This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring Zinnias.
I'm in love with these Zinnias - they are just such a riot of colours and who can be in a bad mood with flowers like this around.
Zinnias are a native of Mexico and some other South American countries. They come in a wide range of colours, including white, yellow, orange, red, purple and lilac. They are loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. A lot of gardeners find them a bit tricky to grow due to a tendency to develop mould, they also hate having their roots disturbed and it's important not to sow too early - as they like it warm.
You'll need :
- about 25 stems of Zinnias
- a medium sized container with a large opening - I have used an old vintage zinc milk pail
As always - condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase - cut the stems at an angle - to increase water absorption. Put in a clean container with tepid water and leave in a cool place over night or at least a few hours before making the final arrangement.
In the final arrangement cut the stems so that the outer flowers rest on the edge of the container - then cut the rest a bit longer to create a nice dome-shaped arrangement. I removed almost all of the leaves as I wanted just a mass of colour with no foliage showing.
I also chose a neutral container for a vase - in this case a vintage zinc milk pail from my grandmothers house in Sweden.
There are a few different types of Zinnias - but this particular one has quilled or rolled petals and they reminded me a bit of paper flowers.
So just for fun I added a few craft things - some colourful rolled up card, some pink tissue paper, a bead necklace, some greeting cards and a few ribbons.
The ribbons are all from Jane Means' ribbon collection. I'm one of Jane Means Ribbon Bloggers - and we feature her ribbons in some of our blog posts.
Have a Wonderful Floral Friday!
~ xoxo ~
Ingrid
[Styling and photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer.]
