Mon Bouquet du Jour

Sitting at the top of our Lane.

A box of cucumbers. 

We can only pickle, preserve and eat so many cucumbers and eat so many cucumber and watercress sandwiches.

Free to anyone who passes by. 
So, if you're in the neighborhood...

Have a great week my dear 

Blogging Friends.

Gina 

Pomanders and much more...

Pomanders are pretty and  fill the home with fragrances of Christmas.

Pierce oranges with knitting needles first, then insert cloves.  Makes for quick and easy work.

Look what pretty dried roses. They will keep you happy all winter long.

 Roses are the easiest flowers to dry.  To ensure that they keep their vibrant colors place roses in a little water (only the stems not the rose heads) the night before.  The next day is when they go into a container. Slowly pour sand over the flowers until they are fully covered.  Place in dry and warm place for a week.  Pour sand off slowly. 

Our friends Christine and Steven drying Hollyhocks for the first time using sand from the Home Improvement store.  It is less expensive than the white silica type and actually gives better results. 

Can you tell which Hollyhocks have been dried?  It's those in the top left corner. Make sure that the sand is also dry or flowers will turn brown.

Dried Hollyhocks look fragile, they are actually quite sturdy.  You can glue them into Christmas wreaths.  But remember that they must be kept inside.

Pansies dry quickly and easily in sand.  However, these pansies, along with all the other little flowers, have been pressed in old books.  No need for a fancy flower press.

Think of all the special Christmas decorations you can make yourself. 

For a little extra inspiration you might want to order (Amazon) this very special book by Barbara Milo Ohrbach entitled "The Scented Room".  It contains easy-to-follow instructions.  Ms. Ohrbach has written several other fine books but this one remains my favorite.

You will find easy instructions and recipes for Floral Water, Wet and Dry Potpourri, Lavender Bottles, Scented Pillows, Pomanders, Wreaths and much more.  My personal favorites are the sachets made from antique floral ribbons. 

Happy creating, my dear Blogging Friends

Gina

Drying Pansies

Pansies are very easy to dry and so are roses and hollyhocks

Dry them in ordinary builders sand

For more detailed information see an earlier post

Fill container with about 1 inch of sand
Cut off stems and lay Pansies on top of sand

Keep pouring sand on top of flowers until they disappear

Add another layer of flowers and cover completely

Cover with thin cotton cloth and let stand in warm place for 3 to 4 days

Slowly pour off sand and apply pansies to wreath form

Or press pansies in a book and apply to candles, lampshades, wreaths, stationary.

But nothing beats Pansies straight from the garden


Gina

Art in Bloom

An event held at the Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

I was invited to interpret a painting with flowers

The rose you see attached to the sword had to last for the duration of the Exhibit.  I dried many a red rose in sand from the Great Salt Lake to match the exact color of the ribbon on his chest.

Only a few Floral Designers were invited to participate from our Salt Lake City area.  I was one of them.

Making these exotic flowers last for an entire week was a challenge.  They had to be "conditioned" properly.

The German Officer's  sword was given to Gene from a very dear Friend.

The antique French Urn was purchased many years ago.

Floral Designers, Rob W. McFarland and Jerry Stanger

Floral Designer, Amy Lewis, Diane Donahue, Peggy McLean, Carrol Mitchel, Lake Roland Garden Club

Floral Designers, Barbara Baldwin, Georgia Grey, Garden Club of Denver

Floral Designer, Holly Clark Wright

Gina

From the book entitled "Art in Bloom" by Victoria Jane Ream

Photography by Sjur Fedje

Publisher-Deseret Equity

They are out!

Out of the sand and looking great

Three days ago, I placed a few hollyhock blossoms into dry sand

  You only need a few dried flowers to enhance a potpourri

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, my dear blogging friends.

Gina

Too much to do

Another year and another Artist Studio Tour, the charolais bull is in the pasture

My kiln is working overtime and so am I

Pottawotomie plums are the first plums of the year.  They make great pancake syrup

There are flowers to dry for Potpourri, hollyhocks are delicate and roses are the easiest to dry

Peppers are growing fast and so are the cucumbers, must have some for the winter months

Canning for the sweet tooth, peaches are next

There should always be time for a glass of wine.

Soon I must take time and see what I need to pack in my little roller suitcase.  22 pounds of luggage has served me well in the past.

I don't know if that will be enough for Paris and Marrakech.

Gina

Flowers dried in Sand

A circle of Spring and

Summer flowers dried in sand and a sunflower seed head for the birds.

The sand from the Great Salt Lake is the perfect sand in which to dry flowers. It is an oolitic sand, a sand that under the microscope, has no sharp edges.

I use ordinary builders sand, 35 grit, available at any home builder supply. In order to preserve the beautiful colors of flowers, both the sand and the flowers have to be very dry.

Fill a large container with about 2 inches of sand. Cut flower stems to 1 inch from flower head. Place upright into sand. Now, carefully and slowly pour small amounts of sand all around the flower head until it is totally covered. Leave in safe place for 4 to 5 days. Slowly pour off sand. Voila! Keepsakes throughout the winter months.

Gina