6 Surprising Flowers to Upgrade Your Floral Arrangements This Spring
Frances Palmer keeps her hands busy: at her pottery wheel, in her garden, and behind the camera with which she photographs what’s blooming in her Connecticut garden paired with her fine clay creations in the most strikingly simple compositions. These photos of her homegrown arrangements, which she features on her Instagram feed, are so stirringly beautiful that you find yourself questioning why you’re not getting your own hands dirty. (At least we do, and we’re betting we’re not the only one of her 97k followers.)
With that in mind, we wanted to find out what Palmer is growing this spring. Lucky for us—and you—she set the shovels and trowels down long enough to share with us what she’s planting now, where she shops for bulbs and other plants, and her secrets for arranging with each variety. Consider this sneak peek of what’s to come on Palmer’s feed your spring flower playbook.
6 Surprising Flowers to Use in Arrangements This Spring
Geraniums
Every season I plant scented geraniums (mint, apple, lemon, and rose) in the garden beds and I put the more commonly found, annual geraniums in large pots on the tennis court. During the winter, they all come inside to my greenhouse. Most recently, I’ve been purchasing a more eclectic group of plants from Geraniaceae, a California nursery that specializes in geraniums and Logee’s, a local favorite source here in Connecticut.
Frances’ Floristry Tips: Geranium plants do well with pruning, so I often cut them at the stem to include a bloom and some leaves to use alone in a bud vase or with other flowers from my garden like tulips, zinnias, dahlias. The herb varieties are reserved for baking and making jellies.
Dahlias
The dahlia is an easy flower to grow. If you have a sunny spot in your garden with healthy, organic soil, a good staking system, and protection from deer, you could have blooms from July through the first frost. I always make sure to have the classic, American Dahlia Society type of tubers, but this year I purchased some of the new varieties developed by the brilliant dahlia breeder, Kristine Albrecht of Santa Cruz Dahlias. Some of my other favorite growers are: Dahlia Addict for particular tubers; Swan Island Dahlias for variety; and Old House Gardens for heirloom types.
Frances’ Floristry Tips: Cut dahlias early in the morning when they are the strongest and freshest. They can be combined with zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, or herbs. I really prefer to use them in groups of similar colors to create an ombre effect. One last thing: don’t leave the stems too long. Short arrangements make a stronger mass.
Roses
This spring, I went a little overboard ordering bare root roses that I am planting in the garden and large pots now. I am excited about some beauties from David Austin Roses, such as Lady of Shallot and Jude the Obscure, as well as the Limoncello and Pretty Lady varieties from Menagerie Farm & Flower. Roses are such a vast subject that I can only lightly touch on them here. Their exquisite petal formations, range of color and scent captivate me. In addition to David Austin Roses and Menagerie Farm, I like to order from Edmunds Roses, Roses of Yesterday and Today, and Heirloom Roses.
Frances’ Floristry Tips: Enjoy roses through all their stages. A closed bud will open eventually. I like to arrange roses with peonies, lilac, bearded iris and poppies that bloom at similar times. Or, enjoy one simple stem with a perfect bloom.
Gladiolus
These are coming back into fashion and are easy to have in the garden. The bulbs can be planted in successive weeks over the spring to maintain a good supply. With a bit of staking as they reach their height, they can provide a glorious, dramatic statement in a vase, either by themselves or with lilies, roses, and dahlias. I have been focusing on the heirloom glads for sale at Old House Gardens, but I also ordered the bold, crazy colored ones from Dutch Bulbs.
Frances’ Floristy Tips: Pull off the spent blooms at the top so that the ones below will continue to open. I also continue to cut the stem to freshen it up. Make sure to have a tall, sturdy vase that can support the height of the stalk.
Tomatoes
I select a variety of tomatoes each year for different purposes. My organic plants come from Gilbertie’s Organics or I start from seed—plum tomatoes for sauce, heirloom varieties for slicing and cherry tomatoes for, of course, eating, but also to use in vases. Some of the ones I am most looking forward to this summer are: Spoon Tomato, Brad's Atomic Grape Tomato, Thorburn's Terra-Cotta Tomato, Black Beauty Tomato, Chocolate Pear Tomato.
Frances’ Floristry Tips: I don’t use one type of tomato exclusively. If a medium-sized tomato has beautiful coloring, it is fair game for my composition as are indeterminate tomatoes with lovely vines. For my arrangements, I cut a long bit of stem, remove extra leaves and place it in the bowl or vase. Then, I let the leaves and fruit further down the stem drape over the pot. Make sure to put the tomato stems in before other flowers, so they do not need to be fussed with as the arrangement grows.
Sunflowers
While I try to plant sunflowers specifically developed for cutting, I also plant mammoth sunflowers in the garden for the birds and bees. For growing and arranging, I just ordered Chocolate, Florenza and Pro Cut Gold Lite from Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Arikara sunflower from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Pro Cut Ivory and White-Lite from Floret Flower. I sow the seeds successively, so that I have blooms throughout the summer.
Frances’ Floristry Tips: The leaves can be quite overpowering, so I often remove them after the stems are cut. Sunflowers work wonderfully with dahlias and zinnias. A strong flower frog at the bottom of the vase or bowl helps stabilize the sunflower heads. I tend to choose smaller heads for arrangements, as they are more manageable.
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