Caterpillar tunnels keeping things warm at Butternut Gardens
The caterpillar tunnels are holding up well
under all the snow. Hard to believe that my
biggest fear, when I put up the tunnels, was
that the plastic would blow off. Pretty safe to
say that, for the time being, the poly cover
isn't going anywhere. So, what's under cover?
Ranunculus and Anemone.
Coming soon! I wouldn't be surprised by an
early spring.
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.
Red Hot Poker at Butternut Gardens
One of the more interesting June blooms here
at Butternut Gardens is Red Hot Poker, or
Kniphofia. It comes in several varieties, not all
red, in spite of their name.
They range from red to orange to yellow, and some are multi-colored. Their bright colors are fun to work with. Last year, one of my DIYers found the Red Hot Pokers particularly useful for the Fiesta theme which also featured potted succulents.
Last year I made the first cuts on June 10 and
followed up with 497 more, while still leaving
a number in the field. So, here's to a speedy return of the Red Hot Pokers, somewhere around 120 days from today.
Red Hot Pokers run the gamut from red to orange to yellow.
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
Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous.
I choose today's Fleur du Jour - beautiful and bold Zinnias - to brighten up this white, wintry landscape. I cut thousands of Zinnias each year. They are one of the best cut and come again flowers going for summer and fall. Last year's first Zinnias popped open on June 10th and continued to frost, gracing bouquets and arrangements for a good 4 months. In 2014 I cut 3,242 stems of one variety alone (many different colors). It was not the best year for "zins" but I would say that was certainly good enough! Based on last year's first cut date, only 128 days to beautiful show-stopping Zinnias! Wow!
Ok, so we have super cold temperatures, snow on the ground, more snow expected tomorrow and even colder temperatures after that. It is time to pull in the big guns for today's Fleur du Jour. Normally that would mean a fantastic ohhhh ahhhh photo of some supernatural dahlias or sunflowers or ANYTHING to bring Spring to mind. After all, I initially started my Fleur du Jour as a way to bring hope for Spring by figuring out how many days remained until we had certain flowers in bloom based on last year's bloom time. Ah, but what is normal these days, anyway? I think Super Bowl weekend calls for something a bit different, indeed! This cactus bowl has been sitting in my family room for at least a decade. I tend to utterly neglect houseplants so, when one of my children gave me a houseplant as a gift eons ago, the cactus bowl (CB) was a great choice. Upon initial receipt, some God awful flowers had been hot glued to the top of the green cactus in the store to make it look like it was in bloom. Yes, it was colorful, but it didn't fool ME! Not at all. Those flowers were as fake as fake could be. I do believe my child was quite loving in choosing a plant for me. For that I will always be thankful. Of course, I have had thoughts of neglecting the famed CB for good, but it is likely to become one of those things that gets distributed once I am gone. I am loyal to a fault.
So, instead of total neglect, I took a different route. The pink flamingo and garden gnome seemed the perfect additions for this Arizona theme. They have been hanging out in the CB for 4 or 5 years by now. Charming with the southwestern motif on the bowl, n'est-ce pas? Enjoy the winter weather or get yourself somewhere warm and sunny. More bona fide fleurs coming in future posts, I promise.