Hello there my dears!
Now that it is the height of summer in New England, we have been taking advantage of all the wildflowers in our garden and neighborhood.
We love foraging for flowers and stems for bouquets all year around but there is something magical about the summertime abundance. We do want to be aware of the amount that we pick when pollinators are in desperate need of it.
Recently we’ve had a couple questions about how we forage so we thought we would pull all our information together in one place for you all. So here you go!
1. Bring a Basket
Alright, so this one may seem obvious, but I have forgotten the basket before and regrated it! It is hard to carry everything and continuously pick more items. Baskets can also help you gauge how much you’ve already selected and how much more you need for your bouquets.
2. Pick Newly Bloomed or About to Open Flowers
Wildflowers and foraged item can quickly pass so make sure when choosing the pieces to cut that you pick ones that have just bloomed or about to. This will ensure that once you get them home and arranged in the vase that they will last as long as possible.
3. Select a Variety of Plants
When I arrange the flowers and greenery that I’ve foraged I like to have lots of different choices to pair together. The way to do that is to play with colors, textures, heights and kinds of plants that way you have a variety to choose from when putting together a bouquet.
4. Choose Unexpected Items
When foraging the trick is to think outside of the box when collecting your treasures. Keep your eyes peeled for one-of-a-kind items, small items to make posies with and pieces you would normally pass over. We love collecting leaves and berries because they really make the arrangements pop!
5. Refresh Their Water Often
One important aspect I’ve noticed this year is how much water the wildflowers drink, especially the first night. They are particularly thirsty flowers so make sure to keep their water fresh and topped up every day. The flowers will thank you with a longer shelf life!
There you have it! Those are all of our tips for foraging flowers and greenery. Do you think we missed anything? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear from you!
XX
Waite and Matthew
