Bad Air Day

With an ozone alert today I couldn’t spend much time gardening but I could bring in some cut flowers for a little bouquet. The purple asters that came in a bouquet I bought at a gourmet grocery had to leave their main stem behind when I changed their water today. Changing flower water daily extends the life of flowers and prevents “bad air” indoors. So to the relocated asters, I added one of my “Becky” rudbeckia flowers, a stem of magenta and white Sweet Williams and some swirling, trailing lettuce flowers. For “greenery” I added some ferny yarrow leaves, leaves from a deep magenta shade plant whose name I didn’t catch and flat-leaved parsley. Oh yes, I cut a peppermint bloom to add to the mix. Using all kinds of things from the garden makes a bouquet more interesting.

Outdated?

More years ago than I can remember, I decided to plant my old, outdated packet of wildflower seeds in an available pot. Maybe they’d come up—maybe not; I had nothing to lose. Surprise! This ferny-leaved white yarrow sprouted and grew. It’s fern-like leaves often stay green right through the winter; it has bloomed a couple of times every spring and summer for probably five or six years. Just when we thought that the cold weather was over, last night’s temperatures were forecast for the 40’s! It was so chilly this morning I had to bundle up in my afghan when I sat in the garden. Another beautiful day is ahead, Lord willing.