Saturday, April 24, 2010

Bouquet of the Month: April

Noelle, over at "Ramblings from a Desert Garden" has started a bouquet meme. It took place earlier this week, so I'm a little late to the party, but here it is. I think I mentioned in my last post that I know nothing about flower arranging, but after following the lovely Judge Jeanne around the Flower Show, I got inspired.  We learned about spill, about fill, and about the "collared effect." I learned about the importance of balance and "pristine plant material."


Since I'm just as clueless about the varieties of daffodils that were in the mix my mom sent me last fall, I thought it would be a good excuse to showcase them and maybe do a little research into what we're now hosting here in our dirt.  Since these were a mix when they're planted, I don't know for sure -- these IDs are based on photos I've found in catalogs. Please correct me if you see any errors!

The bouquet doesn't include these, which I'm guessing are "Ice Follies" the earliest and most prolific ones. 


or these, that Karen identified as the "Sir Winston Churchills."


If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be these "Narcissus Geranium" because of their smell.  They are swoon worthy.



A "Pensioner"


"Merlin"


"Las Vegas"


"Apricot Whirl"


"Sorbet"

"Altruist"

"Passionale" perhaps?



Andromeda (pieris japonica)

A "Sungold" perennial tulip.  Also a gift from mom from a previous year.

Thanks for the flowers, Mom!!


My mom down in Tallahassee reads my blog but hasn't figured out how to comment yet.  So this is a thank you and a challenge to you, Mom, to try again.  I'm awarding you this virtual bouquet in faith and anticipation...love you!

20 comments:

Jan said...

Very pretty bouquet! I think it looks just lovely. You have a good variety of daffodils! I won't take a stab at any of the daffodil names but there are lots of experts out there who will, I'm sure, if they see something you mis-identified; but I think you've done a pretty thorough job, personally;-) Love the Pieris...I'm actually getting ready to plant some myself.

Noelle Johnson said...

Your bouquet is just lovely. I love daffodils, but what makes your bouquet look so professional is the cutting of Andromeda. It is so beautiful. Thank you very much for participating. I put your link up :-)

TALON said...

Your bouquet is utterly charming, JGH! What a glorious mix of daffodils! I bet your Mom can do it and you'll be getting her comment next :)

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Beautiful bouquet, especially when colour comes in many forms and layer themselves for perfection. ~bangchik

Ash said...

Reading your write up brought tears to my eyes.... I miss my mom too.... Yup! similarly she reads mine, but has not figured out how to comment.... in the comment box.... but yes verbally she says....her comments....So it is still fine....;-)

Lovely flower arrangement..... I am a total duh! in that..... I just do not have any idea... I just fix all the flowers I can into the bottle or vase..... Beautiful blooms in your garden too..... Convey my love & wishes to your mom.... May God Bless her with all the happiness she deserves..... She has an angel in her daughter..... What else would she want???

With lots of Hugs)))))

Ash....
(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Ronda Laveen said...

Gorgeous bouquet. Thanks for showing the different and beautiful varieties of daffodils. I hope your mom figures out how to comment. I have a number of family and friends who are the same way.

Sue Catmint said...

Hi JGH, love the bouquet, love the flowers in the garden, but most of all I am in love with your dog and my dog Potter is quite upset that you live so far away. cheers, catmint

Anonymous said...

Hello Jen, Just popped in to see your bouquet and can see I'll need to be back tomorrow to explore your lovely blog further!
Those daffies are just 'spot on' - I don't know anything about 'spill' or 'fill' but you have displayed them so beautifully.
You have some interesting varieties there that I haven't seen before - I'll have to see if we can get 'Altruist' over here as I'm quite taken by that one!

Joanne said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous flowers. You can almost expect to hear a symphony playing, celebrating these blossoms!

JGH said...

Hi Jan - thanks for visiting! I was looking at my photo gallery this morning and realized there are 3 or 4 varieties I didn't include in the bouquet. Maybe I'll feature them next year.

Noelle, great meme, thanks for hosting!

Talon, still waiting for mom ;-)Glad you liked the daffs.


Bangchik- hopefully I'll hava a pretty okra flower like yours soon to include in next month's bouquet.

Ash..you're very artistic, and have nice sense of design, so I'm sure you'd be great at arranging flowers. I don't like it when they look too "arranged" anyway.

Ronda, it's funny, my closest friends and family members aren't big commenters - or even readers. I thought it would be that way when I first started.

Catmint - maybe Potter and Betsy can become virtual "friends" too!

Gippsland, the Altruist ones are pretty, aren't they? They're one of my favorites, too.

Thanks, Joanne. I'm sure there is a daffodil named "Sympohony" - I'll have to look for it!

Floridagirl said...

What a pretty mix of daffodils and pieris! When I first saw the arrangement, I thought roses were in the mix. Those are some beautiful daffodils! Thanks, by the way, for stopping by my blog and commenting! Clearwater is such a pretty town. We visit the beaches there occasionally.

tina said...

You can do it Jen's Mom! Just get a gmail account. It is a great way to communicate with your family. Took my mother a while too:)

tina said...

The daffys are great!

tut-tut said...

There are no bad bouquets (well, 86 the carnations), but yours is beautiful! esp. when the flowers are those you've grown yourself.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What a pretty bouquet. I love all the daffodils. It seems like you must have learned a lot from your friend.

JGH said...

Floridagirl - cool that you've been to Clearwater!! It's really changed a lot since when I lived there as a little girl in the early 70s.

Tina, maybe I can set up a gmail account for her. Not sure how it works. But we'll get her set up somehow.

Thanks Tut- I don't mind carnations - in fact I love the way they smell. But it's true they are sometimes overused as filler flowers.

Thanks for visiting Catherine! There is a lot more to learn, I'm sure. I was lucky to have that hour with the design judge!

JGH said...

Blogger, for some unknown reason, is refusing to send me email notifications of my comments. So now I must click the "email follow up comments to..." button for every post. Any other blogger people having this problem?

Karen said...

I think it's pretty hard to mess up with daffodils - adding the pieris was an inspired touch! I hope I IDed the Winston C correctly. I am notorious for not knowing cultivar names! Your mom rocks. My mom reads every one of my posts but has never commented either! :)

Pix E. said...

I found a three headed daf in my yard last thurs. I brought in in the house and showed it to a friend who stopped over. we were impressed... and well, unsure that the world needs three headed dafs... what do the "regular" dafs think of the three headed one? (I bought a mix of bulbs so I have no idea what the names are )

Jan said...

My mom only reads my blog every couple of months when she logs on to her computer;~} She really loves gardens and always enjoys my photos but seems to have a computer phobia. My husbands parents won't even own a computer;-( In some ways, life IS a bit simpler without one! But I don't think I could go back--