There's no better way to celebrate the onset of Spring than by bringing fresh flowers into your home. And so many gorgeous blooms have come into season in the last few weeks! Here are a few great choices from the current crop and some tips for working with them.
• Pincushions. The spiky peach-colored ball in this photo is a leucospermum, or pincushion. These insanely gorgeous flowers proliferate in many different colors and varieties throughout the spring and early summer. They last forever (at least a week to ten days) and their form is so intricate that they're good for hours of daydreaming.
• Anemones. Buy anemones (the striking dark purple bloom above) when they are closed and you'll get several days out of them for sure. This deep purple color is a personal favorite, but they also come in a vibrant red with a dark center and many other shades. Give them an angular cut so the stems can drink up lots of water.
• Ranunculus. Ranunculus (the pink flower pictured here) are similar to roses, but perhaps even more charming, and certainly more whimsical. These, too, come in a staggering range of colors; the unusual two-toned varieties are our favorites. You'll get several days out of these, as well, if you buy when the buds are tight.
• Ferns. We love using ferns in flower arrangements, though they don't always hold up terribly well. The vibrant greens and feathery textures just give a bouquet such an amazing woodsy feel. Lime green shades are gorgeous for spring arrangements.
• Dogwood. It's pretty early for dogwood (pink and white flower in the top photo), but we found some branches at the market the other day nevertheless. The petals look so beautiful even as they start to die, becoming crispy and parchment-like. Strip an inch or so of bark off the end of the branch to expose the capillaries to lots of water.
What are your favorite spring flowers? Please share!
(Images: Susie Nadler)
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'Course, the dogwoods and the gorgeous succulents you picture aren't technically flowers...but beautiful choices nonetheless! Lovely!
My penny-pinching husband can't see the value of buying fresh flowers, and picking them in our tall-wall laden neighborhood is not possible. Thankfully, fakes are looking better and better, and few drops of essential oils give you that fresh smell. I just added a couple of bunches of silk lavender in the bathroom in an urn! Lavander-scented hand-soap completes the illusion.
Pazzaglia did you just say you want to pick flowers in your neighbors' gardens? Really?
It's illegal to sell dogwoods at flower shops in Virginia, because they're the state tree and flower and they want the trees preserved. On the one hand, it's a huge bummer because they're so pretty that I'd love having them in my house. But on the other hand, we have them all over the place where I live (Arlington, VA), so I get to enjoy them anyway :)
Apple and cherry blossoms are always a hit. Our local favourite has to be the pussywillow with their furry, dove grey catkins. They're not your normal flower, but they last forever, dry perfectly well, and bring a touch of very early spring flora indoors here in the north. Otherwise, you're waiting for the first bulbs to push up maybe in early April or the lilacs to blossom some time in May. Crocus and hyacinths always look great forced in windows as you walk past though.
Hmm. This doesn't strike me as a "spring." I guess this post originated in CA, and I am in Chicago, so there maybe some regional miss, but Tropicals, like pincushion protea don't strike me as springy. Nor to any of the flowers in the picture! delphinium? Anemone & a cosmos? ferns? what?
Pussywillows, like fallentree. I can't find any yet but I want a bunch of branches.
OK, couldn't figure out how to add these to the Flicker pool (and I'm pretty darn tech savvy!), so I will just link to my own website so you can see my spring fakes..
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v623/lapsus_humanus/fake%20flowers/
Delphinium and daffodils are in season now-cheap! Tulips are still around but on their way out. Yea, fallentree! It's cherry blossom time. This past weekend marked the start of the the cherry blossom festival in DC.
What makes me laugh about this is that "spring" doesn't start for us until at least mid-May. Beside the bulbs nestled up next to warm house walls in flower beds, the most we can hope for right now are aspen, poplar and willow flowers (like pussywillows). Apple and cherry blossoms follow some time at the end of May, with lilacs chasing their heels; once frost and snow don't seem like imminent threats. (yay 53rd latitude!)