Supernatural Botanicals

Love to decorate with fresh flowers?  Skip the roses or lilies this month and go straight for the tulips. 

Shop seasonally for the best value. This month, your best value at the florist is tulips.  You will get the best deal on tulips every February.

Add instant oooohh- factor to your room with fresh flowers.  It’s much easier and much less expensive than you might think…you just have to know how to do it right.

Carnations are widely available (local florist, grocery stores, etc.) and are relatively inexpensive.  The key to carnations is to group them together tightly in a small vase.  This will produce a huge, snowball-type cluster bouquet.  You should keep the carnations all one color…it’s much prettier and expensive-looking this way.  An all white group of carnations is gorgeous and works in every room of any color.  Carnations come in almost every color, so color coordinate with your room’s color.

Keep them on your nightstand, your desk at work, your kitchen island, everywhere.  They lightly scent the air with a light, fresh scent and look gorg.  And now you know how to do carnations right.

Farmers Markets Flowers are a staple in my house every summer.  Farmers Markets have more than fruits and vegetables, they are also known for their gorgeous flowers (usually sold on the cheap).  In fact, for a well-rounded Farmers Market experience, you should leave with your hands full of fruits, veggies, herbs, breads, soaps, and, of course, gorgeous flowers.

So it’s May here in Cincinnati, otherwise known as zone 6, and everything in my garden and yard is starting to bloom.  It’s such a beautiful time of the year when plants are such a beautiful spring-green.  The rain has been good this season, thus far.  Here’s what’s happening in my yard.  Having luck in your yard this year? 

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Cilantro.  This gorgeous cilantro has taken root and is spreading quickly.  Good thing, because I’ll need at least a cup of this cilantro this evening for a homemade salsa I’m making.  It makes salsa and Pico de Gallo come to life with freshness.

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Parsley.  I haven’t had a chance to plant this outside yet as I’ve only had it a few days, but it looks great sitting in my kitchen windowsill.  I’d let it grow there all season, but I want it to expand.  I’m going to need a lot more than this to make Italian dishes all summer long. 

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Annabelle Hydrangeas.  These will definitely be the sweetheart of my yard when they are in bloom.  They produce enormous white flowers that are between 8-12″ wide!  They also produce lots of flowers.  Perfect if you like having vases of flowers around your house (like I do.)

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Backyard.  The perfect place to be.  I love it here.  I don’t like that all the grass is worn off under the tire swing, but you try keeping 17 neighbor kids out of your yard.  I surrendered.  They have fun, so what’s a little rough spot in your lawn at the end of the day?  There are bigger fish to fry than that.

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Flowering Cherry Blossom Tree.  I planted this about a month ago.  It accepted its chosen location very well, but I am concerned about some of the leaves…note the top right leaf has tiny holes in it, which appears to be from pests.  I will spray it with organic pest killer this weekend. 

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Dwarf Anjou Pear Tree.  Another freshly planted tree, about a month into the ground.  I cannot wait for fresh fruit! 

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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree.   Planted about a month ago, it’s doing a great job of getting rooted in place.  The fruit trees will be treated organically, of course.

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Dwarf Granny Smith Apple Tree.  Up until about four days ago, I thought this tree was dead.  It has been in the ground for over a month without even a sign of life.  Luckily, I waited before I decided to pull it out of the ground.  Four days ago, I noticed these little stubs.  It’s a beautiful thing!

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Inside of composter.  Okay, brace yourself on this one.  This is the inside of my composter.  You’ll find things like a huge tree root system, coffee grounds, celery, salad, leaves, etc.  This will take almost a year to break down and turn into soil.  But think of the organic material I’ll have for next year, and all the garbage I’ll be saving from the landfills. 

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Earth Machine Composter.  This is the what the composter looks like, tucked back into the corner of my yard.  It blends right in behind a pine tree.  Best of all, I’m helping save the Earth.  Love that!

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Bartlett Pear Tree.   It won’t produce fruit this year, but when it does…yum!  Nothing like eating fruit right from the tree when it’s still warm from the sun.

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Rows of  lettuces.  This is new this year, a raised vegetable bed.  These were all planted this past Saturday from seed, and I took these pictures on Thursday evening.  Less than seven days, and they are sprouting already. 

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Raised vegetable bed.  I’m so excited to add this bed to my yard this year.  Because my yard is filled with bunnies and squirrels, growing veggies on the ground in the traditional method is pure hassle.  A raised bed is a great way to keep out pests , to assure your soil is completely organic, and it spares your back when bending over when gardening.  I have rows of designer lettuces, spinach, strawberries, and tomatoes in this bed.

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Stargazer lilies.  These were planted as bulbs, and have been in the ground for about five weeks now.  These will produce sensational Stargazer lilies throughout the summer.  Perfect for cutting and putting in vases around the house.  Gorgeous in bouquets.   Each stem will produce at least a half dozen huge flowers. 

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Rosemary.  Rosemary just screams “put me on some roasted potatoes!”  This herb will spread out and become a wonderful addition to my Mediterranean meals I make this summer.

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Garden Salsa Peppers.  The first peppers are emerging from the baby flower pods.  Last year my garden salsa pepper plant produced tons of peppers.  If they keep on producing abundantly, I have no problems making salsa every weekend!  Bring it!

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Dill.  Okay, so she’s not prettiest girl at the dance.  Dill is not a very attractive herb.  It grows eratically and in awkward shapes.  But, there’s nothing like fresh dill.  It’s superb in dips, in salads, on seafood, and on my infamous cucumber sandwiches.  Delicious when you mix it with lettuces in your salad.

Fresh from my garden five minutes ago.  They smell so amazing.  My entire kitchen smells of their succulent fragrance.  Gorgeous!

Early to mid Spring is the best time to plant Stargazer Lilies and Peonies.  Both will produce enormous, super-fragrant blooms from mid to late summer.  Both prefer full sun.  Lilies and Peonies produce mounds of enormous full flowers, and are perfect for keeping fresh cut flowers in every room in your house all summer long.  If you want beautiful flowers for cutting and for fragrancing your home, Stargazer Lilies and Peonies are highly recommended.  Plant your bulbs in the next week.  You’ll have a house full of beautiful flowers in the summer to reward you. 

Reminder:  Fall is the time to plant Limelight Hydrangea bushes in your yard for next year’s growing season.

I’ve been purchasing these Limelight Hydrangeas (a newer hybrid breed flower) from the farmers market every weekend.  They last all week long…even lasting up to 2 weeks in vases.  They are old-fashioned looking, romantic and girly, and just beautiful.  Not only do I use them as a centerpiece on my dining room table, I also have a small vase of them on my nightstand.  They make a room sing!  They even make outdoor rooms come to life…see above.

I’ve decided to dedicate an entire planting bed in my yard to these hydrangeas for next year’s growing season.  Optimum time for planting is fall.  To read more about limelight hydrangeas, click here. 

Scenes from my day today at two farmers markets in Cincinnati; Hyde Park Farmer’s market and Findlay Market.

   One of the best things about summer is having the opportunity to bring the outdoors in.  Old fashioned garden roses are easy to grow, and look amazing in vases all over your home.  Romantic, beautiful, and girly, garden roses can kick up your summer decor in seconds.  

To maintain the look:   Try to choose buds that have not completely bloomed out. This is especially true for roses and other flower blossoms with many layers of petals.  If arranged properly, a flower will continue to bloom a bit after you put it in the vase.  Choose roses that have just started to open, and you will be able to watch them unfold for up to two weeks, instead of just a couple of days.

For more interior design ideas, visit my friend Julia at Hooked on Houses.