An Arrangement You Can Make From Your Garden Bed

What you need:

• 1 small pink Reine des Violettes Rose bloom (cut 6 inches)[on the left]

• 3-4 mini pink hydrangeas (cut 6-7 inches)

• 1 creamy white medium tea rose (cut 7.75”)

• 1 small light pink hybrid tea rose blooms - “Earth Angel” (cut 5.5 inches)[on the right]

• 1 large hybrid pink rose bloom - “New Zealand” (cut 8 inches)

• 6 large fushia hybrid tea rose blooms - “Grand Dame” (cut 7 - 7.5 inches)

• 3 Camellia leaf stems (cut about 12 inches)

• packet of floral food (purchase here)

• 18 gauge floral wire cut into thirds

• 1 brick wet pack floral foam (purchase

  here)

• 1 pedestal vase.  Here's a similar one:(purchase here)

• rose gloves (99 cent store)

Tools Used:

• pruning shears (purchase here)

• sharp pruning shears (found here) or produce knife to cut thorns off small roses

Steps: 6

Flower Cost:  Zero dollars

Rated: Easy Arrangement

The Flower Market is still closed as are some floral departments in grocery stores. So we’re going to walk around the garden one more time and make an arrangement from the flowers in bloom. It will be fun.

Different flowers bloom at different times. This arrangement features two flowers.  Last year I planted a 6-inch potted hydrangea after its bloom’s died. It is now blooming under the eaves of the house. (You must deadhead the old hydrangea blooms before planting.)  The second flower is an antique rose called Reine des Violettes that was popular over one hundred years ago that pre-dates Hybrid Teas and has small pink blooms. (See both below.)

I learned about Reine des Violettes from my son, Nick. He did his Eagle Scout Project for Heritage Square, a living history museum. Heritage Square is comprised of about a dozen Victorian houses, a train station, church and carriage barn all built between 1876 - 1899. An architect started Heritage Square to save exemplary high Victorian homes and buildings from demolition, and everything there is from that period. It is just north of downtown LA on the west side of the 110 freeway: https://heritagesquare.org/

My son built a patio just off the main entrance to the museum out of turn of the century bricks, and he refinished two antique wooden benches and planned and planted the flower beds surrounding the patio with flowers from the Victorian period. He researched roses from the late 1800’s and learned that Hybrid Perpetual Roses were very popular at that time. He chose to plant two Reine des Violettes rose bushes at the back edge of the patio. This rose is shade tolerant as well as beautiful and will grow 6 - 8’ tall.

He found and ordered bare-root Reine des Violettes from Roses of Yesterday, a rose nursery in Northern California. See their catalog at: http://www.rosesofyesterday.com/aboutus.html They grow and ship old, rare, and unusual roses and have brought back many old varieties into cultivation. Roses of Yesterday is one of the few places on the West Coast that sells antique roses. We liked Reine des Violettes so much we planted one in our garden under the eaves (it’s a neighbor to the hydrangea.) It is the rose bush that is in bloom now. (See photo above.)

In this rose flower arrangement the hydrangeas and the petite Reine des Violettes are used in addition to the other roses blooming in the garden. You will want to use your rose gloves making this arrangement.