Happy First day of Spring!!
Unlike those who are lucky enough to have acreage and can devote parts of the yard for a cutting garden and can plant to their heart's content, the rest of us who love to have cut flowers all year round, but have limited land, it is important that the cut flowers we grow double as landscaping plants. Part of the reason the yard to vase series was started last year was to let us share what plants that are suitable for cut flowers look like in a garden environment and thereby can see the big picture. Photos of plants in catalogs can be misleading if you only get a close-up of the blossoms and not of the whole plant. The flowers can look deceptively large, but then you find out it is really small in relation to the leaves. Or the plant can be a ground-hugger and totally not suitable for cutting. For me, the smell of freesias is a sure sign that spring is here. So, I am starting off this spring series with one of my favorite garden and cut flowers.
This message was edited Mar 21, 2009 9:26 AM
Yard to vase - spring 2009 series
And here it is in a vase. I used to have a lot of red freesias too, but they slowly died out and all I have left are the yellow ones (they are the most prolific) and the pink ones. I have some white freesias in my white planter garden (Terri - did you see my explanation on that in the old thread?) but they are not very robust. You do have to be careful with the different varieties of freesias - some are very wimpy and do not have very strong stems and are not very tall.
Soils, BEE_U_TIFUL!!
Hi Dianne!
What a fabulous display of Freesia's you have in the garden. Love the bright colours!
The vase arrangement is lovely, they must smell wonderful in your house. Thanks for the new Spring thread.
I saw the explanation of your white planter, LOL!
I had freesias one year and they never looked that fabulous. You truly have a green thumb.
I have Ribes, flowering currant. This is a cutting I put in the ground, from the mother plant 2 years ago.
I had a huge plant, but my neighbour removed a tree the other side of the fence and damaged the roots , it died shortly afterwards. I had already cut some stems off it and put them in the ground a bit further along. Last year it only had a couple of flowers, this year it has more flowers, looks better and has grown to the top of my 5ft fence.
Thanks, Blossom, Terri and Candee. Freesias are indeed great flowers.
Wonderful Terri - those are two plants that I don't have so I will be adding them to my "to grow" list. And since I don't have too many plants blooming in January, and I am a little warmer than you, if the snowdrops were blooming last month in London, they may bloom in January here. Your snowdrops are nice and tall - most of the photos that I have seen are much shorter. Great job. BTW, do the currants have any thorns? and do they actually bear edible currants? or are the flowering currants not related at all to the eating currants? playing 20 questions here LoL.
Thanks Dianne, The snowdrops were in the ground here when we moved in 17 years ago, they come back every year without fail so far! I have tried to dig some up and plant them around the garden but they are so deep, I can't get them out! I have planted new bulbs but the squirrels dig them up.
The flowering currant is just a flowering shrub NO currants!!! It's related to other currants, the leaves are the same. No thorns,.... Hope I have answered the questions to your satisfaction LoL!
Nice crocus Blossom...... you have to cut it if you show it here ....... Yard to vase .. LOL
Drat... see ya in the morning...with a vase and croaked-us!
Oh blossom, don't let those crocs croak, just leave em in the ground and put a vase next to them.
You do have some blooms there Terri, lucky you. I still have a rather pitiful display of nothing. A few weeks ago I had to move my flowering broom and I think I killed it in the process. Few more weeks here.
snip!
Lovely!
I think you've got the idea now. LoL!!
LOL! Had the idear before, just was slim on material! Hmm still no blooms though! LOL! IM WAITING!!!!! Was a madder with me fluers here, mate, they got no blooming color!
That is adorable what is that little thang next to the vase?
Well I'll be - thanks for clarifying that fancy thang!
How neat that you are having blossoms, blossoms. Knew spring will come to you soon.
See there blossom and I bet you forced them open in that vase did ya?
Held a water pistol to them I did! LOL! Now I am going after their "friends"!!! hehehehe.. hold back spring on me you little boogers.. not gonna happen!
SNAP!
SNIP!
Lovely arrangement Candee, the pansy is a gorgeous blue. It all looks so fresh and pretty!!
Are the yard pictures on the way?
Love your new vase and the basket. LoL!
Blossom, it's great you are now getting flowers, lovely daffs!
The basket is where I hide some of my arranging stuff, LOL, that yu got me to get!
Nice dafs blossom yu do have some blooms there!
ohhhh how exciting!! please show me what you've got hiding in there!
C'mon over here and empty it out LoL! http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/752463/
This might be the last of my dafs.....arrrrgh! WINTER CAME BACK.. 1/2 snow now on the ground.. more coming? Whaaaaaaah!
Looky here now......WHO ORDERED THIS in my yard????????
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/965415/#new
Great photo Blossom, lovely collection!
Hope you don't get too much snow damage on your emerging plants.
Nice display there blossom, now just stay away from the windows and all will be fine , just don't look!
I love that mellow yellow what a yummy photo.
Well if luck is with me, I will have a slew of dafs of lots of varieties! Heck if I know what kinds though! Just dafs of fun!