Unusual Fall Flowers

There's more to fall flowers than just Mums!

 Well, it's happened. The weather forecast for this week includes three frost nights. It's hardly surprising for November but it means the garden flowers are probably toast. I can't complain though. This fall has been glorious for flowers. I don't just mean Mum's and Aster's either. I'm not talking about the bizarre re-blooming of my lilac and the neighbors forsythia either. I mean there have been lots of pretty flowers blooming this fall and YOU can have lovely flowers next year if you try some of these out. 

Perennial Re-bloomers

Many summer perennials will rebloom in the fall if you dead head them thoroughly when they're done the first time. My lavender has been blooming for the last 2 months. Yarrow is another perennial that is still looking lovely outside. Dead heading is crucial though. 

Annuals

This was my first year growing Cup and Saucer Vine and it's thriving. When I planted it, I didn't know it was a fall flower but I don't mind. There are lots of large purple blooms. Marigolds will also to bloom till frost and go so well in an autumn landscape. My husband likes growing Cardinal flower vines on his trellis. They don't bloom till later in the season but still look nice now when his vegetables are all done. 

Zinnias and strawflowers have been blooming continuously since July and they'll keep going till frost. 

Alyssum is a new favorite. Where I live in Central PA, it looks great in Spring, dies back in the heat of summer and then bounds back in the fall. We've had months of blooms from a single pack of seeds. 

Some annuals self seed very readily. My daughters garden has loads of Nasturtiums that volunteered from last year. They look lovely and I've done absolutely nothing to help them along. 

Perennials to wait for

Many shrub roses will continue to bloom till frost.

I love my Trycirtus Flowers. Also, called toad lilies, they won't bloom till October but then they look great all fall. They look like small orchids. 

Many Iris' now come in re-blooming varieties. Mine have been blooming for several weeks. 

So you see, you can have pretty flowers all autumn (or at least till frost). If you want more ideas, go for a walk in your neighborhood and see what looks nice in your neighbors gardens. What's been looking good for you?

Grow Your Own Bouquets Part 2

Zinnias

 Last week, I wrote about the basics and benefits of growing your own bouquets. This week, I want to give you lots of ideas for which flowers to grow. There are so many to choose from that this week will be all about annuals - plants that complete their life cycle in one season and need to be reseeded each spring. For those of you who don't know, aside form my love of gardening, I have several years experience as a florist so this is really a fun combination of the two. Here are some suggestions to get you started. Keep in mind that all these flowers need full sun and be sure to get the tall varieties (at LEAST 18 inches high). 

Focal Flowers: Traditional bouquets will have at least one really eye catching flower that grabs your attention and is quite often larger that the other flowers. Here are some ideas...

1. Zinnias and colorful and easy to grow. I recommend the Benary's Giant Mix for cut flowers.

2. Sunflowers are also easy and popular. Be sure to select a variety with smaller heads. 

3. Gerbera Daisies are beautiful but are trickier to work with due to their fragile stems. I recommend buyin plants instead of starting from seeds. 

4. Marigolds. Very easy and lovely to grow. Again, be sure to get a taller variety. 

Line Flowers. These are flowers that add height and dimension to an arrangement. Think tall and thin. 

1. Snap dragons. SO PRETTY! Again, be sure to get a tall variety. 

2. Larkspur

3. You can, in fact, grow your own Molucella or Bells of Ireland if you want to do something different and fun. 

Snap Dragons

Secondary Flowers or filler flowers. These are usually smaller than the focal flower but serve to add a lot of interest and fullness. 

1. Baby's Breath. Yup the stuff in the store can be grown in your garden. 

2. Alstromeria. Another common florist flower than you can grow yourself. 

3. Asters. There are tons of Asters to choose from. They're all great. 

4. Celosia. You may not recognize the name but you've seen the flowers. They're especially popular in the fall. Speaking of which....

5. Straw Flowers. The texture of these is just crazy. Easy to grow too. 

6. Sweet William

7. Bachelor Buttons

8. Statis

Greens. These are always under appreciated but so helpful in putting together bouquets. Unfortunately, most greens I would use are perennial so they don't go in this post. However, I have found it fun to experiment and think outside the box when it comes to greens. Here are a few ideas.

Alstromeria. 

1. In high summer I actually like to use vegetable greens with bouquets. Beets, Swiss Chard and even Carrot greens work great in cut arrangements. 

2. Herbs like basil, dill and lemon balm will work and add a little scent too. 

3. Because you're using incredibly fresh flowers, you can often use the foliage on the flowers instead of stripping it off and that will add greenery. (Always strip of the foliage that will be under water). 

So, pick a few things from each category and plan out your garden! Also, stay tuned for next week when I'll talk about useful perennial plants.