Flower Power
Bringing outdoor beauty inside
By Debra Prinzing
Photography by Debra Prinzing
Costco Connection, March 2013
Anyone who has received or given flowers knows that a bouquet will put a smile on your face in an instant. What seems like common sense has even been confirmed by the academic world. According to behavioral research conducted at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and affects social behavior in a positive manner far beyond what is normally believed. When the university’s social scientists explored the link between flowers and life satisfaction, they found that flowers are a natural and healthful moderator of moods.
If you need some mood-enhancing floral therapy – and who doesn’t? – this is the perfect time of year to plant perennials and shrubs with attractive flowers and foliage. If your space is limited or if you aren’t a gardener, you can still appreciate nature’s abundance in your home by combining greenery with cut blooms.
BACKYARD BOUQUETS
The age-old practice of picking and arranging stems in a vase was popularized by the Victorians, but now, according to many gardening experts, cutting gardens are returning to the domestic landscape.
“As I travel the world in search of new plant breeds, I’ve noticed cutting gardens are coming back,” says Anthony Tesselaar, cofounder and president of Tesselaar Plants, with U.S. offices in Lawndale, California. “I’ve noticed that Europe tends to be a bit ahead of the U.S. in terms of garden trends, and based on what I’ve seen there, I suspect cutting gardens will begin to gain momentum here in the U.S. once again.”
A recent survey by the National Gardening Association suggests there are 10.8 million households in the U.S. buying flower seeds (along with vegetable seeds) annually. And according to NGA’s research director Bruce Butterfield, “34 million households — nearly one in three U.S. households — have a flower garden.” That’s a lot of flower power.
“I think the cost savings, self-expression and powerful connection to interior design’s popularity in the media make cutting gardens a coming trend,” says Miriam Goldberger, president and co-founder of Wildflower Farm, a wildflower-seed producer based in Coldwater, Ontario. “I myself have been absolutely besotted with cutting gardens for 25 years. I love the endless amount of creativity it gives me, and the way it helps me bring nature inside my home.”
FLOWERS IN THE LANDSCAPE
Flowers in the home shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions alone. Head outdoors to find ingredients for a freshly picked bouquet. Shrubs and perennials from the garden offer a creative palette of design choices. Look for classic favorites such as forsythia, red-twig dogwood, hydrangea, peony, lily and dahlia plants beginning now and continuing through the entire growing season; all are perfect vase ingredients.
When you clip blooms and greenery from the garden, use clean, sharp pruners and plunge the cut stems into a bucket of room-temperature water until you’re ready to start arranging. Extend a bouquet’s vase life by stripping off any leaves that will be in water. And keep things fresh by changing the vase water every few days.
Debra’s Eco-Floral Design Techniques
MIX-AND-MATCH
Gardeners and foodies have embraced the seasonal aspects of what they grow, cook and eat. But depending on where you live, it might be a challenge to enjoy seasonal flowers all year long. That’s when everyday garden foliage can be a useful addition to a mixed bouquet or a single bunch of blooms.
You can stretch the potential of the bunch you buy and make it more local with cuttings from your garden, says Susy Wingate, owner of Wingate Interiors on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Wingate begins with a large bouquet of roses and regroups them, using foliage and other flowers to create even more arrangements. “Use your imagination,” she suggests. “Figure five roses per vase — you always want to use odd numbers of stems – and add greens [and other flowers] to create multiple bouquets.”
Bring springtime indoors with fresh flowers and garden cuttings: It’s an easy way to celebrate the season. Simply gather a cheery bouquet to enjoy on your desk or create a lavish centerpiece for your next dinner party. Either way, there is a flower option that will express your sentiments and alter the moment’s mood. Channel your inner floral artist and create a bouquet that reflects you, the occasion and your personal style.
Design tips from Susy Wingate
- Choose flowers with an open mind. “Rather than limiting yourself to a specific shade or type of flower, see what looks best the day you shop and let those flowers inspire your design,” she says.
- Large floral bunches can yield several small bouquets. “Build your own by adding greenery and tailoring each design to your event or your home.” Wingate says single-variety bunches go the furthest when they are mixed with other botanical ingredients.
- Garden bunches or mixed bouquets are lovely gifts. But don’t show up with the cellophane-wrapped package and hand it to your hostess, Wingate says. “Take it apart, clip off excess stems and foliage, and put the bouquet in a vase as a special gift.”
- Combine different flowers from the same palette. “I love using all sorts of floral textures in shades of one color to create a really rich and fun bouquet,” she says.
Debra Prinzing is a longtime Costco member, a Seattle-based outdoor living expert and the author of “The 50 Mile Bouquet” and “Slow Flowers,“ both published by St. Lynn’s Press. Read more about her work at www.debraprinzing.com.