(BPT) – Whether you’ve always had a green thumb or you’re new to gardening, dreams of beautiful flowers spring to life this time of year. For inspiration, trusted seed packet company Ferry-Morse offers creative ideas for using fresh flowers and wildflowers.
With Bulk Flower & Wildflower Seed Mixes, you’ll start the season with gorgeous variety — and enjoy the surprises when your garden starts blooming. This new collection features 50 varieties of one-pound bags of easy-to-grow flower, wildflower and lawn alternative seeds. Choose your favorite mixes by color preference, design trends, preferred garden features and regional conditions to help bring your garden dreams to life.
1. Pretty enough to eat
Did you know that certain flowers are edible? The Edible Flower Mix offers flowers to elevate any dish. Sprinkle calendula petals on a salad for color and a mild peppery taste. Thirsty? Pair a Mint Mojito with refreshing cucumber-like borage, or try this non-alcoholic version:
Cucumber Mint “Faux-Jito”
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 1 lime
- 3/4 cup mint
- 4 teaspoons agave or simple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cane or raw sugar
- 8 ounces club soda
- Ice
- Fresh borage flowers
- Dried edible flower petals, blended until fine in a food processor or blender
Instructions
Pour agave or simple syrup on a plate to rim your glass. On separate plate, spread mix of cane or raw sugar and dried edible flowers.
Rim glass with agave or simple syrup, then dip in sugar/dried flower mixture.
Add 3-5 cucumber slices, 2-3 lime slices, mint leaves and 1 teaspoon of agave or simple syrup to the glass.
Muddle ingredients to release flavors.
Add ice, club soda and stir.
Garnish with borage flowers for a cucumber-like flavor that complements your drink perfectly!
Tip: Freeze edible flowers into decorative ice cubes. Try a flower-shaped silicone mold for a unique spin on the fancy ice trend.
2. Nature’s masterpieces
Grow craft-worthy blooms with the Perennial Wildflower Mix — including lupine, sweet William and purple coneflower — for a flower garden to last for seasons to come. Then press fresh flowers to create frameable art.
Pressed flower artwork
Materials
- Flowers/wildflowers of your choice (greenery optional)
- Flower press or 2-3 large books
- Parchment paper (2 sheets)
- Burlap
- Scissors
- Tape/glue
- Frame
Instructions
Don’t have a flower press? Place two layers of parchment paper between pages of a large book.
Place flowers/wildflowers flat between layers of parchment paper.
Carefully close book and weigh down with 1-2 other books or heavy items. Press flowers 2-3 weeks, until dry.
Arrange dried flowers inside the glass/acrylic of your frame “face down” to achieve your desired look.
Cut piece of burlap wide enough to fill the frame, to serve as backdrop for your flowers.
Place burlap over the “back” of the flowers and close the frame. Display your DIY pressed flower art!
Optional: Use tape or glue to secure burlap to the frame’s photo mat to secure flowers.
Tip: Press flowers by putting them between sheets of parchment paper, then iron about 10 seconds or put under heavy microwave-safe dish and microwave 90 seconds on medium. Allow additional time to dry as needed.
3. Wedding-worthy bouquets
Get ready to create stunning bouquets and boutonnieres for weddings, proms, parties or thoughtful gifts. Gardening in the Southwest or Northeast? Regional Mixes feature varieties specifically selected for your local climate to support your creative endeavors.
DIY Bouquets
Materials
- Flowers/wildflowers of your choice
- Greenery: Ferns, branches, hedge clippings
- Filler flowers (smaller flowers)
- Vase
- Floral tissue paper
- Decorative ribbon
Instructions
Bouquets are traditionally built using the “3-5-8 rule” — 3 big bold flowers, 5 pieces of greenery, 8 filler flowers — for a proportional bouquet. Think about the color story you want to tell while choosing and arranging flowers. Blues, pinks, whites and yellows make beautiful combinations, but get creative and experiment with bright reds, oranges, purples — whatever you enjoy!
- Place your 3 tallest or boldest-color flowers in a vase. Starting in a vase helps you see how the bouquet is coming together before you wrap it.
- Add 5 pieces of greenery to the bouquet, turning occasionally to ensure you’re achieving your desired look.
- Work smaller filler flowers into the bouquet based on what’s visually appealing to you.
To wrap your bouquet, roll 3-4 sheets of floral tissue paper into a cone, place bouquet inside and tie with decorative ribbon. Don’t have floral tissue paper? You can use a paper bag to hold your bouquet!
4. Embrace cottagecore style
If you haven’t heard of “cottagecore,” prepare to be charmed! Imagine an English country cottage bursting with floral patterns and a table set for tea. Adopt the cottage core style with the Cottage Garden Mix, a combination of annuals and perennials blending nostalgic favorites like poppy, cornflower and nasturtium. Display your favorites indoors using whimsical teapots or vintage milk jugs as vases.
Your entire yard can become cottagecore with the Flowering Grass Alternative Mix: fine fescue, flowers and clovers offering a colorful, diverse alternative to all-grass lawns. You’ll have a beautiful carpet of low-growing flowers that’s low maintenance, doesn’t need to be mowed all season — and uses less water.
5. Create a pollinator sanctuary
Want to make an oasis for bees and butterflies? The Bumblebee Buffet Mix, a blend of annuals and perennials including cosmos, zinnia and snapdragon, provides pollen and nectar pollinators love. Make sure to offer shallow pools like bird baths with a few rocks as landing spots for thirsty bees.
Whatever type of garden you dream of, you can make it happen. Visit Ferrymorse.com/pages/flower-seed-mixes to get started.
Looking for additional gardening tips and tricks throughout the season? Ferry-Morse offers a variety of online tools including the Garden Matchmaker Quiz for personalized seed recommendations and The Greenhouse blog for gardening tips and recipes available on FerryMorse.com.
Gardeners of all levels can also tune into Ferry-Morse’s annual Garden Get-Together — now in a new series format — for free advice and inspiration from the brand’s experts and popular gardening influencers. Tune in on the Ferry-Morse Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube channels to learn more.
