Grow It: Bouquet Beauty

Megan - OPENER

There is lovely magic in a bouquet of fresh flowers. Even a petite vase filled with bright-eyed daisies posses has a special air about it.

We’ve all witnessed flower power—such as when a bouquet captures your attention and momentarily takes your mind and your eye away from the cheddar fish crackers peaking out from under the counter. As you bask in a bit of nature’s beauty you escape the toy tornado that your two-year-old has created in the middle of the kitchen floor. At my house, a clutch of fresh flowers is a touch of serenity amid the chaos that is our merry life with two little ones and another babe on the way.

The local flower shop, grocery store, and farmer’s market are all wonderful places to pick up a bit of nature for your kitchen table, but your yard may also be rife with succulent jewels. Sure, a dozen roses are lovely but you can create similar drama with giant hosta leaves, a few sprigs of purple coneflower, and stems of sedum while keeping your cash in your pocket.

With a little planning you can create a bouquet-rich landscape. Here are a few of my favorite multi-tasking landscape plants. These beauties are landscape workhorses for Eastern Iowa, but they also offer up great fodder for a fresh-cut bouquet. Add a few to your yard and soon you’ll be stepping outside your front door to harvest some serenity!

Spring bloomers

Megan - SPRINGThere’s nothing like bringing a bit of spring into the house. Plant a bulb garden this fall and color-rich flowers will great you next spring. Daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinths, and hyacinths are all easy-to-grow in our area.

Corneliancherry dogwood

Crabapple

Daffodil

Forsythia

Iris

Lilac

Tulips

 

Summer color 

Megan - SUMMERSummer is alive with blooms and foliage that can easily be combined into a host of unique bouquets. Don’t overlook terrific foliage plants, such as boxwood. A bit of simple green in a bouquet highlights the floral beauty.

Astilbe

Boxwood

Daylily

Hosta

Hydrangea

Lady’s mantle

Lily

Purple coneflower

Rudbeckia

Sedum

Shrub roses

Yarrow

 

Fall finale

Megan - FALLFall is one of my favorite seasons to clip bouquets. The deciduous trees are alive with color and end-of-season flowers burst forth with one last bloom show. Nature is staging a grand finale and everything is ripe for picking!

American cranberry bush viburnum

Chrysanthemums

Fragrant sumac

Maple trees

Ornamental grasses

Sedum

 

**Special thanks to our guest blogger today, Megan Hughes!

Megan photoMegan Hughes lives and gardens on a farm in eastern Iowa, which she shares with her husband, their two young daughters, two Labs, one cat, and 14 chickens. They are all looking forward to welcoming a new little brother in November. A horticulturist and a writer, Megan loves to share the joy of digging in the dirt. From planting edible gardens to building garden sheds, she covers all aspects of garden living for a multitude of publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, Country Gardens, and Organic Gardening.

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