Summary: Garden flowers can pull double duty by supplying garden color in the summer and indoor beauty during the winter serving as a reminder for what is to come when the weather warms up.
Question: My mom always grew flowers for color in a backyard garden and dried them for use in the winter. My mother passed away about 5 years ago and do not have her as a resource. We have relocated and now some room to grow our own flowers and I would like to create some of the great memories as my mother did for me. Can you get me started in the right direction? Karol, Statesville, NC
Answer: Karol, in today’s busy world many have never thought of planting flowers that will supply a profusion of bloom for winter as well as summer? It’s easy – if you choose the kinds of flowers that can be dried successfully. Not all of them dry well, but there is a wealth of material that can be just as attractive when dried as it is when fresh.
Many of these double-duty flowers will add a new note to your garden (half the fun of gardening is in trying new things); others are old favorites. As each plant reaches its peak of bloom, pick and dry some of the flowers for winter use. You’ll be surprised at the quantity of material you’ll have accumulated for dried bouquets by the time frost overtakes your garden. Then you can make colorful bouquets which will last all winter to remind you of the golden summer days when the flowers were in bloom.
One Of The Best Flowers For Drying
Annual statice, Limonium sinuatum, is one of the best flowers for drying and just as lovely in fresh bouquets. Try growing it lavishly as a bedding plant as it is used in the fabulous gardens of the Alhambra Palace in Spain, much as petunias are used here. From a flat rosette of leaves numerous 2-foot spikes emerge. These are tipped with clusters of small flowers which come in deep blue, lavender, mauve, salmon, pink, yellow and white. If you don’t want to buy specific colors, some seeds are offered in mixed colors in what they call Art Shades.
Statice should be started as early as possible – in a coldframe in March, or outdoors in May. Use a little care in planting for the seeds come in prickly clusters of flowers which must be pulled apart and planted separately. I start seeds of all kinds in pots of vermiculite which arc watered and covered with glass and a piece of newspaper. These are removed as soon as seeds germinate. When the second set of leaves appears, seedlings are transplanted to a flat and later moved to the garden.
Like most flowering plants, statice needs full sun. One of the best things about it is that it continues to send up new spikes all summer and flowers long after frost has taken marigolds, zinnias and other tender plants. Once you try statice, I feel sure it will always rate a place in your garden.
The perennial statice, (Armeria pseudoarmeria), bears clouds of tiny lavender flowers on much-branched stems which emeree from flat leathery leaves. It is a beautiful plant about 1 1/2-feet tall but not a perpetual bloomer like the annual variety. Like most perennials, it does not bloom From seed the first year.
Larkspur, a favorite annual in many gardens, also plays a dual role. Strangely enough, the flowers shatter somewhat when used in fresh bouquets and yet, when dried, they cling to the stem very well. Larkspur dries wonderfully well and is available in both branching and upright varieties. Colors are rose. pink, white, sky blue, lavender and deep blue.
Larkspur seeds may be sown on bare ground in late fall or early spring. If sown in the spring, germination will be hastened if seeds are placed in the ice box for a few days before planting.
Delphinium, in its many variations, is an outstanding flower fresh or dried. A wide range of colors, from white through pale lavender to purple and blue, is available- in the magnificent Pacific Hybrid strain. More adaptable to the average garden are Belladonna Improved (light blue) and Bellamosum Improved (deep blue). These varieties do not grow as tall as the Pacific Hybrids and usually furnish more spikes for cutting.
The Easy Growing Cockscomb – Celosia
Few flowers are easier to grow or make a more spectacular display than cockscomb (celosia). The ostrich-plume sorts, of which Pride of Cattle Gould is best, produce ostrich-like plumes in tints of yellow, orange and red. Plants are compact and grow 2 to 3 feet tall. The spikes combine beautifully in arrangements with zinnias and marigolds which bloom at the same time.
Everyone who sees the lovely Gilbert Hybrid cockscomb wants to grow them. Their crinkled velvet heads come in exquisite two-toned combinations and are crested or globular in shape. Plants grow to 3 feet tall. It is hard to choose between Maple Gold, Rose Beauty, Harlequin and the Royal Velvet. So, if you don’t have space to grow them all, try mixed colors. Since celosias are tender, seeds should not i)e planted outdoors until danger of frost is past. Both types of celosia dry perfectly.
Edging Plant For Your Garden
If you’re looking for a different edging plant for your garden, try helipterum or xeranthemum. Both form neat compact plants with gray-green foliage and grow no higher than 12 inches. They bloom prolifically—helipterum bearing dainty daisy-like flowers in pink, rose or white while the flowers of xeranthenoun are deep lavender, pink or white and fully double. Both types are charming in small bouquets, fresh or dried. Seeds can be sown outdoors in May.
One of my favorite flowers on all counts in the garden, for fresh bouquets anti for drying is Salvia farinacea Blue Bedder, sometimes called mealycup sage. For really effective use in the garden, it continues until November. In milder climates it is a tender perennial, but here in Connecticut it must be treated as an anneal. If wanted principally for drying it can be sown outdoors in May.
Although Blue Bedder’s wedgewood – blue spikes are lovely for summer bouquets, I always wait until quite late in the full to cut sprays for drying. By that time the tone of the blue flowers is much more intense and thus contributes more color to a dried bouquet. Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tali and branch well.
Improved strains of strawfiowers (hellchrysum) will produce large double flowers 2 to 3 inches across. These come in deep yellow, pale yellow, orange, salmon, red, pink and white. Bushy plants grow 3 feet tall and flowers are borne profusely. Seeds sown in May should produce flowers for several months. They are real “toughies” too as they go on flowering after frost has killed all the tender annuals.
Spirea (astilbe) is a dependable perennial which will do well in part shade and its attractive foliage remains in good condition long after its flowers have passed. In June, the plant produces many feathery sprays in white, rose, peach, pink or red. Plants increase in size rapidly and should be divided in the fall every second or third year.
Another member of the spirea family, venusta (Filipendula rubra venusta) also known as Martha Washington Plume, is a. great addition to any garden.
Because I Like lots of green in my dried bouquets, I grow both bells of Ireland (Molucella laevis) and ambrosia, an herb. These are charming in fresh bouquets and dry perfectly.
Ambrosia produces feathery spikes of green on plants 4 feet tall. Bushy plants in the fall will result from May sown seeds.
Artemisia Sliver King is a splendid plant for the foreground of a perennial border. Its silvery-green spikes are charming in garden and bouquet alike. So are the scented spikes of the delicate white flowers which appear on Artemisia lactiflora. This grows mutt taller than Silver King and needs dividing frequently.
Almost all flowers for drying should be cut at the peak of their bloom (except strawflowers which are cut when partly opened). The flowers should be tied in bunches of 8 to 12 of the same color or colors like yellow and orange, which are used together in arrangements. If dried in light, colors will fade; in a damp place. flowers will mildew. The two factors for success are darkness and dryness.
Get the most out of your garden space this year by growing some of these double-duty flowers. In this way you’ll have summer’s bounty all year round.
by B Gannon
