Display Organic Flowers For
Natural Beauty in Your Home

* Enjoy unique structures & patterns with organic flowers,
* Flowers for natural color & fragrance,
* Flowers that add style to your home. Looking for flower bouquets? Then try this link. Or would you like to create your own earthy display for organic flowers? These are made around the natural colours, shapes, textures and repeating patterns of nature - fern leaves, bark, rope, and natural fibres may be included too.

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They are more likely to be found as set pieces around your home. They are less likely to feature brighly coloured pristine looking horticultural specimens and exotic flowers - but try these links for formal vases, bouquets, hand-ties, wreaths...

and this page has tips on floral presentation.
A new page on exotic flowers will be published soon.

My father delighted in giving his specially grown garden flowers to friends and family. And the flower growing advice below will encourage you to pick organic flowers from your own garden. But when you have your flowers already in hand see this link for preparing and presenting flowers.

The Cut Flowers Season

Flower gardeners can extend the range of organic flowers and length of the growing season by using a greenhouse, conservatory or polytunnel, and by providing heat.

However, there remains a wonderful choice of pretty flowers that you can grow in most gardens over many months of the year. And the joy of giving what you can grow is indeed satisfying.

Choose Strong Flowers for Cutting

Look for flowers on sturdy long stems. I find that flowers born on long stems last longer than short-stemmed low growing flowers - these are best left in your garden. When you buy flowers they arrive at their best but often with buds still to open.

Spikes: these produce flowers all the way up the stem like Lupins, Foxgloves, Lavender and Gladiola. The flowers on some spikes open sequentially from bottom to top.

Flower Stars: the star burst inflorescences of the daisy family deserve special attention as they are so attractive. Some of these flowers will be picked in bud and they will open later.

Flat or Umbrella Shaped Inflorescence: flower stalks divide into many branches that each carry a flower. Examples include the flat-topped inflorescence of Yarrow, or the umbels of Archangel.

Open Branching Inflorescence: branching flower stalks each carrying a single flower as in that pretty white mist of Gypsophila flowers.
Or more robust branching flower stalks that may carry heads of star like flowers - Michaelmas Daisy and Chrysanthemum.

Single Flowers: these include the majestic Rose and Dahlia that are cut from branching stems and...
single stemmed inflorescences born on a solitary stalk - Allium 'Globemaster' or ornamental onion, and Rudbeckia - 'Black-eyed Susan' or 'Coneflower'. Find more on how these forms are arranged and used in flower displays here.

Cut Flowers For A Purpose

Lilium for delicate, exotic and fragrant vases,
Gladioli easy to handle, always popular in bouquets,
Paeonia and Dahlia adds full-bodied colour to vases,
Foxgloves and Penstemons provide height to the arrangement,
Astilbe and Alchemilla provide a colorful feathery foil,

Carnations and Dianthus for multi-coloured blooms,
Chrysanthemums, Asters and
Michaelmas Daisies for star blazing radiant blooms,
Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and Freesias for exquisite scent,
Calla Lilies pure and simply romantic,
Roses for a singularly perfect focal point,

See what professional florists say you should do to make your flowers last.

When Cutting Your Own Flowers

Use a sharp knife,
Cut flowers in the morning - some flowers e.g. tulips are best cut in the bud stage,
Place flowers straight into a flower bucket of water.

An Organic Flowers Display Can Be Grown In Your Garden

Gardeners who enjoy room decor that celebrates a natural earthy lifestyle will love dried flowers. Here's what you can grow to cut and dry yourself.

Dried Seed Heads:- Honesty (Lunaria), Poppy capsules, Dipsacus, Burdock.
The fruiting capsules of Iris foetidissima open to reveal red seeds.

Intricate repeating patterns are a feature in displays of organic flowers.

Seed heads of umbel flowers (e.g. fennel, wild carrot) and of sunflower, add a natural repeating structure to your display of organic flowers.
Dipsacus or Teasel is pictured right >>
Teasel was once used to comb wool fibres straight before spinning. These spiky heads for the look and feel of old fashioned cottage garden industry.

Dried Flower Heads:- Knapweed, Thistle, Artichoke - these will help you to create an unusual and somewhat regal display of organic flowers.

Dried Grass Flowers:- From tall woolly looking Pampas grass to the popular Hordeum jubatum (foxtail barley),

Dried Cones, Berries and Leaves:- Copper Beech leaves along with evergreen leaves, cones and sprays of rowan berries.