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<< Previous   of   Next >> Earl Carter  (click to enlarge) A fine French footed porcelain bowl overflows with clematis, ageratum, bachelor's buttons, sweet peas and leaves of eryngium and heuchera, making a varied and beautiful display of mauve.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, August 21, 2008 Cutting garden can provide months of arrangements Martha Stewart Living Magazine There is absolutely no doubt about it: I love flowers! I love growing both flowers and foliage. And I love flower arranging. If I didn't have my current job, I might become a floral designer. Then I could own one of the many interesting flower shops in New York City that provide other flower lovers with magnificent arrangements and bouquets for their homes and offices and for special occasions. My love affair with one of nature's loveliest creations began when I was a small child. My father taught me how to grow myriad cutting flowers from seed. I planted tulip and hyacinth and narcissus bulbs. I developed patience by learning how to sow long-germinating snapdragons, the seeds of which are so minuscule that I wondered how anything so microscopic could turn into anything important. I discovered the difference between iris rhizomes and dahlia tubers. Fleshy roots miraculously sprouted green shoots that would leaf out and send up sturdy stalks of perfumed bearded beauties or fluffy, dinner-plate-size, show-off dahlias. When I grew up and began establishing my own houses and designing my own gardens, I always included a cutting garden, a separate area where I would plant a succession of flowering plants that would provide me with blossoms from April to October, from tiny lilies of the valley and muscari to huge dahlias and chrysanthemums. Then I would place arrangements on every table, windowsill and chest of drawers. As my gardening skills improved -- and, for sure, the results some years were infinitely better than others -- I realized that some flowers were much better suited to indoor arrangements than others. Some plants that are grown principally for their luscious foliage displays -- either in outside containers (alocasias, coleus, geraniums) or as mass plantings in the shade garden (hostas, rheum, hellebores, Jacob's ladder) -- are equally well suited to vases, serving as dramatic accents or as statements on their own. I grow an assortment of plants in my Bedford, N.Y., garden that work well as what I call floral-arrangement contenders. And I am always finding new ones that surprise me with their versatility. Last year, an odd new plant showed up in the cutting garden: a form of milkweed. It turned out to be a real conversation piece indoors, so I planted more this year. Other plants are discarded, even during the first year, when I realize their lack of utility. The short-stemmed type of snapdragon, the miniature zinnias, the rather strongly scented marigolds and the dwarf version of ageratum have all been deemed not useful and quickly removed. Other plants have surprised me, too. Clematis, a flowering vine usually trained to climb a trellis or pergola, has become of great interest to floral arrangers -- its flowers are both long-lasting and dramatic. Likewise, the saber leaves of cordylines, the colorful foliage and fluffy puffs of cotinus, the giant elephant's ears of alocasias, and the almost black or mottled leaves of colocasias are now found in striking arrangements or standing solo. Cut stems of all kinds of orchids and even fruit on branches -- crab apples, hardy kiwi fruit, blackberries and elderberries -- are finding their way into my vases. Sometimes when I am trying to figure out what arrangement to put on the dinner table, I am inspired by a walk through the woods, where I snip dozens of fern fronds for a beautiful display in a simple container. Mixing lots of plant materials can work on large and small scales. One way to unify disparate flower forms and textures is to stick to a largely monochromatic palette of purples, pinks, whites, golden yellows or even greens. Sometimes it is fun to contrast colors and shapes, pairing spikes of gladiolus with circular dahlias, or red-black sunflowers with lime-green hollyhocks. And don't think you have to use a traditional vase. I employ all kinds of containers to hold flowers, often grouping several small ones to create an arrangement. If you use a delicate porcelain piece, be certain to line it first with a bit of plastic to prevent the metal flower "frog" from scratching the surface, or use floral clay to affix the frog to the bowl. Of course, I know that many of you don't have your own gardens. But most of us have access to very good sources -- flower markets, farm stands, pick-it-yourself fields, supermarkets or online shopping sites. Thanks to all of these, a vast array of flowers and other appropriate materials can be found year-round. Any of these sources can be tapped to create an arrangement or two, or even more, in your home whenever you desire. Questions should be addressed to Ask Martha, care of Letters Department, Martha Stewart Living, 11 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036. E-mail to mslletters@marthastewart.com. © 2008 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.

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