARDED IRISES IN SPRING ARRANGEMENTS

Today's weekly arrangement features three of my spring favorites:" TALL BEARDED IRISES, LUPINE and PEONIES. I love purples with corals, and this Itoh Hawaiian pink coral peony is the perfect fit with purple and white lupine, and three different irises: Fragrant Lilac, Heatheridge and dark purple Hollywood Nights. As always, cut in bud stage after dusk or early in the morning. Plunge immediately into water with a floral preservative and keep out of bright, direct light. Change water every day, or every other day, if possible.  

TALL BEARDED IRISES--2013 blooms with COMPANION PLANTS

TALL BEARDED IRISES in the 2013 beds.  Complimentary colors in the iris beds and companion plants.

Tall Bearded Irises DISCRETION, NAPLES, SUNDAY
CHIMES, MAGHAREE, APHRODISIAC, ROLE MODEL,
with lupine, poppies and peonies

Tall Bearded Irises DATE BAIT, EVER AFTER, RINGO,
DATE BAIT, CUPID'S ARROW, CLOSE UP, CHINESE
TREASURE, with lupine, poppies and peonies

Tall Bearded Irises MIDNIGHT TREAT, NEUTRON DANCE,
ON EDGE, WEDDING CANDLES, FRINGE OF GOLD,
GOODNIGHT MOON, DUSKY CHALLENGER, SLY FOX,
EAGLE'S FLIGHT

Tall Bearded Irises MASTER TOUCH, NEON AT DUSK,
PINK/WINE iris bed, ELISA RENEE

Tall Bearded Irises ARISTOCRACY, ELECTRABRITE,
DREAMCAKE, RINGO, POEM OF ECSTASY,
EXTRAVAGANT, LACY DAY with lupine and poppies

TALL BEARDED AND DUTCH IRIS IN ARRANGEMENTS

I love working with TALL BEARDED IRIS, DUTCH IRIS, peonies and lupine in arrangements in the spring.  The color combinations are endless as I look out into the garden beds.  A favorite color combination is blues/purples and pinks.  I used three different TB iris--dark purple DUSKY CHALLENGER, white MESMERIZER, and clear blue ABOVE THE CLOUDS. Another favorite I like to add is DUTCH IRIS SILVER BEAUTY, which are long-lasting in arrangements.   Light blue, white and purple LUPINE, three different shades of pink PEONIES, SARAH BERNHARDT, EDULUS SUPERBA and DOREEN, and then big bomb white and yellow HONEY GOLD peony finish off the arrangement.  It just looks like spring!  As always, cut in late evening, at biggest bud stage, remove all foliage below the water level, then plunge in water with floral preservative. If possible, keep in cool dark area when not needed for viewing.

Iris Above the Clouds, Mesmerizer, Dusky Challenger;
Peony Honey Gold, Sarah Berndardt, Doreen; Dutch Iris Silver Beauty