Flowers Feed the Soul so I cut some blooms for some Ball Jar Bouquets.
And chalked up a little bloom for the soul on my Potting Shed door.
Our Endless Summer hydrangeas are blooming! I cut some of the moppy blue flowers to enjoy for some Ball Jar Bouquets. . .
And added some butterfly bush stems and bee balm.
Have you tried the ‘alum-dipping’ method with cut hydrangeas? I was thrilled to discover it works to keep cut hydrangeas from wilting. Cut your blooms the first thing in the morning when the flowers are fully hydrated, immediately placing them in a bucket of water.
When arranging them, cut each stem at an angle for maximum water intake and dip ½ inch of each stem in alum powder, found with the spices at the grocery store.
Place the dipped stems in your vase of room temperature water (the temperature it runs from the tap).
For best results, remove the leaves from the hydrangeas since they cause evaporation loss and take water from the head of the flower. Change your water every day or every other day to keep the bacteria down. You can add some floral preservative to the water or make your own preservative to help your flowers last longer. Per 1 quart of water add: 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon household chlorine bleach.
Keep flowers cool for longer life and avoid exposure to heat and direct sunlight. If your hydrangea blooms begin to wilt prematurely give them an emergency bath and submerge them in cool water, flower heads and all, for 45 minutes. Give the stems a fresh cut and redip in alum and place in a fresh vase of water, letting the blooms air dry.
“Love what you grow and what you love will grow”
Do flowers feed your soul?
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great tips love this
I JUST finished reading this! Gorgeous and great tips! I need to get alum. GOOD LUCK today! It’s almost off.
Love the beautiful blues and purples of your ball jar arrangement. Nature has such a beautiful palette of colors that we often take for granted. I love how you bring these gifts together for our joy and pleasure. Thank you for your beautiful post and your awesome flower preserving tips. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to each and every post you make…I always know it will bring happiness to my day!
They absolutely feed my soul!! Your flowers are way ahead of ours! I will have hydrangeas, bee balm and butterfly bush blooms in a few more weeks! I have red bee balm, that to me looks like firecrackers and they usually bloom right at July 4th!!! Thanks for the reminder about the alum.
Just so pretty! You have such a gift at making things look wonderful. Yes, flowers feed the soul and that is why this time of year feels so good!!
Thanks for the tips you shared with us, Mary. I have ONE, and only one hydrangea blossom, but I’m hoping for more. Your flowers look so pretty in the canning jar.
I needed this today… keep flowers cool made me smirk, had to come home for sick pets, 104 degrees and we lost power for 7 hours, keep me cool too please. A real sweet treat for my weary eyes~
Great post! Flower do feed my soul.
i love this! love your blog!
So beautiful and thanks for the wonderful tips.
How festive and beautiful. Love your use of color.
I just discovered your blog and it is truly wonderful. I want to decorate my house and outside like every photo I see. I should be doing housework but can’t stop looking at your photos-at least I know your blog is there when I take a break. I will be watching.
Good Morning!
That looks like an old-timey Mason jar Mary-lovin’ the gradual, gentle curve up to the top! Your chalkboard looks great and the flowers are beautiful-enjoy:@)
So pretty and happy, Mary. The tips are great, too. My hydrangeas haven’t bloomed yet, but I’m hoping! Have a great week!
Thanks for all the tips, Mary. My oak leaf hydrangeas are turning brown now, so I will need to pick up some blooms from the market. I have just the Ball jars waiting to fill. ‘-)
Have so enjoyed those beautiful purple jars. Again and agin, thank you!
Thank you so much for the interesting tips, I’ll try them! I have hydrangeas for the first time ever. I’m excited about putting them in vases!
~Mary~
Thanks for the tips! My daughter gave me a beautiful pink hydrangea bush called OPAL, now I want MoRe !!
Paula
IN
totally agree with you :)
Your tip re: alum was new to me. I want to try that. I also have a trick to re-hydrate wilted cut hydrangeas. I boil about 3-4 inches of water in a 4-cup glass Pyrex measuring cup in my microwave. I then recut about an inch off of the wilted hydrangea stem and set it into the water after it has boiled. The flowers re-hydrate in under an hour or so-it’s amazing. Who would think that hot water not cold would work like that. I have even repeated this with the same flowers a second and third time and gotten the same results.
Gorgeous pictures. I love your arrangements. PLease come share this at my party, http://chicbytab.blogspot.ca/2015/06/chic-by-you-wednesday-linky-party-10.html. Hope to see you there.
Tabatha
Lovely arrangements, and thanks for the hydrangea and alum tips, Mary.
Great tips! Thank You for sharing!
Sigh…so effortlessly pretty Mary! Your hydrangeas are just gorgeous! Mine don’t have a single bloom :( My yard is a disaster, there’s a squash plant growing in my begonias and a snake got stuck in the garden netting and tore everything up…So I am going to give up and simply enjoy your blooms! I just adore all the little arrangements and details on your ladder, the way you incorporate gardening tools, books, dishware with your bouquets and ball jars…it’s like being in a wonderful fairy tale!
Jenna
I would love to make the steps of the ladder like shelves as you did. I’m afraid my cat would walk right up and send everything flying! Beautiful job.
Your blue hydrangeas are gorgeous! I have two plants of blue but they rarely bloom fully blue. Lately they rarely bloom! I have never seen bee balm in that gorgeous pinky color…mine are red. Your whole vignette is so inviting and yes, it warms the soul.
Yes, flowers do feed the soul, however, your posts truly feed my soul!!!….Never knew about dipping the hydrangeas in Alum..got to get some…love all of your many beautiful containers, especially the blue and white!…
Hi Mary, Such gorgeous pictures of blues and purples! I have never tried the alum method and am wondering how (or if) it affects the drying process? The submerge method does usually work for me but I think I will try the alum this year so thanks for the reminder. My hydrangeas are just budding now and it looks like it will be a banner year after two years of almost no flowers! I also stopped the gardener from adding the mulch which I think was turning my blues brown and the pinks a darker muddy color. ~~ oh, I just scrolled back through to “feed my soul” and those birdhouses and tole trays added to the deliciousness. Linda
Hi Mary – So beautiful!!! My hydrangeas are just coming out so I can’t wait to bring them in!!! I pinned not only to my own board, but to the group board for Breast Cancer Healing Garden. Have a great day! Hugs, Holly
Just beautiful Mary! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Purely perfect floral arrangement and oh those hydrangeas! I heard of this method, but truly wondered if it was tried and true. Thank you for this great tip!
Someday I will grow beautiful Hydrangeas, it is on my bucket list-maybe when we get the new flower beds around our new home, fingers crossed!
Jemma