Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Spring Floral Arrangements and A Snowy Spring Day

The view this morning on our spring flowers and flowering bushes. Our andromeda japonica, azalea, and bleeding hearts all are under some heavy wet snow! Thankfully, by the time you read this, the snow will have started to melt!

We've had a delightful early spring with azalea and forsythia bushes in bloom and tulips and daffodils opening up and bringing cheer to the little garden spots tucked around our yard. When heavy wet snow was predicted this week, I got quite sad. So, I put my TO DO list aside yesterday and went outdoors to pick flowers and spend some creative time making floral arrangements.

But first, let me back up just a little bit. Over the past few months, I had watched some videos that demonstrated how to make fresh floral arrangements. Here is one I watched: https://youtu.be/wltUDiFQNFI  and here's another that I watched: https://youtu.be/sEIQsbqnwJU  I didn't have the kind of vessel I wanted to use, so I searched on Facebook Marketplace and found a glass one I liked. That was a few weeks ago. I ordered the supplies I needed, including a bouquet of flowers, in my curbside grocery order. I used the new vessel and the bouquet and was satisfied with my first attempt. It didnt seem a whole lot different to me than using silk flowers and greens for making wreaths or table-top arrangements. I used the floral preservative that came with the bouquet to extend the life of the arrangement and it lasted over two weeks. I learned that fresh arrangements are pretty big drinkers, so I watered it daily. Below are photos with captions from my first arrangement. You can click on the photos for a closer look. 


Flowers from the grocery store and the glass vessel I picked up on Facebook Marketplace . . .  ready to start arranging,

My first attempt at arranging.
I added some euonymus from our front yard as filler. 

To beat the weather forecast, I gathered several daffodils, tulips and forsythia branches yesterday to use in arrangements. I used a dish I had on hand for the first arrangement and used that same glass vessel for the second one. Below are photos with captions of both. You can click on the photos for a closer look.

My first trip outdoors to pick some flowers and branches yielded these. I placed them in water as I picked them and trimmed them before placing them into the arrangement.

In one of the videos that I watched, they used a screwdriver to make holes in the waterlogged oasis for the flower stems. This was very helpful because the stems can be a bit fragile.

Here is the first of two arrangements I made yesterday. I used a little ceramic pot that I had on hand.

On my second trip to the garden, I picked these. I used the same glass vessel that I got on Facebook Marketplace. I used the screwdriver to make holes.

I made this three-sided arrangement for our hall table.
The tulips closed overnight. It's nice to think that they sleep when I'm sleeping!


Now that I have had some practice, I hope to make more fresh flower arrangements, using flowers from our gardens and branches from our bushes . . . an occasionally flowers from the grocery store. I tend to be task oriented and it is sometimes a push for me to give myself some grace and walk away from the perceived "must do's" on my list. But it was well worth the time I spent yesterday. I enjoyed myself, learned some new things and picked up some skills, and have pretty flowers to enjoy inside . . . while those that are still outside are bending under the weight of the heavy wet snow. By tomorrow the snow should be gone and I can pick any that are not standing back up and put them in vases of water. 

If there is anything I learned from my experience yesterday, it was more about enjoying myself than about floral arrangements. I encourage you, dear reader, to give yourself the gift of time to enjoy a pursuit that is either one that is new to you, or one you would like to pick back up. It may sound a bit cliché, but the truth is that we are not guaranteed a tomorrow, so take advantage of the gift of today.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. As always, your comments are welcome. I will read them and respond here on my blog or on Facebook. It is my sincere wish that you and those you love are well and happy, and until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy


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