Backyard Bouquets

Want to know a secret, Internet? I am a terrible housekeeper. (Which I suppose is really not so secret if you've ever visited me at home.) There is little I loathe more than cleaning. It comes in near the very bottom of any to-do list I make, usually right below browsing the plumbing or electrical aisles at the hardware store and just above having dental work done. It really takes an actual party, holiday or the imminent arrival of weekend guests to compel me to pick up a vacuum or feather duster. I get no sense of satisfaction from the process of scrubbing at refrigerators till they gleam and you will never find me taking out the frustrations of the day on a roomful of smudged windows or the sinks and faucets in the bathroom. (And frankly, I'm pretty sure the people that try to sell me on cleaning along "it's therapeutic!" lines really haven't met the right cocktail yet.) However. I do love a tidy home that looks warm, inviting, and well cared for....so, bit of a problem there. Luckily, I know a few shortcuts, and one that always works is fresh flowers. I have fresh flowers in the house ALL the time. During chillier months, I make sure to grab a bunch of something pretty on trips to the grocery store, and in the summer I love to wander through the stalls at the farmers market just around the corner from the shop where I work. But nothing is quite as much fun as venturing into the backyard to forage around for whatever happens to be in season. And- bonus- backyard bouquets are free! (I mean, unless you count buying the plants or seeds and then all the toil, blood, sweat, and tears that goes into maintaining them. We'll just put a pin in that for now.) I like to bring a nice big bucket of water or a large vase with me so I can stroll around, peruse the beds, and snip whatever I like, then stick them in water right away and decide what to do with them later. I set up shop at my rickety old table outside and fiddle with the "ingredients" until I get a look I like. Easy! With fresh flowers, I usually try to adhere (loosely) to the golden rule of container planting- thrill, fill, and spill. So for this little Mason jar arrangement, I put a brightly colored bunch of full, rounded blooms in the center- an assortment of zinnias (absolutely essential for the cutting garden), black eyed susans, and purple coneflowers-  then a hydrangea to fill in some space along the side, and finally the graceful, slender yellow cosmos that add some interest and spill a bit over the edge. (There's actually a bit of foliage from a 'Bridal Veil' spiraea bush arcing over the sides too, but it seems to be camouflaged in this pic by the lilac in the background. You'll just have to trust me on that one- it looked good.) Really, anything goes- branches, hosta leaves, trimmings of this or that- almost anything in the garden can be put to use in a decorative way and enjoyed indoors. So next time you pop over for dinner or game night, try not to notice the dusty bookshelves, and don't look too closely at the baseboards. (In fact, it's probably best if you could just keep your eyes away from the floor in general.) I promise to have plenty of fresh blooms around to make it a little easier on you.