A Feast Of Flowers

Between the harsh winter and now the cool summer, flower gardening has been a bit challenging this year. Some of my perennials didn't survive the winters, others came up but never bloomed, and those that made it to the flowering stage bloomed later than usual. 

Fortunately, a recent spell of warm weather and some decent rains have helped matters, and today I happily picked some flowers to make bouquets for the house. I could have cut even more, but we have small rooms, so a few flowers go a long way. 

Here's the lineup of what I brought in:

My grouping may not look like much, but it made me happy! I picked zinnias, blanket flowers (Gaillardia 'Tokajer"), Sweet Coneflower (Rudbeckia 'Henry Eilers'), perennial sunflowers and some unknown daisy-type flowers. Two of the vases came from thrift stores, one came from a craft show, two were gifts, and one had been my grandmother's. 

A couple of close-ups:

I love this little vase, which was a thrift store find a few years ago. All three perennials in it bloomed a good three-four weeks later than they have previous years, but hey, better late than never!

I bought the above vase at a local craft show several years ago, in part because I liked the flower frog the potter had affixed to the center. Add a bit of water, a few stones, stick your flowers into the frog, and voila - an artful arrangement with very little effort. 

Too bad gardening hasn't been effortless this year, but as I'd said, better late than never, and I am thankful for the flowers that have hung in there!