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Planning for Bouquets:
The best
way to plan your garden for bouquets is to dedicate a specific garden area to
these cutting flowers. This way you can cut all that is in flower on any
particular day without feeling that you might spoil your landscape display. If
space limits this possibility, plan to intermingle your flowers for cutting with
the rest of the garden. Be sure to start with well-amended soil, adding lots of
organic material. Your plants depend on good, well-drained soil to perform and
bloom well.
To maximize the number of flowers on each plant, keep blooming flowers well
picked and remove spent flower heads. This will keep seed pods from forming, a
process that signals the plant to stop producing more flower buds as its
vegetative purpose in flowering is finished. Keep all your flowers well watered
throughout the season, supplementing what nature supplies. A side dressing of
well-balanced fertilizer several months after planting and during heavy
harvesting also helps keep new flowers coming with good size and form.
All our cutting flowers are strong
bloomers producing high yields of long-stemmed flowers. You’ll find a variety of
shapes and complementary colors and an overlapping succession of bloom from
early summer until frost.
 Cutting
Flowers in the Garden: The best
time to cut flowers is in the early morning. This is because blossoms have
recovered overnight from the stresses of the day’s growth and stems are tight
with water taken up during cooler moist nighttime conditions. Morning is also
the best time to tell which blossoms are brand new and best to harvest. A newly
opened flower is always better to pick because it has not been worked and
pollinated by the bees. Pollinated flowers immediately begin the process of
fading and forming seed and their petals also tend to be more stained after the
bees or other pollinators have visited them. Unpollinated fresh new blossoms
will have a longer vase life. If your schedule does not permit morning flower
harvesting, cut them in the cool of the evening as a second choice. Avoid
cutting flowers in the heat of the day.
To harvest flowers for bouquets,
carry a small bucket filled with lukewarm water (not cold) out with you into the
garden. Place stems of cut flowers directly into the bucket as soon as they are
cut. Try to keep the bucket of flowers out of the sun as you pick. Cut stems
with a sharp scissors or knife, and never yank their stems or break them off
with your fingers if you expect them to last in a bouquet. A cleanly cut flower
stem (either cut straight or at an angle) allows plant cells in the stems to
continue to circulate and take up water.
Remember, cut flowers are alive and
need careful treatment so they will last in your bouquets. Cut stems several
inches longer than you think you’ll need, so they can be recut as necessary. |
Flowers for Bouquets from Renee's Garden Seeds
Amaranth
Asclepias
Bells of Ireland
Bishop's Lace
Buddleia
Calendula
Carnation
Cathedral Bells
Clarkia
Cleome
Columbine
Cornflowers
Cosmos
Delphinium
Echinacea
Feverfew
Four O'Clocks
Foxglove
Heliotrope
Hollyhocks
Larkspur
Marigold
Nigella
Poppies
Rehmannia
Rose
Salpiglossis
Salvia
Scabiosa
Snapdragon
Stock
Sunflowers
Sweet Peas
Sweet Willliam
Zinnias
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There are a few flowers, notably
Poppies, whose stems contain a milky sap that will clog other flowers. Prevent
this by quickly singeing them over a flame before placing in water. After
bringing the bucket of flowers in from the garden, condition them by letting
them rest in the water. They will last much longer than if picked just before
making your bouquet. This conditioning process is especially important if you
plan to display flowers using floral foam.
 Preparing
Your Flowers for Display: For long-lasting and fresh-looking flowers, plan to use only clean containers,
well scrubbed to remove any leftover bacterial growth from the last bouquet.
Always strip any foliage that will be below the water line in the vase as
otherwise it will decay and foul the water. Most flowers will last longer if
their stems are recut under lukewarm water and then immediately transferred to a
lukewarm water-filled vase. Even partially wilted flowers can be revived by this
technique. Plan to snip off an inch or so, always with a sharp scissors or
knife.
Vase life of all flowers is extended by beginning with comfortably warm water
(never hot-tend toward lukewarm). Vase life will also be dramatically affected
by water type. Do not use artificially softened water which contains dissolved
salts; also avoid hard water whose high mineral content may produce unopened
buds and darkened droopy petals. If your water is very hard, us distilled or
bottled water for bouquets.
 Using various preserving additives can significantly prolong flower life. Each
method has its proponents, and since water composition differs so much
throughout the country, we suggest you experiment to see what works best for
you. Suggestions range from adding a few drops of bleach to each pint of vase
water to keep bacteria from growing to using a solution made with lemon-lime
soda, one part soda to two parts water. The sugar in the soda is said to feed
the flowers and help buds continue to open, and acidity inhibits bacterial
growth. We have also had excellent results using the powdered preservative sold
at most florists and nurseries.
Whatever kind of water or solution you use, nothing will substitute for using
only the freshly opened flowers, sharp cutting tools, and sparkling clean
containers. When you’ve put your bouquets on display, change the water
frequently to prolong their life. Recutting flower stems a small amount every
few days will also help them to last longer. Finally, keep finished bouquets out
of drafts and direct sunlight.
Enjoy your floral bounty by making up bouquets of all sizes. It is a source of
great satisfaction and pleasure and you will discover your own artistic style as
you play with different shapes and color combinations. Bouquets of flowers grace
the home and gladden the heart, and they are joyful gifts to give yourself and
others.
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