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Enjoy the flowers of summer - Rebecca Perry says simple blooms can be a delight
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| Even just a few blooms can be eyecatching |
KEEN gardeners tend to prefer seeing flowers in full bloom in the garden but you don't have to demolish plants to provide enough for a display that will brighten up a room in the house.
Better still, if you haven't done so this year, think about sowing some brightly-coloured annuals next spring that will then allow you to have some extra for cutting come the summer. Bulbs, tubers and corms, such as gladiolus, dahlias and alliums planted in a corner of the garden would allow you plenty of cutting material through many months.
One of the most scented flowers iconic of hot summer days is the sweet pea. Sown early enough, this tall climber will flower for many weeks, especially if the flowers are cut and not allowed to seed. Always gather sweet peas in the cool of the evening and stand them in deep water. Cutting during the day, especially if the sun is shining, will be too much of a shock for them and they wilt and are less likely to recover. Sweet peas can look stunning in a simple container. A clear glass vase showing the stems erect like soldiers with an infusion of ice cream colours at the top will look great anywhere. Alternatively, a large conch shell with wet oasis inside will allow sweet peas to be lightly arranged in a horizontal and fan-like shape. The emphasis on sweet peas though is their scent, so keep picking them and refresh or change the arrangement after a few days.
Popular containers
Bowls are popular containers and can be used in a variety of ways. A glass dish with a little ball of wire netting hooked by two or more of its cut ends over the side of the bowl is sufficient support for just a few blooms strategically placed in that area. If you have just three or five flower heads that will be sufficient, along with some greenery to create a stylish side-table arrangement.
The simplest flowers, as well as the most unlikely can often be the most effective. Swathes of gypsophila stood in a vase or urn can be extremely effective just be itself, although many a time this plant is included in arrangements almost as a filler. If using gypsophila, do strip all underwater stems of leaves or they will turn into a slimy mush.
On this simple theme, certainly the cheapest flower will be a large bunch of cow parsley from the roadside. Place a large vase or jar in a copper coal skuttle or similar large utensil, place the flowers in water as high as allowed and this rustic arrangement will bring the countryside and summer right into your living room. Some flowers with a potent scent could upset those that suffer from hayfever so do be aware of this.
When mixing flowers, pyrethrums last well and statice can be dried for winter after being used in a fresh arrangement, as can hydrangeas. Different shapes can add interesting outlines - upright liatris held on a pinholder can provide height, with large decorative leaves like Begonia rex and round daisy like heads such as gerberas at the base of the arrangment introducing a focal point.
Most flower arrangements fall into a pattern. If viewed from the front these can be triangular, L-shaped or oval. One of the most versatile is a simple round dish filled with greenery and some colourful heads. These could be anything from vivid orange calendulas, more commonly known as marigolds, to roses, chrysanthemums, asters or the regal peony. Throughout the summer there is a wide choice of greenery in the garden from the all-year-round cupressus to beech leaves, privet, bergenia and hosta leaves. Even holly can look striking as the backdrop to colourful summer flowers. There are so many shades of green that an arrangement of vegetation only can look truly stunning with the right background.
Extra dimension
Basing arrangements on a colour theme is always fun and can add an extra dimension to a room already decorated in this way. Deep maroon pyrethrums in a pale pink bedroom would be a wonderful welcome to any staying guest. Likewise coppery or cream roses in a sitting room of light golds or creams will combine with the interior decoration. One important suggestion to remember - even if a room hasn't had the cleaning it should have, if it has been briefly tidied and a vase of fresh flowers are placed in a prominent place, visitors will remember the flowers and your hospitality above anything else!
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