Posted in: Fleur du Jour
Lilies and other June flowers at Butternut Gardens
Lilies are always popping at Butternut Gardens. Can't wait 'til June when all the lilies start. If you want to share in the beauty of flowers all season, why not choose one of my flower subscription services (limited to delivery in Southport, Fairfield, Westport, lower Weston). Then you could have flowers delivered right to your doorstep weekly, biweekly or monthly from Spring to Fall.
Pansies - harbingers of spring
In early spring everyone seems to jump on the bandwagon for pansies. You find them for sale everywhere - plant nurseries, grocery stores, building supply companies, farmers markets. And, why not? They are so darn cheerful. Even though I do not grow them for cuts, it is very hard for me to resist putting a few in the window boxes sitting on my deck railings. So, here to spread some springtime cheer, are pansies. Enjoy!
Phlox at Butternut Gardens
Garden Phlox is not only gorgeous, but also offers one of the nicest, softest scents of summer. A bouquet of phlox will quickly infuse your home with floral fragrance, and you won't regret it for a second! With blooms ranging from lavender to white, light pink to very deep pink, salmon and several bi-color varieties as well, Phlox offers a rich variety of blooms for floral designs and gardens alike. Phlox are long-blooming and have been a garden favorite for over a hundred years. By growing a number of varieties, I am able to cut Phlox from mid- or late-June on and off through the Fall.
David's Lavender Phlox - one of the best for mildew-resistance
Siberian Iris at Butternut Gardens
I love Iris and grow three major types - Dutch Iris, bearded or German Iris, and Siberian Iris. They are gorgeous additions to the late May and early June bouquets and arrangements. Some of the bearded Iris have absolutely amazing fragrance to boot.
Good news - we are inching closer to this year's Iris. - only 85 more days based on first cut date in 2014.
Also, anyone noticing how much more daylight we have these days? Maybe hard to tell with all the snow around here. In any event, we are less than 1 month away from the first day of Spring, or vernal equinox. Kick up your heels, folks!
I feel like all I have doing this winter is staring at spreadsheets, as I plan this upcoming season, and staring at snowflakes. Add in a bit of shoveling to make pathways for the dog, and that just about sums it all up. This is what makes it so hard to believe that in only 4 months I will likely be looking at some amazing rows of zinnias - true summer flowers. One of the hardest things for me to do is to wait to start all of the seeds. Some seeds, including zinnias, simply do not take very long to get going. Starting seeds too early is counterproductive. There is no benefit to having a seedling waiting unnecessarily for warm enough weather to be planted outside. It is best to be patient (and finish up the paperwork while you still have time to think). Once the season starts, thinking time is all but nonexistent.
I thought I would offer up Dahlias as today's fantastic Fleur du Jour as both a way to really make us miss, I MEAN LOOK FORWARD TO, summer and as a way to say I AM NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR 2015 WEDDINGS.
While many people think of Dahlias as fall flowers, which they most certainly are, Dahlias here start blooming at the tail end of June and early July. Different varieties are earlier or later by nature in showing off their remarkable blooms. Some variability also results from how early or late spring arrives and from how "on time" I am with putting the tubers in the field. Last year it was cold longer and I was later. That said, I cut the first flower on July 7. If you are planning a wedding before July, no need to worry as plenty of amazing flowers bloom before the dahlias!
For couples looking for late summer and fall weddings, Dahlias can be a lovely addition to bouquets, centerpieces and other floral designs. As a rule, I like to limit my full service weddings to one a day so as to give the best of myself and my flowers. I will add bulk flower orders for DIY brides who are making their own arrangements and will put together bouquets or other wear and carry pieces for the same day for my "Something In Between" brides if I feel I can do so with the quality I demand. So, as we wait for dahlias together, please contact me soon if you, or someone you know, are looking for your 2015 wedding florist. Congratulations to all the BEAUTIFUL wedding couples and their families.
The bright yellow yarrow in lower right puts real zip into any bouquet. Yellow and orange red hot pokers can be seen in the center of this grouping.
In the previous Fleur du Jour I highlighted the bright and smashing red hot pokers, which actually come in many shades from red to orange to yellow as well as mixes of the above.
Today I want to share a lovely pink and yellow combination from June, in which the yellow red hot poker and amazing yellow yarrow work beautifully with the season's pink dianthus, pink larkspur and pink Canterbury bells.
Last year I cut 295 stems of the truly striking yellow yarrow known as Coronation Gold for early summer bouquets, and saved another 125 stems for fall cuts.
By the time I take the fall cuts, the once bright yellow flower heads are a perfectly muted golden tone for the fall palette.
With first cuts of Coronation gold yarrow made on June 10th last year, we have just over 120 days (and much snowmelt) to go to 2015 blooms.
Let's keep the color coming as we dream of spring and summer flowers, and give the nod for today's Fleur du Jour to our wonderful Delphinium. From soft, light blue, to royal blue, to deep, rich dark-as-night blue our many colors of Delphinium add gorgeous color to complement or strike a contrasting note with other flowers. Let's not forget that we also have access to white and lavender Delphinium as well. Last year's first Delphinium cuts were taken on June 3rd and we had beautiful blue blooms the whole month through for a total of 354 stems. What's fun about Delphinium is that every year I always get some late summer and fall blooms to clip and add to our strong late season colors.
A splash of color to a summer bouquet