Have you been enjoying any good weather recently? It’s been so hit and miss here, and due to the copious amounts of rain that fell in the past few weeks I have been reluctant to leave the sofa for the garden. So I thought it might be a good idea to bring the garden in, and create a beautifully scented, high summer garland on the mantle for when I am flat out watching Netflix on rainy days.
Firstly, there are three things to say about garlands:
1. They are not just for Christmas (although here is the how-to of that garland)
2. They are not just for special occasions (not in this house anyway).
3. However ornate you decide to go, they are ridiculously cheap to create.
Considering the time of year, there is nothing I needed to buy to create a high summer garland. Everything I need is in the garden and in the hedgerow.
For this arrangement I kept it simple with only five plants, but keeping in mind that I wanted it to smell amazing.
1. Hellebore
2. Mint
3. Common Mallow
4. Buddleia
5. Meadowsweet
The first four were from the garden, the last, the meadowsweet, grows in abundance in the hedgerows and verges this time of year.
You won’t needs loads of each, just keep in mind you will need more greenery than specimen flowers.
For my base plant I started off with the hellebore leaves, they are tough, long lasting and hide your floral foam/arrangement base. Any large solid green leaf will do instead of hellebore. You don’t need to overcrowd it, a few cuttings will do just to disguise the base.
The tree mallow added some dramatic height, they don’t add scent, and truth be told they only last a few days once cut, but I will just swap them out with some fresh stalks.
The mint went in next, it’s a great plant to have growing in the garden (confine it to a pot). It’s a great addition to recipes, drinks etc and in arrangements it gives a bright colour as well as a fresh scent.
Second to last in are a few clusters of Meadowsweet. Meadowsweet appears in hedgerows and verges from June right through to July and has the most divine smell, like sweet almond. It is a brilliant choice for arrangements as it doesn’t wilt too quickly.
I finally finished off with a few sprigs of white buddleia. It has a wonderful scent, a little like honey, and seems that bit stronger in the evenings. You will often find buddleia growing on wasteland etc and it makes for an excellent cut stem. Mine is from one I have growing in the garden.
All done! A high summer garland will stay looking and smelling good for ages, if it is kept spritzed and watered, and i will get sweet summer vibes every time I am in the room, even if it’s raining outside!
Thanks for reading,
B x