From the garden stylings of our Editor-in-Chief, Sharon Santoni
The month of May is possibly the most exciting month in my garden – spring really takes ahold on the weather, and the flowers I’ve planned and planted immediately respond and begin blooming. As such, naturally, it is around this time that I get inspired to create spontaneous bouquets with the treasures my garden offers me.
Last Friday, I knew I was going away for two weeks leading one of our MFCH Tours, so I wanted to quickly shoot around the garden to see what was happening and make the most of what was flowering (knowing I’d have brand-new peonies and roses to look forward to when I return!).
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See what I managed to throw together below, and I hope you get inspired to seize the day and create your own spontaneous Carpe Diem Bouquet!
What I used:
Viburnum
Philadelphus orange blossom
Irises
Aquilegia
Valerian
Sarantos
Foxgloves
To create this bouquet, first choose your vessel, which is especially important here as the bouquet is so heavy and robust – you must have the right size, as you definitely do not want it tipping over! Today, I chose a large glass vase. Start by placing the branches of greenery, then start inserting the white puffs of viburnum, which add bulk with their lovely round shape.
Next, you can start have fun with color! Here come the star blooms… Add in the irises, with their striking purple hues – which gift the bouquet structure – and some stems of beautiful valerian – a perennial flowering plant that matures in summer – for added interest.
For this bouquet, I also cut Philadelphus orange blossoms, Aquilegia and one or two foxgloves. At the end, I hid the top of the vase with some shorter branches of Sarantos.
Stand back to check the overall shape and size. I love this kind of wild bouquet because it is wonderful to be seen from straight ahead, or it can also be placed on a central table to be viewed from all sides.
Doesn’t it feel good to seize the day?