Flower Friday: August 7, 2015

Today's Flower Friday is a tale of two cutting gardens. On one hand, we see the happy mayhem of just cutting whatever happens to be blooming and throwing it into a mason jar:


Baby's breath, phlox, black-eyed Susans, zinnia, bachelor's buttons, penstemon, hosta, and snapdragon. 

On the other hand, we see the result of some carefully controlled color selections. When I first started planting the cutting garden, I chose perennials in a range of sunset colors: orange, peachy-salmons, golden yellows, plus deep purples and blues for contrast. I also tried to choose seeds for annuals that fit that scheme this past spring as well (though looking back, I can see that some things didn't bloom).

Anyway, the idea was that anything in bloom at any given time would look good together. I guess that's true of the first bouquet, but below is a primo case study of what I was going for with that sunset color scheme:


Echinacea, yarrow, roses, foxglove, and Chinese forget-me-nots.


In the close-up you can see how the salmon shades are actually all different, varying from deep orange through peach and golden-cream. I also really love the way the tiny forget-me-nots peek through the gaps for contrast. This picture doesn't actually quite do justice to the subtlety — in real life, it's kind of like waking up to a painting that also smells nice.

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