Be Glad

I'm So Glad

Here's a simple and classic arrangement that is long lasting and dramatic.  Yes, good old gladiolas.  These were all closed when I selected the bouquet and so I wasn't sure about the exact colors but I'd hoped for light colors. 

Actually, it was a little more than a guess.  Here's a trick.  The darker the stalk, the darker the flower color.  You can be fairly certain that if the stalk and buds are on the lighter side, the flowers will bloom out white, yellow or (my personal favorite) a spectacular green.

A nice thing about glads is that they bloom from the bottom up.  So if the stalks are long enough and the tips don't wilt, you can pull off the dying blossoms from the bottom, trim the stems a bit and they'll last a good long time.

Couples

Sometimes Two is Better Than One

I bought two bunches of yellow ranunculus the other day.  One I put into this tall vase and let them be their crazy wispy selves.  I paired it with this simple low arrangement of lycamachia that at this time of year is a screaming chartreuse.  I think it works.  So did the cat (the new cat) who thought it fun to tug at the trailing stems.

It looks better up on the mantle, but it's too hard for me to take good shots of things up there.

Little Vase Big Impact

Here is the second bunch of ranunculus.  Hard to believe that there are exactly the same number of stems in this grouping. 

Goes to show you that you can do a little with a little or a lot with a little.

By the way, ranunculus is surprisingly long lasting.  Don't let their delicate appearance fool you.  Just be careful with their stems, which can easily bruise.

Tulips

The Miracle Flower

Tulips have a wonderful character.  For one thing, they are one of the few flowers that continue to grow after they have been cut.  So don't hesitate to hack away at those stems since they'll be longer in a day or two or five.

They also last a long while.  My friend Carmella would bring a bouquet in on Mondays and they'd last the week, opening, growing, and changing in character.  Tulips also have a mind of their own.  When you want them to perk up straight, they decide to do a graceful bow over the side of their container.  Some folks put a penny in the vase to encourage a vertical habit.  I prefer to allow these free-spirited flowers to do their own thing.  It makes life more interesting.

Also in this arrangement is that "instant bouquet" flower clivia and some early nasturtiums I found in my garden.  Nasturtiums will also morph with buds opening and soon sporting rather buxom seeds right there on your table top!  Let them do what they do and enjoy nature's show.

Instant Arrangement, Almost

My creative sister Jan (actually, they're all creative) once called clivia an instant arrangement so when roving my small garden, clippers in hand, I'd hoped for immediate gratification. Alas, there were but two puny stems but oh, those ranunculus were fabulous, if not a little bit faded. Then I found this other thing I have growing in the back of the yard. I have no idea what it is, exactly, except it's hard to kill. The dusty blue-green leaves and tiny lavender blossoms are a perfect cool counterpoint to the hot blooded oranges of the clivia and ranunculus.

Less is More

Simplicity

Maybe it was the spring fever that I caught today, being such beautiful weather.  The garden looked so fresh and orderly that the thought of weeds and mildew seemed an impossibility.  There weren't many blooms to choose from, however, that needn't stop the intrepid arranger.

This Peruvian lily puts on a one-flower show in this tiny bud vase.  Don't think that you need to have an abundance of flowers to make an impact.  This flower is particularly interesting all by itself.

Calla lilies are a favorite of mine.  I don't have a huge field of them, actually, I'm lucky to get three blooming at the same time so I'm loathe to snag them all to bring inside. 

They last a good long time and have a nice presence.  This one looks particularly striking against the dark backdrop that is the corner of my dining room, but it started out here in front of this mirror.  Mirrors are useful in creating the illusion of more, when you have less.

Your callas not flowering right now?  Try just the lance-shaped leaves that are beautiful on their own.  A nice contemporary look for a decidedly old-fashioned flower.

Or try other interesting large-leafed foliage when there is a dearth of blooms in your yard or you pocketbook is feeling pinched.

Heavenly Stuff

A common name for nandina is "heavely bamboo," and heavenly stuff it is.  The berries are bright and multi-purpose and the greens are glorious and sometimes turn a bronzy color that make us East Coast transplants all nostalgic for the old country. 

This Christmas I took a bunch of it and stuck it in my Christmas tree instead of the gazillion ornaments I usually use.  The result was fantastic, and even better, the berries dried nicely and I was able to use them in this arrangement.  I just piled them up, one sprig on another to get this effect.  Easy and should last until the cobwebs start appearing between the berries.

Happy New Year

Good Intentions

My intention was to blog my way through the holidays but I just couldn't muster much enthusiasm after my dear old pal Bud, the best cat in the world, died shortly before Thanksgiving.  Kicked me right in the gut. 

But I did manage to drag the tree out of the basement (I'm not ashamed that I went artificial, but do prefer real) even if there were no kids coming home this year and no holiday party planned either.  I figured it would be just too sad without some decorations up.

Easy Tree

Last year I'd put every single ornament that shined or glittered on my tree and it was truly opulent, extravagant and a pain in the ass to take down.  Being quasi-depressed, I opted for easy street.  I had a box of enormous pine cones my mother had saved and some sprigs of rather sad looking artificial berry sprays so I stuck them in among the branches then purloined some beautiful nandina berries and stuck them in there too.  My grapevine doesn't produce grapes but does a great job on vines which I usually clip and form into wreaths.  I had 3 I really didn't need so I took them apart and wrapped the tree with the vines like garlands.  Some years ago I came across some fake snow...looking suspiciously like shredded plastic bag bits...at Pottery Barn that I'd been saving and tossed that on top of it all.  Voila!  Easy up and even better yet, easy down. 

I'm kicking myself that I didn't get a picture of it.  You'll just have to imagine.  Sorry

Mixing Reds

I'm a huge proponent of mixing variations of the same hue.  So much easier than trying to match a certain red.  For my mantle I made a simple arrangement of fake berry sprigs mixed with fresh nandina berries, added a few small magnolia clusters (these are a bit aged as I didn't get this shot while they were still fresh) plunked a couple of fat candles on their perches and it was done. 

Again, so easy.

Don't Forget Flowers

Sometimes we get so into the whole pine and holly mindset that we forget that you can get lovely holiday effects from regular old flowers.  While I'm not entirely happy with the way this arrangement worked out (I think the container was just too big for what I was trying to achieve), I will try something similar next year.

I used a mixture of coffee berries, roses, gerbera daisies and random pine and cedar bits left over from someone's Christmas tree.  I learned that Target just tosses all the branches they cut off the bottom of the trees when they prep them for folks and were happy for me to take some of them off their hands.  Love free stuff.

Round Pot in a Square Hole

Don't forget potted flower options.  Here I took a red cyclamen in a 4" pot and put it in a sandwich size Ziplock bag then squished it into this square glass vase.  I then filled the vase (outside of the plastic, I didn't want the plant to be saturated the whole time) with water and surrounded the pot with sprigs of blooming white azalea.  The plastic pretty much disappears with the water around it creating an interesting effect.  I think it was a nice and festive look for very little money...and the plant will go in my garden when its indoor time is up.

Merry Belated Christmas!