Backyard Bounty

My good friend Jackie suggested that I share some easy arrangements that can be made from the garden bounty. Here's a simple one.  

I lined the inside of a small, rectangular glass vase with a variegated hosta leaf to hide the flower stems.  Filled the vase with water.  I started with a rhododendron stem with its exotic-looking leaves attached and a flower mostly in bud. Then two similar colored hydrangea blossoms were pushed in.  Fern fronds and a few itea branches (any leafy shrub would do) were tucked in at the edges to frame the composition.

It's best to cut and arrange the flowers in the morning when they are freshest. After cutting, get them into water pretty quickly, especially on warm summer days.

Most of the time I would rather enjoy my own garden bouquet than an expensive florist arrangement of Dutch imports.  Plus, if you use a replaceable vase, your own arrangement is a wonderful host/hostess gift to take to a dinner party.  Invite me to dinner and I may bring one along.