5 Ways to Use Flowers at Your Summer Garden Party
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- June 12, 2023
It's summer, time to celebrate!
Event season is upon us. From weddings and graduation parties to backyard get-togethers, summer is the perfect opportunity to socialize with friends and loved ones in the beautiful outdoors. With your garden already thriving, there are ways you can incorporate the beauty of flowers into your event elements. Whether you’re adding petals to a gorgeous cake or making arrangements to wow guests, you can use flowers from your garden in many ways during your next summer party. Let’s get started!
#1. Create stunning centerpieces
There’s nothing more classic than a gorgeous bouquet summer garden party, and it’s incredibly easy to make your own out of cut flowers! Hydrangeas are statement shrubs; their vibrant mophead flowers and a wide array of colors make excellent cut flowers in table arrangements. To cut your hydrangeas cut across the stem just above where the leaf foliage begins. After cutting, immediately place your hydrangeas in cold (not icy) water; these plants can’t thrive without constant moisture! Roses accompany these large flowers beautifully; just put them in empty spaces around the vase.
Extend the beauty well past your party by replacing dipping stems in boiling water or by coating the bottom with alum dip. It may sound intense, but these methods actually work! Learn more about cut hydrangea flowers and how to keep them fresh in our blog by clicking HERE.
Great Garden recommendations: Along with hydrangeas, we love tucking small succulent flowers from plants like stonecrop in between the delicate petals to add stark contrast to arrangements.
#2. Add edible flowers
Pictured above: Flavorette™ Honey-Apricot Rose.
Edible flowers make an elegant addition to cakes, cookies, salads, charcuterie boards, and more. Decorating your food with edible flowers is a surefire way to wow your summer garden party guests – and it’s incredibly easy! After gently washing, add whole flowers on top of frosting in your baked goods, or incorporate petals into savory dishes for contrasting flavors. Add the same flowers to create a monochrome design, or pick several varieties from your garden to create various colors and textures.
It’s important to remember that not all flowers are edible; many flowers are toxic if ingested by humans or pets. Do not consume flowers that have been sprayed with chemicals. View a list of poisonous plants HERE.
Great Garden recommendations: Flavorette™ Honey-Apricot Rose is a new edible rose from Proven Winners that can be added to dishes. This rose features naturally sweet petals and a highly fragrant apricot scent that looks delicate when arranged on top of cakes and other sweet treats. As a bonus, Flavorette™ Honey-Apricot rose is incredibly floriferous and easy to grow, so there will be plenty of flowers to enjoy.
#3. Get creative with container plants
Pictured above: Container #1 includes ‘Blue Arrows’ rush, Solanna™ Golden Sphere tickseed, and purple sage. Container #2 includes Amazing Daisies® ’Banana Cream’ shasta daisy, ‘Powis Castle’ wormwood, and ‘Blue Arrows’ rush. Container #3 includes Rock ‘N Round ‘Pride and Joy’ stonecrop, ‘Paint the Town Fancy’ dianthus, and ‘Blue Arrows’ rush.
Container plants don’t have to be boring, and a summer garden party is a perfect occasion to liven things up! Add small sculptures, or create a nautical aesthetic by adding seashells; containers allow endless customization. Consider tucking some new statement perennials with contrasting textures in a sun container by combining tickseed, yellow creeping Jenny, and ‘Bandwidth’ maiden grass. Or, if you’re a shade gardener, spruce up your pots by adding the cool tones from hosta and fern plants. Just make sure plant combinations require similar amounts of sunlight and soil moisture.
Great Garden recommendations: Nobody knows container plants like Great Garden Plants! View articles about the best container plant combinations and get inspired by different gardening styles at our blog HERE.
#4. Make delicious drinks
Pictured above: Black Lace® Elderberry.
Edible flowers aren’t just reserved for food; they make flavorful additions to mocktails, refreshers, cocktails, and more! Certain flowers compliment different drinks with their complex and floral flavors, so establish your party drink first. Next, take your edible cut flowers and trim the stems off. Add them to your drink and let them steep to incorporate their flavor.
Add the edible blooms to your pitcher, or add your multiple edible flowers to ice cubes to add bold color to your cocktail. You can also garnish the rim of your glasses with gorgeous blossoms; just make sure to moisten the rim of your glass with water or lemon. The possibilities are truly endless. As mentioned above, check which flowers are non-toxic to humans and pets before consumption.
Great Garden recommendations: ‘Ellagance Purple’ lavender, or any other lavender, has a pleasantly sweet flavor and slight bitterness, making its cut flowers excellent in a range of spirit cocktails. Peonies and roses boast a sweet and mild flavor that adds a refreshing taste to crafted drinks, while wildflowers like dandelions and violets taste amazing in simple syrups. These combinations are sure to cool down your guests on a hot summer day!
#5. Create party attire
Are you looking to add some flair to your summer garden party? Take your cut flowers and make them into flower crowns for guests; it’s surprisingly easy! Grab a few pieces of wire, some twine, and cut flowers from your garden. Measure the wire around your head and begin wrapping the twine around the wire. Then take your cut flowers and add cut stems between the twin and the wire. Fill around the circle’s circumference, starting with large flowers like hydrangeas and dahlias, then filling empty spaces with smaller flowers like tickseed and geranium. Now your flower crowns are party-ready; it really is that easy!
Great Garden recommendations: Consider various hydrangea colors in your crown to add a serious pop of color! Incrediball® Blush Smooth Hydrangea features a soft pink color and delicate flowers, while this Let’s Dance® Blue Jangles® Bigleaf Hydrangea deepens the palette with vivid blue hues. Or plant Let’s Dance Sky View® Bigleaf Hydrangea to get a variety of incredible flower colors packed into a compact shrub. A high-fashion runway show in your very own backyard awaits!
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Written by: Lindsey Griffith, click here to read bio.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Let us know! We have an experienced, knowledgeable staff ready to make sure your garden turns out perfect. Or check out our other blogs, here.
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