Garden Glimpse and Floral Arranging Tips

The garden is still so beautiful---I can't get enough of it. Here you see a Kousa Dogwood. Unlike regular dogwoods, the flowers are more square and bloom in late spring, after the leaves have blossomed.

I'm using this one as my current desktop photo.

The last of my Siberian Irises. My favorites were white. I love the crispness of them---completely different than your grandmother's bearded irises.

New Dawn roses---they have been reliable performers for the past 15 years.

Virginia Sweetspire---this is just starting to bloom. 

Henry ii Clematis---there aren't as many blooms and they aren't nearly as big as they've been in the past.

Jackmani Clematis---this one is really growing.

Nelly Moser Clematis---looks really good with the Jackmani.

My sun garden. You can see the giant allum in the back.

Peonies---with hot pink verbena in front. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the pink peonies this year. They are finished blooming for the year. 

Knockout Roses that line the upper drive.

Just a couple shots from the side yard looking into the pool area.

Close-up of the giant allums---the blooms are about 6 inches in diameter.

Scabiosa---pincushion flower. This one has been in the garden for at least 10 years.

Here's a garden tip: when arranging flowers in a large vase, use floral tape (even scotch tape will do in a pinch) to make a grid over the top. That way, when you are arranging the flowers, they won't keep flopping forward.

Another good idea for long stemmed, top heavy flowers---use a "fat" straw---this is from Starbucks.

Slide the straw over the stem. Now you flowers will stand up in the vase while still being able to absorb water.

While I was arranging flowers for myself, Mindy asked for a vaseful. This is the one that I put the floral tape grid on to hold the flowers upright.

Definitely my favorite flowers are the white ones. They go with every decor. There's just something so clean and fresh about white.

Decorating update coming soon!