Garden Reports and Rejoicing – May 28
I picked a large bouquet from the cutting garden today and was reminded about something important. Intending to bring in a bunch of fragrant peonies, I went to the cutting garden and gathered some of the ‘Top Brass’ and ‘Cora Stubbs’ that are in bloom.
I also cut some Salvia (species?) from a plant my friend Slim gave me, and on a whim added spears of Siberian Iris buds. That’s when a memory came to me.
Years ago I agreed to provide flower arrangements for my friends’ daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. I’d never done flower arrangements on such a large scale before. My only experience at floral arranging had been with putting informal bouquets together in my own home.
Most of the flowers for the Bat Mitzvah came from my gardens, and I decided to add some iris buds even though I wasn’t sure they would open in time for the ceremony. I delivered the arrangements for the synagogue the day before, and the next day was pleased to see that the iris had indeed unfurled to show off their glorious, purple petals.
I’d said yes, I would provide the flowers for this event even though I was not a florist. This triggered another recollection of a time when I spoke to a group of teachers. One of those attending asked about how I got my first book published. When I told her that a publisher had asked me if I would like to write a book about Cape Cod gardening, her follow up question was “Well what made you think you could write a book?”
Truthfully, I had no more certainty that I could write a book than I had that those Bat Mitzvah iris buds would open. But I do have the belief that the willingness to take a leap of faith is a good thing. It’s hard to grow if we’re not willing to say “yes” to activities that are outside of our comfort zone.
The cutting garden has peonies, salvia and sweet William for early summer bouquets.
I also snipped some iris buds from the front garden. Even if they didn't open up, I'd like their purple spears in a bouquet.
