Spring Bouquets

If you've been reading my blog, you probably know that I love bouquet season.This is nothing new. I've been picking flowers my whole life. As a child, one of my jobs was setting the table for dinner, and I often picked flowers from our yard to use as a centerpiece. I even found ways to make "floral arrangements" when we were camping!

My mom enjoyed flowers but didn't often pick them herself. It was my grandma, whose yard was full of flowers, who encouraged me in my bouquet-making. I especially looked forward to gathering big bunches of lilacs to place in tall containers each spring. The scent filled our house!

If you're going to pick flowers, you need to have a good variety of containers and vases. Awhile back, I pared down my "collection" so that I'd have a nice mix of shapes, sizes, and colors. I'm sure I still have too many, but I can't bear to part with them, especially since I use them a lot!

This spring we've had regular rain and mild temperatures and as a result, my spring flowers have been especially profuse. These conditions are great for those of us who enjoy making bouquets! First came the pasqueflowers which bloomed in mid-April. They fit nicely in this tiny vase I picked up on a trip to Kansas City. 

Next came my beloved bluebells from Grandma's yard which fit perfectly in a glass spice jar, followed by Lily of the Valley, which I placed in one of my mom's old small vases. For many reasons, these two spring flowers are my favorites.

In May, a small patch of allium popped up in my garden. It must have been brought in by the birds, because I didn't plant it!  It made a very pretty bouquet in this milk glass vase that belonged to my mom.

In the front yard, I have a few woodland flowers including a lot of wild honeysuckle. I've never picked it before but found that it kept nicely for a few days along with coral bell leaves and a few other sprigs of greenery.

 

Right now, my iris are in full bloom and my lilacs are about to open. I gathered plenty this morning to make a large bouquet in a mason jar to deliver to a friend. I filled in the gaps with hosta and coral bell leaves. 

As always, I'm looking forward to creating more bouquets throughout the summer. I'll be working on my gardens for the next few weeks and hope I continue to have ample flowers for picking!

jp