arrangements Archives - Linda Nelson

GRAB YOUR PRUNERS AND TAKE A BOUGH!

November 22, 2015

‘Tis the season to make some evergreen statements, be it bud vases…..

©Linda Nelson 2015

fresh bouquets……

©Linda Nelson 2015

or front porch arrangements!

©Linda Nelson 2015

A pair of hand pruners, a few vessels or containers and some fresh cut greenery are all you’ll need. There’s no need to wait for December, either. Feathery boughs of cedar, juniper, arborvitae, microbiota, chamaecyperus, fir and spruce fit right in with and nicely complement all those decorative Thanksgiving trimmings.

©Linda Nelson 2015

Two of my favorite trees to snip from are Japanese umbrella pine(Sciadopitys verticillata) for it’s leathery-like whorled needles…..

©Linda Nelson 2015

and white fir(Abies concolor) for it’s clean, citrusy scent.

©Linda Nelson 2015

Both were ones I bought live and that served as my Christmas trees many years ago. My, how they’ve grown! The Japanese umbrella pine was a very pricey purchase. I slapped down a hundred bucks for what resembled a three-foot Charlie Brown tree; I just had to have it. My kids were very young at that time, and were absolutely mortified. “Mom….. this is not a Christmas tree!”

Assemble your outdoor arrangements in containers filled with damp soil or old potting mix. Make use of decorative plastic nursery pots if you live in an area where freezing weather is a concern. If you hate that idea and absolutely must use your cherished glazed pots, simply make your arrangement in an old plastic pot then insert it inside the nice one. I also use that approach when choosing to work with metal pails, as frozen soil expands and could bust open the pail’s seam.

©Linda Nelson 2015

Embellish with baubles of your choice, and you’re all set!

©Linda Nelson 2015

I made this arrangement just for the birds; after all, they deserve a pretty feeding station, right?

©Linda Nelson 2015

Well, there you have it.

Now, grab your pruners and take a bough!

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AN AUTUMN CRAFT PREVIEW

August 18, 2014

Thought I’d whet your decorative crafty appetite with a little autumn preview. Start gathering pinecones… the tight, unopened ones (you know, the ones you normally overlook). Be sure to stay tuned, as a future tutorial and inspirational post is in the works!

By the way, the floral arrangements are purely for your viewing pleasure.

©Linda Nelson 2014

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VEGETABLE GARDEN BUD VASES

July 26, 2014

Who says tomato plants aren’t decorative?

Incorporating fruit and vegetables into floral design arrangements is nothing new, be it artichokes, lemons, cabbages, etc…. This post is not about that. It’s about something more humble, rustic and more close to home… as right in your own back yard. Snip from your vegetable garden what you would otherwise not think to use for filling little bud vases. You’ll be delightfully surprised and amused by the smorgasbord of plant material there is to choose from.

One of my carrot plants, pictured above, went to flower. I love the delicate, lacy umbel shaped inflorescence it produces. And, hey, if your bottom half is cute, you might as well show that off, too, right?

Nasturtium leaves remind me of Thumbelina size flat-topped parasols.

Leeks, belonging to the allium (onion and garlic) genus, produce globular blooms that look beautiful long after its petite white florets drop off.

I think sage leaves and dill blooms(another umbel) look lovely together.

The apricot-orange flowers of the zucchini plant, though only lasting for a couple of hours in water, is worth the short lived show.

There you have it, some vegetative inspiration. Now, go snip.

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