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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Monday, August 27, 2007

bring the outside inside

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity. ~John Ruskin


a simple way to add ambiance and style to any decor in your home (or office) is the addition of a vase or pitcher of fresh flowers. a few days ago i was hostess to a few ladies for an evening get together in my home. all the usual fare of homebaked goodies, coffee and raspberry tea was served. in preparation for a hospitable welcome, i set about to create some flower arrangements to place in strategic focal points.

for an effortless way to custom design an arrangement i purchased a mixed bouquet of flowers from Publix for $9.99 and then made my way into my garden with pruners in hand.

gathering some cuttings from what i have readily available in my garden i clipped sprigs of xanadu, variegated schefflera branches, liriope and pittosporum. pittosporum is one of the few shrubs that remain from what i inherited from the previous owner. besides its hardy capacity to withstand heat, cold, salt and just about any other abusive situation, it makes for an uncommon addition to most any fresh flower arrangement.

working on newspaper makes for easy clean-up

when finished just roll up all the leftover
mess and discard

a couple of helpful tips when using mixed variety bunches from the florist or local grocery store are to:
1) separate all the clumped stems by cutting them apart turning them into single stems. they are much easier to work with and they will look much better in your bouquet.
2) make new cuts to the bottom of each stem at varying heights as you wish them to appear in the vase.

three vases of posies on a budget; one for the breakfast table, one for the guest bath,

and the unexpected addition was the tiny one for the kitchen window.

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom,
maybe your soul has never been in bloom. ~Audra Foveo

5 comments:

  1. I love these bouquets! So pretty and colorful and fragrant. Knowing you had a hand in creating them must feel good.

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  2. I think you may have found your Snap-it for this week!

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  3. beautiful creativity. Thank you for the pics as I am using ideas to fix my yard!

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  4. Oh, my! You really do have a gift for arranging! They're gorgeous! I'm pretty much hopeless at such things. Loved the final quote! That's how I feel about music. 8-]

    Have a JESUS-filled day! ^i^

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  5. mlm: thanks. i do love to create.

    jane: can i do that?

    pocahontas: thank you. happy to help. :-) when you get going on it you can start your own blog.

    sophie: you are most generous with your comments. thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Have a blessed day,
Meems


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