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The First Bouquet

June 4th, 2011

This past week I spotted the first light pink double peony blooming and had to bring it indoors. I picked a few other flowers including: euphorbia, crimson clover, dutch iris, chives, single peony, ladies mantle, and east friesland hybrid sage.

After ready a few books like Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi Houseand The Kitchen Gardener’s HandbookI decided to try having freshly cut things from the garden in the house more often. It can be anything from some freshly harvested asparagus in a vase waiting to be eaten, a branch of forsythia being forced into early bloom, or a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the garden. Someday I will have a dedicated cutting garden filled with all sorts of things to bring indoors, but until then I’ll snip a little bloom here and there. They won’t even be missed in the garden and I’ll be able to enjoy them inside.

What’s your favorite cut flower to have in a vase on the table?

12 Comments to “The First Bouquet”
  1. Judy on June 4, 2011 at 6:25 am

    Roses….the old fashioned kind that have a fragrance and are not all looks. My grandfather had roses that I remember from being very young and I have loved roses ever since then.

    Reply to Judy's comment

  2. Jaye Whitney on June 4, 2011 at 6:59 am

    Your bouquet is stunning!! I adore peonies and yours are truly lovely :)

    I have zinnia’s for cutting. Simply can’t get enough of them in the summer months and can’t pass up a new variety of their seeds. This year they’ve been wonderful :) I have put in twelve varieties this year (so far :)

    In a separate area, I also just put in mixed sunflowers for especially for cutting, I’ve never grown these before, hope they do well.

    I love having fresh cut flowers in the house, I think they add something really special to my home.

    Reply to Jaye Whitney's comment

  3. Kathi on June 4, 2011 at 7:36 am

    Whatever is blooming at the moment. Now I have 3 bouquets of peonies around the house. I also like to keep small bouquets of herbs in the kitchen esp mint, parsley and sage so I don’t have to run outside a few times a day.Love your mix of flowers in your bouquet. That’s what I love about arranging flowers,it’s like planting a mini garden. It’s fun to experiment with unusual combinations.

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  4. KimH on June 4, 2011 at 7:54 am

    Beautiful bouquet. I love whatever is there at the moment.

    Reply to KimH's comment

  5. Donna B. on June 4, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Your bouquet [which is absolutely gorgeous! ♥] further proves that I must, need, want, have to get a Peony!!! My Tree Peony will take another two years till I can get a flower out of it… Harumph!

    Honestly, I cut anything that looks nice! Hehe!

    As much as I love having fresh flowers dried flowers hold a special place around the house. This year was the first for my perennial alyssum to bloom [it takes a year to establish] and I have some dried blooms adorning a retro 60’s tall mug on my coffee table. They retained that strong yellow color! I think though, the best part of this plant, is the dried stalks with the seed heads!! I must have more!

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  6. Terry on June 4, 2011 at 10:20 am

    I brought some lilacs in earlier this year and they made the whole house smell good.

    Reply to Terry's comment

  7. Jenny on June 4, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    My favorite is lilacs. I love the smell. I was walking the other day and found one just on the ground in a parking lot. It was still really fresh so I brought it home and put it in a cup of water. Then my neighbor gave me one from her bush as well. Now they are really droopy and sad looking, but I’m still keeping them because they make it smell so nice in here.

    When I get a house, lilac bushes are going to be one of the first things I plant.

    Reply to Jenny's comment

  8. Melissa on June 4, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    So pretty! I’ve been cutting purple cone flowers, cosmos, lavender, onion blossoms, a few green herbs for the greenery and nasturiums. Who new nasturiums smelled so good?!! I’ve never grown them before! Love your peonies! One day I’ll have some like that!

    Reply to Melissa's comment

  9. goatpod2 on June 4, 2011 at 5:32 pm

    Our peony just bloomed! I don’t cut flowers, my sister did that when she was still at home, my Mom is allergic to strong smelly flowers though.

    Amy

    Reply to goatpod2's comment

  10. Daedre Craig on June 4, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    I love zinnias. They’re so simple, but they come in so many colors and textures.

    Reply to Daedre Craig's comment

  11. Cathy on June 4, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    it’s a lovely bouquet and I like your idea of using anything and everything from the garden to decorate… love the idea of an asparagus bouquet!

    Reply to Cathy's comment

  12. MAYBELLINE on June 4, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    Anything that is fragrant.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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