“I dig: therefore I am”.

I can relate to this statement as a gardener. It is the joy of digging that draws me to the gardening experience more than anything. I wrote about this in my book A Sandbox of a Different Kind: Personal reflections on the Canadian gardening experience. (‘I Love to Dig’, chapter 43). http://markcullen.com/buyers_guide/books.htm

Cutting the bounty of all that digging and planting to bring indoors this time of year is not second nature to me. I am a flower arranging klutz.

But having said that, I sure enjoy seeing the fruits of my gardening labour displayed indoors in a deep vase full of water. Years of listening to the professionals has taught me more than a thing or two about what to cut, when and how to display it to best advantage indoors.

So, in a nutshell, here is everything that you need to know about cutting flowers and arranging them, just as long as you are not trying to win awards. Like they say in the Tim Horton’s ads for pee wee hockey: the primary idea, after all, is having fun:

Think Fresh. With apologies to another national advertiser for stealing a good line, when you are out there in the garden doing a tour in search of the best flowers for cutting, keep in mind that the plants that are currently coming into bloom will provide you with the longest show of colour. In other words, if the plant has been in bloom for some time, the flowers will not stand up in a vase for very long.

Take a long stem. The most common mistake of all is cutting too short a stem for the flower for the vase/arrangement. The heavier the flower, the longer the stem. (I made this mistake years ago when cutting peonies in June… the whole bunch were wasted.) Also: the larger the flower the lower it should be placed in the arrangement.

Greenery? What greenery? When you buy cut flowers at a florist they always through in some asparagus fern or leather fern or what-have-you. No need for this stuff when you are cutting flowers from the garden. For the most part the flowers speak very well for themselves without the addition of greenery. Many flowers have leaves that add plenty of interest on their own.

Use a deep vase. You want your cut flowers to last as long as possible indoors, right? The best way to do that is to use a good, deep vase and fresh, cool (not cold) water. Change the water every couple of days to prolong the life of the flowers.

What would Mother Nature do? It is a simple question, but the answer is not always so obvious. Take your time to observe how nature arranges flowers in a meadow or how they mature in your own yard. Take your design cues from her. They are effective and free.