Spring Flowers: How to Embrace Life with Beauty

Spring is here, and with it comes a beautiful array of spring flowers.  As you drive down the road, you see fields of wildflowers, or beautiful roses in someone’s yard.  All that beauty can’t help but make you smile. 

If it makes you smile so broadly when driving, why not let that beautiful vision greet you each day in your own yard?  Embracing life with beauty is as simple as adding a cutting garden. It’s just a matter of choosing which ones! Listen in and learn what plants work well in a Cutting Garden, how to display and share them, and which flowers work the best!

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Transcript

Spring is here, and with it comes a beautiful array of spring flowers.  As you drive down the road, you see fields of wildflowers, or beautiful roses in someone’s yard.  All that beauty can’t help but make you smile. 

If it makes you smile so broadly when driving, why not let that beautiful vision greet you each day in your own yard?  Embracing life with beauty is as simple as adding a cutting garden, and can enhance your love of living a Simple Life. It’s just a matter of choosing which ones!

For me, the whole point of having flowers in a bed outside is so I can embrace the beauty of nature inside as well.  Once or twice a week, I want to bring that beauty inside to enjoy all day long. When I choose my plants, I consider what they will look like in a bouquet.

I also consider height and color.  Depending on the cultivar, some flowers, like sunflowers, can range from as little as one foot to 5 feet.  When it comes to color, I opt for several different ones.  But when I consider height, I prefer to stick with something that fits well in an arrangement, like gladiolas, or shorter sunflowers.  

As with everything, there is an exception to that rule.  Sunflowers can come in dwarf sizes up to 10’ tall.  I love an arrangement that is solely varying heights and colors of these cheerful flowers!

But what flowers work best for a Cutting Garden? This is where the sky is the limit if you have the space.  If you aren’t able to plant 100 acres of nothing but flowers, you’ll definitely need to pick and choose.

The first consideration is your Gardening Zone. Some flowers, such as zinnias, love our hot summers.  But there is no way I can successfully grow lupines in this hot, humid climate.  If you aren’t sure what Gardening Zone you’re in, be sure to check out the Farmer’s Almanac. I’ve added a link to it in the show notes.

A second consideration is the lighting.  If your yard is rimmed with trees that keep it shady all day, look for flowers that can tolerate shade.  Some flowers that love shade are tulips, astilbe, lily of the valley, and daffodils. 

If you have a mostly sunny location, try growing sunflowers, roses, daisies, peonies, and cosmos. Considering most cut flowers love full sun, these are just a few of your options.

Another benefit of growing flowers is that they also contribute life-giving food for some beautiful insects. Even if we are primarily growing for cut flower arrangements, it is always the best idea to offer food to beneficial insects.  Many of the flowers you grow will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

But did you know that peonies mainly attract what we consider a pest?  That big, fluffy, beautiful bloom secretes a sap that is a great food source for ants!  Let me debunk a myth here. You may have been told that ants feeding on the sap is what helps the blooms to open.  No.  Those blooms are going to open regardless. But before you try and find a way to keep the ants away from your peonies, it may help to know these tiny little pests also protect the flowers from other insects that feed on the blossoms. Sometimes we just have to learn to take the good with the bad – especially when we are dealing with nature.

If you love the idea of growing a Cutting Gardn, but aren’t sure what to plant, stop and think about receiving a bouquet of flowers. What about each one makes you happy? Is it the design, the color, the scent? Next, think about how much time you have to not only establish a garden, but also to maintain it. Flower beds have to be watered, fed, and weeded. In some cases, you may want to save seeds for next year’s growth if you have annuals, or you may need to divide some of the bulbs and perennials. And if you grow roses, these will also need to be pruned in addition to normal care. 

Think before you plant. But, if at all possible, try growing at least a few cutting flowers in containers, or adding them as companion plants in your vegetable and herb garden. 

If you still want to grow at least a few cutting flowers, here are a few you can try:

Sunflowers come in many different colors and heights. Shasta Daisies may take a couple of years to get well established, but they are well worth the effort. Zinnias are easy to grow from seed, come in different colors and heights, and are easy to grow. Gladiolas are beautiful in flower arrangements. And then you can consider hydrangeas, cosmos, bachelor’s buttons, carnations, black-eyed susan, asters, coneflower, daffodils, tulips, lavender…I can keep this up for weeks and still not name them all. 

The bottom line is, if you love it, more than likely it can be grown for cutting purposes. But now that you have your garden in place, you need to think about how you are going to use your beautiful flowers inside.

The first place you want to put them is right where folks first enter the house.  Cut flowers have a way to saying ‘Welcome!’ and brings a smile to a visitor’s face.

Spring flowers are also a perfect stress relief, so add some to the kitchen table.  If you have problems sleeping at night, place a few stalks of lavender in a vase by your bedside.

Having overnight guests?  Be sure to add a fun selection on their bedside table.  You can also go so far as to add another vase in their bathroom.

Where vases are concerned, I believe that if it holds a flower and water, it will work for a vase.  I have used just about everything to hold my arrangements.  If you want to go formal, most everyone has a crystal cut vase in a cabinet somewhere.  Although I have been known to use them in a pinch, I like the less formal look to my container.

To find a suitable vase, look in your cabinets.  I have used a salad dressing carafe and vintage Mason jars. I collect vintage enamelware, so quite often larger bouquets end up in a pitcher.  

Vintage milk and cream bottles make perfect vases for simple arrangements.  The most unusual thing I have used is an old glass measuring cup that was originally used for photography chemicals.

Another great idea is to gather up all those old medicine bottles you picked up at flea markets.  Place a single stem (or two) in each one, and line them up across the kitchen table or on a window ledge.

And place those vases in every room! Make up a large vase of flowers to put on a table, and then use smaller vases to put in the hallway, bedrooms, and even in your bathroom. Every room can benefit from the smiles you get when looking at a vase of fresh flowers.

Another great way to use your fresh flowers is to take them to a neighbor. Flowers have the ability to ‘speak’ many languages.  They fluently speak ‘Get Well!’, ‘I miss you’, ‘Welcome to the Neighborhood’ and many other languages.  (They also say, “I’m sorry!” extremely well!) Because of their linguistic skills, create a few vases and take them to your neighbors.  Not only will they appreciate them, but you may get a story gift in return. “Oh!  My mama used to grow the most beautiful dahlias!” (Those stories are some of the best gifts I have ever received!)

With a little work, you can easily share the beauty of life and friendship with a garden filled with spring flowers. It’s time to grab our garden plan, gloves, and our seeds.  Let’s start planting!

If you want to learn more about living a Simple Life, just visit my website at www.thefarmwife.com/ . If you’re enjoying listening to these podcasts, please support the show by clicking the SUPPORT button in the show notes. When you do, you’ll be helping me continue bringing you fun and helpful ideas for living the Simple Life you love!

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Thanks again for stopping in. I will see you next week on Living a Simple Life with a Back Porch View. And while you are waiting for the next episode, grab that glass of refreshment, pull up a rocker, and sit back for a while. It’s time to relax and enjoy.

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