Spring Flowers

TheDapperGentleman surprised me with these lovely flowers last week. 

Gerber daises are the perfect way to brighten up your house for spring :)

Flowering Arranging

Whenever I receive cut flowers, the flowers always 

decline at different rates.

I'm left with varying lengths of stems...

Eureka, Solution!

Use various sized containers, 

place them close together...

and Viola...

A full looking arrangement :)

Don't forget to trim the stems and change the water daily.

These flowers lasted 2 full weeks using this method.

Fresh Bouquet from the Garden

Do you ever come across the mixed flower seed packets?

I normally glide past them, but this year I tried one. 

It was the butterfly mix, and boy oh boy did it pay off.

The seeds germinated very easily, 

the flowers are so cute and little. 

Edible Flowers

I was at a random garden store and discovered this package of edible flower seeds. The company prepackaged a couple of different varieties for you. Out of the 5-6 flower seeds in the packet, I started off with Bergamot and Cornflowers.

I started them at the exact same time but the Cornflowers (left) have grown faster than the Bergamot (right).

I'm extremely curious about how these little guys will taste ;) Has anyone else ventured into edible flowers? I'd love your renditions of flavours for these beauties.

If you'd like to know the seedling package comment below.

Allium Flowers

I definitely have a lot of favourites, but my all time favourite flowers are the Allium Flowers. The globe blooms just fill my heart with joy.

Below is a series of photos of the blooming process:

Fun Fact: When the Allium ends it's blooming season it creates beautiful dried blooms. Leave the blooms in the ground to finish the blooming season and watch the blooms change and dry naturally. Then you can cut them and bring them inside.

It's Peony Season

It's Peony Season :)

One of the best times of the year is when you can't walk down the street without spotting Peonies everywhere. Aren't they just the most cheerful flowers?

The perfect bouquet would be a bundle of white and pink Peonies tied with a cream satin ribbon.

ummmm... smells so heavenly ;)

Fun Fact: looking at plants and flowers during the work day relaxes you. 

As my work friends can confirm, I have a jungle in my work office...

Here are my tips to keeping cut flowers last longer.

Flowers to Lure Bees to Your Garden

(photo credit: from Serenity, diy's tumbler)

A lovely friend shared this with me on facebook. I love how cute and organized it is.

Bees are so important to gardening. They help to cross pollinate, which then helps plant to grow delicious fruit.

Hope you love it as much as I do. 

Growing Cut Flowers

Some people leave their flowers in the ground to grow. I however cut cut cut them! Arranging flowers can be so peaceful and meditative.

I was watching a movie this weekend and one of the characters referred to cut flowers as carcasses surrounding him. I can see his point, but I actually think that cut flowers are lovely and want more in my home.

To make cuts flowers last, I find that changing the water daily can make flowers stay fresh for almost 2 weeks.

Found on a Walk

I was on a walk with one of my most favourite people and we happened upon this Pansy. It was growing out of a crack in the cement. How adorable is that!

You can see that surrounding it are weeds and dead leaves. This little guy just wanted to grow no matter what the surrounding :)

solutions to a dilema... edible flowers

Photo credit from about.com

I was on Pinterest the other day and discovered that some flowers are edible! I love how you can add some flowers to pretty up your salad. I'm a little curious as to what edible flowers taste like. Luckily I found this great chart for us. Read the disclaimer at the bottom of the article, because this could become dangerous very fast ;)

Growing...Growing... SPRING is here

I partially only grow these bulbs for their fragrant flowers. Once there here, I slice 'em up and bring in the flowers. Downside to reaping them from the ground, they only hold their scent for a couple of days... then they smell pungent!

I've found that the white ones are the ones with the most bell like flowers. Purple ones are the most temperamental.

I am currently patiently awaiting these, robot is lonely without his flower friends.

Shamrock

March is a great time for Shamrock. 

This little plant grows from a bulb. If you want to keep it inside, the leaves stay year round. I've seen this little guy come in purple, green and even a mix of the two. At night the leaves droop a little and they look like little triangle butterflies waiting to spread their wings. I love how reactive this plant is to day and night. 

The cutest thing is that the leaves look like flowers. In the summer, when there is more light, there are cute little white trumpet like flowers that come out. Indoors these flowers only last a day or two, but outside they can last weeks. 

You don't have to keep it in a pot with a hole at the bottom. I love using little cups so I can place them all over the house. Be careful not to over water if you're using a pot without a hole. If it starts to look droopy, give it more water and watch it perk up :)

This is one that i've had for 4 years. As the bulbs mature, they start to create new bulbs in the same pot. After a couple of years you can start to divide mature plants and create new pots of shamrock.

 This is a little cup I found at an antiques fair. It's too small to hold the large amounts of tea I drink, but perfect to hold Shamrock.

Paper Flowers

(photo from apartment therapy)

I just found this great paper flower tutorial from apartment therapy

FLOWERS Here

Flowers in the Garden

There is an internal debate inside me every year about flowers. I love love love flowers, however my gardening space is so small that I try and conserve space to grow fruits and veggies that are consumable.

When I do grow flowers I try to pick fragrant flowers. The best things in the world to me is walking out onto my patio in April and smelling the beautiful blooms.

My most powerful memory from when I was a child was walking home late in the summer and smelling the blackberry bushes ripening. The sweetness of the berries is a smell I will never forget.

Here are some flowers I picked a couple of years ago that I put in a milk glass vase I found at a garage sale. The robot was added to the picture to give is whimsy :)