Bales Suzanne Frutig - Garden Bouquets and Beyond

Pink and yellow English roses along with purple Jackmanii and blue General Sikorski clematis are a compatible mix in the vase and in the garden.

I think of flowers the way most people think of money; there can never be enough! Flowers are such joyful creatures, such living marvels of nature. They share their joy with everyone who touches them or leans in for a whiff. So Im always looking for more creative ways to keep them close at hand. The pleasure of arranging flowers, as well as the joy that comes from giving them to others, is addicting. The next time you offer a garden bouquet to someone, watch their face change as they receive it. If they bury their nose in the blooms, you have stirred a kindred spirit and made a friend for life.

Bringing bouquets from my garden into my home breaks the barrier between inside and out. It opens a window on natures astonishing world and imparts a special wisdom that only increases the more you do it. Flowers and foliage from ones own garden are different from those at the market. They are not as perfect, its truebut they are real and honest creatures, with no pretense.

Flowers are marvels we cannot begin to understand. Yet too many of us take flowers for granted, missing the splendors and mysteries of nature. Ever wonder what causes the design on the petal of a checkered lily or why cleome stems are sticky? What protects delicate petals from the rain? How winter bloomers push through the frozen earth, lifting their heads above the snow? Ive noticed a blue sweet-pea petal stains whatever it touches when it is wethands, clothes, and tablecloths. A pink or red one leaves no mark. How curious, how wondrous!

A cutting garden is not necessary for making bouquets. More important, look closer at what is already around you; you have more to pick than you think. The trick is to stop categorizing everything as a flower, tree, vine, seed head, or shrub and to look anew to see if it has an interesting shape or color. I cut indiscriminately from any plant, anywherecontainer gardens, flower borders, foundation plantings, vegetable gardens, and the roadside when no one is looking.

Ive never been concerned with flower trends, nor have I snubbed common flowers. Well, maybe that one time when I tossed out gladiolas, but I swear thats it. In fact, its quite the opposite. I admire common flowers; the more common, the better. Such plants give uncommonly of themselves and deserve to be sainted, not shunned.

This book starts with the seasons of my adventures, exploring the garden all year through. It is only a beginning. So many plants, even ones I adore, are not included simply because of space limitations. My apologies to the flowers that didnt make it into the book. What can I say? Things happen!

In Tricks of the Trade, I explain the basics for harvesting flowers, prolonging their blooms, and making bouquets and all things beyondfrom wreaths, garlands, and mock topiaries to candle cups and toppings for gifts. These designs can be repeated with different flowers and foliage. Mastering the technical skills is easy. Start simply. Then jump-start your self-expression. Youre the artist. Do it your way!

A round wire wreath form is covered in oak, maple, and forsythia leaves with crabapples poked in. A sunflower seed head and shafts of wheat complete the design.

Long stems of America, a fragrant red peony, are poked in among the branches of a pink rosebud azalea.