August 27, 2015, posted by Gina – I visit the grocery store by my house almost daily. It is a sickness and I just can’t seem to change it. Upon these visits, I can’t wait to glide into the front doors and be greeted with all kinds of floral goodness. But alas, the other day I was assaulted by not only one but two artificially dyed flowers!
First, I saw the multicolored hydrangeas garishly sporting hues that are not naturally occurring. Then I turned the corner and saw the BRIGHT BLUE orchids. I think I audibly gasped!
Now I realize this post is a slippery slope as some readers may think these are pretty or at least not a travesty and I don’t want to be a flower snob but some things should not be tampered with. I think back to a presentation I did for my Garden Club. While standing in front of the 60 women attending with a microphone in my hand, I was asked what I thought about manufactured colored flowers. I felt like a deer in the headlights but spoke my truth. I DO NOT LIKE THEM. Thankfully, this was the sentiment of the group and so I was highly favored for my remarks. Dodged a big one there. And, just so you know, I just used a ladder to come down from my perch.
In fairness, I don’t want to say that I could never find a use for such flora. We all do some crazy things for very sane reasons that make sense at the time and I freely admit to occasionally using manually colored carnations in an arrangement. They are small and how much trouble could they get into?
Moving on. It’s still August, right? I thought so. On my same trip to the grocery store, these FALL goodies snuck in:
Nothing says FALL more than mums and pumpkins. (This is where my “slow your roll” speech usually begins). I am a planner and love to get a jump on things but these pumpkins and mums just seem a bit out of place. I think Mother Nature may be feeling a bit rushed. It has been my experience that mums have a short life. Either the summer sun is too hot for them and they dry out or the blooms wilt if they are rained on. I usually limit my purchase of mums to only a few. I am going to let Mother Nature be my guide. In my neck of the woods we do have temperatures about 10 degrees lower than normal right now. Maybe Fall is closer than I think. One thing I have done this year is mix a few small mums into my indoor planters.
In this planter, I chose a lavender mum to go alongside a pretty fern and some ivy. It is just one little nod to fall.
The blue and white pots in the next photo always sit on this coffee table in my family room. I change the flowers seasonally and chose these white mums. Just a few simple changes can put a smile on your face.
We would love to know your thoughts on the colored flowers and your use of mums. When do you begin putting your fall decorations up? Do you like to bring seasonal plantings inside as well? To leave us your thoughts just click on the title of this blog post and the comment form will expand at the end of the post.
