Homegrown fall bouquets
I headed out into the garden on the weekend to cut a few flowers for the table — a half-dozen tall dahlias were calling me from across the garden.
Two hours later (where does the time go?) and three bouquets styled and photographed for this week’s column. I finally headed indoors to start my dinner prep — that’s the beauty of a garden, you can lose your practical right-brained self for an hour or two and let your creative, left-brained self take over. Three little bouquets have the power to dissolve a week’s worth of stress.
When I examined the large dahlias up close, there were fewer table-worthy specimens than I expected. Large flowers with hundreds of petals like these plate-sized Nick Sr. dahlias fade from the back of the flower toward the front. When cutting flowers, be sure the back of the flower is also intact or the flower will shatter once you have it settled in an arrangement. I cut three stems, stripped away the leaves and then cut the stems to an equal length. I set the stems in a heavy glass vase filled with water and then started my search for co-ordinating materials.
The centre of each flower was a muted yellow-green, so I headed back into the garden in search of foliage in a similar shade. An accidental colour echo in the back border came to mind: red dahlias with golden hakone grass. This grass cascades gracefully, building gentle layer upon layer, and as the cool weather approaches, misty seed sprays and brush strokes of gentle pink/red, soften the lines. I selected the longest stems, choosing them randomly so that I did not destroy the pretty line they had formed along the edge of the garden.
Back on the deck, I cut six long-stemmed, ruffled leaves of lime marmalade coral bells and tucked them in below the dahlias, like a frilly petticoat. They soften the top of the vase.
Lime marmalade coral bells offer outstanding ruffled chartreuse foliage from early spring (when I plant a small specimen in among pansies and early daffodils) until October, when I will transplant the mature plant into its permanent home in the shade border. Coral bells are showy container plants for a semi-shaded patio or deck, and are virtually maintenance-free, other than needing the odd drink of water.
The top of the arrangement needed a little something, so I headed back into the garden in search of a strong, upright stem of golden leaves. One stem from the golden smoke tree Golden Spirit (Cotinus coggygria ‘Ancot’) would fit the bill. The foliage emerges lime green in the spring and ages to shades of yellow, coral and red in the fall. It is said to reach 2.5 metres tall at maturity, but my three-year-old shrub stands a modest 1.5 m tall and adds a pretty yellow accent to a sunny border filled with blue switch grass, Stella D’Oro daylilies, peonies and old-fashioned roses. Given partial to full sun and a well-drained site, smoke trees are drought-tolerant once established. Prune the bush heavily every few years to promote new growth and larger leaves.
See how easily collecting a few flowers can stretch into a leisurely morning in the garden? My mind drifted along in search of pretty combinations, and the pressures of busy life slipped away.
I decided to put together a few more flowers, an arrangement of smaller dahlias, African blue basil, zinnias, yellow roses and lime green begonia leaves. Once again I drew the colour scheme from the cherry red dahlias Mister Optimist with each petal tipped with a fine yellow line. As the flower matures, the yellow becomes more pronounced. Yellow hybrid dahlias, zinnias and roses pick up the colour accent, while the deep wine red dahlia, with its near black foliage, adds depth to the mix. Beneath the flowers, I used a base of African blue basil to stabilize the design — the fragrance is spicy, fresh and very pleasant.
While I had my shears out, I cut a final sampling of zinnias for the kitchen window sill. By mid-October, the zinnias are looking a little ragged, so rather than look for the biggest flowers, I looked for fresh, young flowers. Orange, red, yellow, pink and white like a box of fresh Crayola crayons, one perfect flower for each of my miniature glass vases. It is often the simplest designs that give the most pleasure.
I heard my sensible right-side calling me back into the kitchen, that it was almost time for lunch. I enjoyed following my creative, left-side around the garden — it’s a great way to relax.
— Theresa Forte is a local garden writer, photographer and speaker. You can reach her by calling 905-3517540 or by email at theresa_forte@sympatico.ca.