Current frigid temperatures make my mind wander to warmer times. Looking back to two summers ago, I was thinking about the time I “invaded” my friend’s garden. And by “invade” I mean I revelled in her bounty of gorgeous dahlias and perennials. It resulted in a generous-sized floral arrangement for her to enjoy. During a prior visit, I was blown away by the richness of her garden, with brightly-colored blooms of many different varieties – and lots of dahlias. So with her permission, I returned for some craved floral design time.
I have yet to add Dahlias to our garden. And this year just may be the year for them. I love their multi-layered petals, the many choices in color, the varying sizes – some quite huge and others sweet and small.
Fueled by the sheer joy of being among these beauties, not to mention the sunny day, here’s what came of it! This arrangement was approximately 3 feet in height. The bird’s eye view shot helped me remember it was probably about two and a half feet wide. There were so many flowers to play with! But the dahlias took center stage.
In a Ball Jar, I was able to make a smaller second vase from all the extra cuttings I made.
I’ll share a secret – to hold those flowers in place, I use a technique I call “greening”. Before any of the flowers are arranged, a mesh of green cuttings must be placed first as the foundation of the arrangement. What are green cuttings? They are cut branches from bushes around the garden. As you might notice, among the green cuttings in these arrangements are stems of boxwood and rhododendron. The right amount to form a mesh will keep the flowers in their best positions in the vase. No need to tape the vase if you’ve learned that technique in the past. I’m sure those who’ve attended my vase arranging workshops remember “greening” very well.
The best part of this whole experience is that it was a total surprise for my friend to find these vases waiting for her on her front porch. I didn’t tell her when exactly I’d be invading her garden…..
Anyone else’s garden need invading this Summer? If you let me, you won’t be sorry.
Ahhhh, so pleasing to the eyes to take in all that color. Spring just can’t get here fast enough. But I guess there’s still plenty of skiing to be done (which I currently can’t get enough of), so I’m really not complaining!
This Joyous Life 