Growing, Sowing and Arranging Flowers by Jane Wrigglesworth
I really adore this bouquet. It’s so simple but so, so elegant, with its dreamy creamy roses, white hydrangeas, green love-lies-bleeding (amaranth), sunflowers with the petals plucked off, and red berries from the hypericum plant.
Plucking the petals off sunflowers is a neat trick. Once the petals wilt, remove them and you can continue to enjoy the flower head for much longer.
This gorgeous photo comes from The Knotty Bride.
Whether you like them white, blue, pink, red or purple, hydrangeas are hot right now. As soon as they make it onto the garden centre shelves, they’re straight out the door. Grab yourself a plant now and plant it in a partly shaded spot. The mop head hydrangeas (pictured) like moist but free-draining soil, so give them plenty of water, especially in the first year while they’re establishing a strong root system.
Photo credits: The top photo is from Yvonne Eijkenduijn’s photostream on Flickr; the second and fourth photos are from the dreamy blog, Dreamy Whites.
I could kick myself for the number of baskets I’ve thrown out over the years. They come and go out of fashion, but right now they’re super hot in garden design. They make excellent (if temporary) herb planters and they marry well with colourful annuals like pansies and stock. They make a lovely ‘vase’ too – especially when roses are in the mix. Wooden boxes are equally hot, as you can see in the above creation. Both arrangements are by the talented Susan from Florali. The design with the basket is from here and the wooden box creation is from here.
Q. When do I prune my hydrangeas? Raywyne
A. I’m assuming you have Hydrangea macrophylla, either a mophead variety (as shown above) or a lacecap variety (which has flattened heads). These are the two most commonly grown hydrangeas in our backyards.
Pruning of mophead hydrangeas is often a matter of choice. Some gardeners like to prune in autumn (usually in warmer areas) to tidy their plants after flowering. Others prefer to prune in spring (best in frost-prone areas). Some just snip off the flower heads, and some don’t prune at all. In fact, macrophyllas don’t need pruning unless they’re old, large or becoming straggly. However, to keep them looking neat and tidy, [Read more...]
Hydrangeas are truly versatile flowers – and prolific, particularly when you have several bushes in your backyard. At the moment I’ve got them coming out my ears. Just as well I have a sizable glass and ceramic vase collection. Hydrangeas, apparently, last much longer in glass vases than metal ones. I can’t say I’ve tested the theory, but that’s from the Flower Council of Holland, so it must be true. If you’re not a fan of glass vases you can cheat by putting them inside larger containers or by tying pieces of bark around the vase, as above. No time to whip up a fancy, multi-bloom arrangement? Snip off the hydrangea flower heads and place them in a tall vase of water. So simple and so chic.
White hydrangeas are my absolute favourite. White hydrangeas in white ceramic vases. Although red hydrangeas come a very close second. Above, red hydrangeas mix with red chrysanthemums and waxy, red anthuriums. The bottom photo shows a mix of carnations, lisianthus and baby’s breath (gypsophila). Nice.
Want to know how to change the colour of your hydrangeas? Click here.
Spot the handsome hydrangea and the sexy South American bulb in this photo-worthy floral display. The hydrangea you’ve met before, but the bulb? Commonly known as ‘glory of the sun’, its botanical name is Leucocoryne purpurea. According to Parva Plants, it produces a few needle-like leaves in autumn “followed later by tall thin wiry stems boasting up to 8 long-lasting fragrant, papery blooms in shades of violet or maroon”. Outstanding!
What to plant this week? Pure white shasta daisies, large round-headed hydrangeas (or try the cone-shaped Hydrangea paniculata) and gold and chocolate-coloured cosmidium.
Shasta daisies
Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) produce pure white blooms with yellow centres on tall stems. They flower profusely over summer and are excellent cut flowers. Drought tolerant once established, they like full sun and free-draining soil. Look for plants at your local garden centre.
Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are currently being shipped into garden centres in huge quantities, so if you haven’t already, get one in the ground now. They like a rich, free-draining soil and plenty of moisture, so make sure you provide ample water while their root systems are developing. Flowers and foliage will wilt if water is lacking but they’ll soon perk up once given a drink. Part shade is best, although Hydrangea paniculata tolerates more sun. The mophead hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, shown here) are the most commonly grown hydrangeas, with their big fluffy balls of pink, blue or white, but Hydrangea paniculata is worth growing too, with its pyramid-shaped clusters of white flowers that mature to pink.
Cosmidium
Cosmidium burridgeanum looks like a refined coreopsis with its chocolate centres and gold tips. It’s an easy-to-grow annual, excellent for both the border and the container, and makes a great cut flower. Available from Egmont Seeds.
I planted seven large hydrangea bushes a couple of weeks back – three white varieties, three blue varieties and one red. The latter is ‘Geoffrey Chadbund’, whose heads are touted as deep red. They’re probably not the red that you and I imagine but, as you can see here, they’re as red as hydrangeas get. However, flower colour is related to soil pH and I reckon mine might eventually turn blue. That’s because my soil is acidic. Plant pink hydrangeas in acidic soil (one with a low pH) and they’ll turn blue. Plant blue hydrangeas in alkaline soil (with a high pH) and they’ll eventually turn pink. [Read more...]
