In my neck of the woods you can engage just about any stranger on the street in a conversation about gardening.When I moved to Vermont after living in San Francisco for many years, I was overwhelmed by the abundance of natural beauty everywhere.

I had always wanted a garden but in San Francisco a patch of dirt was hard to come by. Now that I have two acres of fertile ground I took it upon by self to learn how to make garden. I started by asking questions like, “what kind of flower is that?” I moved on to, “how do I keep the critters from eating my vegetables?” Now I am wondering why I can’t seem to keep lavender alive!

This year I have declared détente with the critters in my yard and decided to let the local professionals grow my vegetables, I joined a CSA.My new plan is to focus on the flowers and combine my desire to become a better gardener with what I think of as the “carrot at the end of the stick”, flower arranging.

I have made a little challenge to myself this summer too; I will only use the flowers I’ve grown in my own garden and other foliage from my yard to arrange my bouquets. I have perennial beds that I started 3 years ago and I add to them every summer. I bought some starters from my local organic nursery to put in my raised beds.I started some seeds inside and have planted more outside. 

Quince blossoms on the tree.

 I will connect my gardening to my work by using the vases, pitchers I make along with any other vessel that will hold flowers to create these different bouquets. Each week I plan to take a photo of my homegrown bouquets to share with you on Fridays along with the progress in my garden. Here's what I came up with this week.

Black tulips in beetle jars

Quince blossoms in nigella jar and various bud vases.
My son's artwork circa first grade hangs above.