Now that I have dipped my hands into dried flowers and arrangements, I have decided that I am going to make some wreaths. So I had no idea what I was getting into. I had some dried flowers and grasses, plus some other odds and ins for fillers.
Well, I couldnt really keep doing this in the garage. Winter is coming and its going to get cold. We moved it down into the basement. I am still going to dry and treat my foliage in the garage though, it make quite the mess.
To the basement it is. I already had a space for crafting, so I just had to move things around a bit. Now I am ready to dive in.
This is what I start with.
I looked up How To videos on google, and found this lady that does floral classes. She has a huge collection of videos. Kays Flower School, is what its called.
Very helpful. If you need a lesson, I would recommend using this lady.
I did not get many pictures of the wreath in the making, but here is the 1st finished product.
With the foliage, flowers that I did have, I made a wreath. Now, I will tell you, it was not easy. It took me like 7 hours to complete 1 wreath.
I think I did a pretty good job on my very 1st wreath.
Well, now that I have an idea of what I am doing., I went shopping. 
I have to tell myself, there is nothing wrong with having a hobby.
My 2nd attempt at making an arrangement, well, I ran out of fillers, so its not complete yet. Its made on a foam block, so its moveable right now.
They are very different. I also had to add more storage space in my craft room, to make space for more floral stuff.
The room is growing smaller..
This is just the start of a beautiful thing.
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Well, I have a bunch of pictures that I have taken of my garden, and some wild flowers. I want to share them, but didnt really see a place to upload 'pretty' pictures, so here I am.
My favorite time to take pictures is early morning and evening. The colors seem to be much more vivid, unless its misty outside. If its misty, well that give pictures a different effect. I have really been taking a lot of pics lately, and I am really proud of some of them, which I will share. I think I am going to get some of them printed.
Lil' Kim Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus; taken in the morning after a night of rain
Elderberry Berries; I liked the black and white in this photo.
If you look closely at the raindrop, you can see the reflection of me taking the picture.
Gladiolus
The water drops in this picture are amazing
Wild Morning Glories; these are growing wild in the fields near me. There is something so pretty about a misty morning.
Hardy Pampas Grass; taken in the late morning.
Taken at sunrise
These are some pics that are just of wildflowers and weeds..LOL Yes, even weeds can be pretty.
And last but not least, There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
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My first attempts at picking and drying flowers to make a fall arrangement.
Besides getting bit and stung by every insect out there, it has been fun. I started out with some annual ornamental grasses and echinacea, which led to herbs, twigs, wildflowers, shrubs and what ever else I though might look good for an arrangement.
Usually every year, I go and buy stuff to make an arrangement, but this year, well I didnt want to go buy anything.
So I started:
After harvesting all the plants and grasses on the porch, it was time to hang them up to dry. So I went into this totally unprepared, so I had to be creative.lol
I used some garden twine to wrap the bundles, which worked out just fine. Used a ladder to hang them up to dry.
From left to right:
Red feather grass, Echinacea, Lemon grass, Creeping Jenny, Orange Rocket Barberry, Mint and lemon balm, then finally basil.
I read an article on NGA, about different processes to dry out flowers. Mind you, I read this after I had already started hanging these plants to dry.
To my delight, I did it correctly. I hung up everything upside down, in a well ventilated area. I read that hairspray would work to 'set' the color and shape in place. Well thats what I used, because I didnt have anything else. So after using half of my hair spray, I decided it was time to buy some acrylic sealer.
That stuff is not cheap.
Well, things shrink when they dry out. I looked at my inventroy, and I did not have enough. The article I read, says..pick more than you need. I was off, lets walk the yard, and the fields and see what we can find.
I added a few items to the inventory list:
Some different weeds and wild flowers I thought might look good dried
Oh, the Pampas grass, their feathers are so beautiful, I have to have one of these too:
Then, the Black Eyes Susans. Those are a must, so I picked a bunch of this:
Well, is takes from 10-20 days to air dry these items. So, it was tome to wrap the stems in some floral tape. This will strengthen the stems, and I can combine more than 1 item with it. Let the wrapping begin!!
Well, after hours of wrapping the stems, and reapplying more acrylic seal (I probably used way to much), I was ready to make my first home made arrangement.
Now, this is just the first of many to come. I think it looks pretty good. Others might think its ugly or it looks like a bunch of weeds. Thats ok. I am proud of myself, LOL . Now that I have a little experience, its time to go full throttle into this, well, while I have dried goods.
The finished product.
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08/17/22
So I have recently dove head first into my garden. I have always loved gardening, but this year, I have learned a lot.
I had 2 beds of Gladiolus flowers. One is full of just red corms, and thee other bed, well, its mixed. We will call it Rd and Mixed beds, for reference. The red bed, did amazing. The blooms were large and the stalks were strong. The leaves were healthy.
The mixed bed, well that was a different story. They were small and puny. The stems were thin and flimsy. This was my favorite of the Glads, because of the variety of bloom colors.
I had never dug them out of the ground, they lived there for almost 3 years. I knew that they multiplied, but didnt really know how. So that was a chore.
I dug up the mixed bed to find 3 layers of corms. The deepest were the oldest, and so on. I was blasted away when I got them into a bin, for wintering. I thought they were growing some kind of fungus on them. As it turns out, the corms grow from the 'mother' and leave an ugly looking (it looks like a giant dried prune, but lighter in color).
Well, that prune looking thing..needs to be removed.
So I removed all of them, and now I have a ton of 'new' corms to plant.
The red bed, They were much healthier.
I have a bunch of scales and new bulbs to plant. I will have to do this every couple of years, so they stay healthy.
I did however, make up a bunch of give away bags .
I cant wait to share the flowers.
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