The Frugal Gardener

A Simple Floral Design for Valentine’s Day and Beyond

all photograghs for this post are taken by Mark Brlej ~

    Making a floral design is a lot like cooking; you gather ingredients, prepare the elements, and mix them all together into a tasteful blend.  A magic alchemy comes from mixing fresh flowers and your style.  The act of flower arranging can be soothing, and uplifting. 

As Anne Morrow Lindbergh said, “Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day - like writing a poem or saying a prayer.”  Gardeners can benefit from having a basic design up their gardening gloves, ready to pull out for Valentine's Day, parties, or for a birthday.

The first step is to gather everything you need

     This is an easy designs that requires only one type of flower and no fillers (a florist term for smaller flowers, and/or greens).  Practically speaking, the rose arrangement is ideal for a beginner because the flowers are placed right next to each other and the stems are cut the same length. 

    To make the rose design even more versatile, simply change the container and the color or type of flower.  This arrangement works best with large flowers, like carnations, chrysanthemums, or daisies.  Another plus is that this arrangement fits in with any style home decor.

start placing the roses into oasis ~ I like to do corners and center then fill in

The pearl head corsage pins make for an over-the-top touch what is  more romantic than roses?

Ingredients:
1 -2 blocks oasis (floral foam) for fresh flowers - be careful not to get oasis for silk flowers because it doesn’t absorb water
one dozen roses - for the cheapest roses avoid red ones near Valentine’s Day.  Buy pink or white instead. Purchase at grocery stores or Farmer’s Markets for additional savings

1 watertight container, or a plastic container to fit inside your chosen porous container, like a box. The photographs show an 8” inch ceramic, water tight, rectangle purchased at Micheal's for $7.99

optional: corsage pins with pearl heads, ribbon to twirl across the surface if using cheaper flowers like carnations
Directions:
Soak oasis in sink full of water until water is fully absorbed, usually takes at least ten minutes.

Cut the oasis with a bread knife to fit the container.  The easiest way to do this is to press container lightly onto the oasis, leaving a grooved impression.  Then, cut just inside the groove marks.  If your container might not be water-tight, then line it with a slightly smaller plastic container, and place the oasis inside the plastic container.  When finished the oasis should be slightly lower than the lip of the container.

Place a rose in each corner of the container, and one in the middle.  Then begin filling in the space.  You may find it helpful to imagine a grid, like filling in a tick tack toe square lying on top of the container.  Try to place the larger or more open flowers in the middle, and the tightly closed flowers around the perimeter.  If you end up with gaps, or if a flower looks too large in a particular spot, simply pull it out and reinsert it in a better spot.  Keep working until design is packed tightly, and the flowers are in a pleasing mass.

For an optional final step that is sort of like gilding the lily, top each rose with a pearl.  Use pearl tipped corsage pin, and insert the pin into the center of each flower.

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.” ~ Audrey Hepburn

This is one of my favorite quotes. Be sure to email me if you did not get your Valentine's newsletter in your inbox. The latest one included this quote as well as a special cupid cocktail to make for your Valentine. I can add you to my list to receive my limited seasonal email newsletter.

Holiday Cheer

Winter-Time
 
Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,  
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;  
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,  
A blood-red orange, sets again.  
  
Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;  
And shivering in my nakedness,  
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.  
  
Close by the jolly fire I sit  
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore  
The colder countries round the door.  
  
When to go out, my nurse doth wrap  
Me in my comforter and cap;  
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.  
  
Black are my steps on silver sod;  
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;  
And tree and house, and hill and lake,  
Are frosted like a wedding-cake.
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Although there is frost and chilly weather,  a few brave flowers cheer the garden.

 “The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live,” said comedian George Carlin. My favorite Christmas fairy looks as though she could be mischievous!

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!" By Charles Dickens

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” By Marcus Tulles Cicero

“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” By Oscar Wilde

Happy Valentine's Day & a Sweet Easy Project

The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it.  You and you alone make me feel that I am alive.  Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough. - By George Moore

 
It has been said that we need just three things in life: Something to do, Something to look forward to And someone to love.

By Anonymous 

 

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Judy Garland   

 

 

 

 

How did it happen that their lips came together?  How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill?  A kiss, and all was said. By Victor Hugo 

 Make a sweet project. Buy or cut curly willow and insert into large urn. Add decorative rocks to hold in place. Make or buy delicate garland, heart shaped ornaments. Make your own tags from favorite papers & vintage scraps .

Ah me! love can not be cured by herbs. 

By Ovid

Make a Sweet Heart!

This is one of my favorite desserts to make at this time of year. Enjoy, and Happy Valentines Day!

Hearts of Cream or Coeur A La Creme

 This is a lovely, classic dessert, and one that takes very little attention or work.
 Ingredients:
1 pound cream cheese
2 cups low-fat plain yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
Preparation
1. Spoon yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer lined with a thick paper towel or cheesecloth. Place the strainer over a bowl. The liquid in the yogurt drains out. In about eight hours, the yogurt becomes thick and cheese-like.

2. Use a fork or blender to cream together the cream cheese, thickened yogurt, vanilla, and half the sugar. (If you use a blender and the mixture is too thick, add a little heavy cream or milk.) The blended mixture should be smooth. 

3. Line a heat shaped dish with cheesecloth. On top of the cheesecloth arrange, face done, edible flowers. (you can use small heart-shaped ramekins, or one large heart) Let the mixture set in the refrigerator for several hours. 

4. Then, turn dish upside down on a platter and gently tug on cheesecloth to release dessert. You can garnish platter with more edible flowers, raspberry sauce, or diced strawberries. 



The finished dessert tastes as good as it looks!

Plant Love

    Instead of giving your sweetheart a fleeting Valentine's gift, like chocolates, give them a present that lasts and thrills.  Indulge your sentimental side by picking a plant with an amorous association.  For example,  you may choose gardenias because they were in your wife’s bridal bouquet, or pick out a rose named for where you spent a favorite vacation.  Get bonus love points for taking the time to find such a meaningful, and lasting gift.  Add some plants with enchanted names and nostalgic connections every year, and soon your garden will be filled with love.

    Nothing is as romantic as April in Paris, except maybe ruffled and fragrant sweet peas.  This flowers is a lover’s delight.  Look for one named April in Paris produced by Renee’s Seeds.  Renee claims this version was bred to bring intense, sweet pea scent back into the more modern, large blossoms.  The dedicate flowers are creamy yellow and edged with lavender. 

    Heirloom Cupid is also a splendid, love-struck sweet pea which is perfect for growing in containers, because its vine only climbs eight to ten inches.  Best of all, the fragrant pink and white blossoms flow in perfumed, cascading sprays.  Imagine receiving a bouquet of these for Valentine’s Day!

      Sweet peas are typically sown in October in Southern California’s mild climate, but you can start them now.  They just won’t  bloom as long.  Sweet pea seeds germinate quicker if you soak them overnight.  Make sure your soil is full of rich organic material before you sow by adding an enriched soil amendment.  Plant seeds an inch deep, spaced about two inches apart, and water daily.  Protect emerging seeds with bird netting, or a plastic berry basket placed upside down over each seedling.  For the most abundant blooms, grow sweet peas in full sun.

   
Another adorable Valentine’s choice is the Hollyhock Country Romance Mix.  This nostalgic seed blend has flowers in rose, white, maroon, yellow and pink.  To give vertical interest to your garden, place these stately flowers along a fence or in the back of the border. Growing these cheerful flowers is easy, and seeds will germinate now.  However, the optimal time to sow most seeds is early fall.  While hollyhocks tolerate poor soil, and scant water, they do need good drainage and full sun.

    Get inspired to search out a long-lasting gift for your Valentine.  With plentiful romantic choices such as an Iris named Aphrodisiac, and a rose called Lasting Love, the perfect gift should be easy to find.