Fleurs

I like flowers. I wish our home was in a more rural setting so I could grow a lot of different perennials from which to cut flowers. But I don't, so I try to make due with what I have.

I have a pretty large hydrangea that was in our yard when we moved here in 1995. We actually designed our new deck so it would not interfere with the growth of the plant because I like the cut flowers so much. It's survived nicely and thrives right where it is. Sometimes I get a second round of blooms in the early Fall when the weather cools a bit. Here are the first cuttings of the flowering seasonI think if I had to do it all over again, I might make hydrangeas my wedding flower. Alas, 28 years ago, it was not acceptable to go outside of the usual roses, mums, babies' breath, daisies, etc.!

I also like to cut geraniums and other little flowers to put here and there. Here is a really pretty bright fuschia geranium with a couple lantana sprigs. Lantana is one of my sister's favorites, but I have not had much luck growing it until this year. It's a cute little flower cluster that starts out multicolored but as the flowers age they all turn pink.

I have quite a few shasta daisies in my front yard landscape and I cut those from time to time to bring them inside. They are not my favorite flower by any means but are bright and cheerful. I put them in an old olive jar that I have had for many years. The jar shape reminds me of something mediterannean so I put a bunch of borage in with the daisies. I had intended to eat the borage, but chickened out! Anyway, it makes a pretty wildflower arrangement that I put on the windowsill in the kitchen.



Maybe one day we will live somewhere out of town. When I was younger the thought of living away from it all did not appeal to me, but now it does. I like where we live, and it was great when our daughter was in school, but now that she's going to college in the fall, it's not as important that we live close to everything. Ah well...one can dream, right?