DesignsandEvents: Home Garden and Farm Stand Flowers for Farm-to-Table Fun

About a week and a half ago my daughter-in-law, Jessica, asked me to help her with some floral arranging she was going to be needing to do in the near future. She needed to make some centerpieces for an event she was helping out with. She wanted them to be kind of farm-to-table and had discovered an organic farm right down the street from her house that had a cut-your-own flower garden. It was so much fun and I liked the idea of a farm-to-table event. I began to think of the kind of arrangements you could make for something like that. Since I am always desiring to practice the art of floral arranging, I began to wonder if there is a farm around me that offered pick-your-own flowers. I was hoping to experiment!

I soon remembered that I do! It is Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, only two towns away from me. So, on a day I just needed to do something fun I made my way over to the farm. The staff was very helpful and the fields were full of zinnias, dahlias and sunflowers. There were lots of hummingbirds...and bees...all over the flowers. If you look hard at this photo you will see one of the hummingbirds.

The farm also has a few farm animals, as well. I am a sucker for goats. The are so funny!

Anyway, I was able to pick some beautiful dahlias and...

zinnias. I didn't pick any sunflowers on that trip because that wasn't the look I was going for. I had a specific plan in mind and I didn't want sunflowers for right now but...maybe later I will run over and grab some :).

The dahlias and zinnias were $9.99 per pound and the sunflowers were $4.99 per pound. I got around 15-17 stems for $8.49, just to give you an idea of the cost.

Part of my plan was to create a centerpiece for my farm-to-table "event". For the greenery filler I picked some basil from my garden and I ran out to another farm stand to find more herbs to mix into my arrangement. (Parlee's doesn't sell herbs.)

I ended up getting some blue basil to also mix in. I was hoping for sage but, there wasn't any. I'll have to check out some other farm stands to see what they have to offer.

I included some "grasses" I found by my barn to add more dimension to the centerpiece. I was pretty pleased with how the arrangement turned out. I thought it looked "farm-to-table" and would look beautiful on picnic tables in a yard or even at a farm venue. Of course, you would have to make multiples of this arrangement to go on your multiple tables but, I hope you get the idea anyway.

I had started this project the day before I went to Parlee Farms. I had gathered some "ingredients" from my garden and yard. I started the project by making a boutonniere.

The items included were: cotoneaster stems, marigolds, goldenrod, a pinkish grass from the yard (don't know its name), heliopsis, dusty miller and some raffia from the craft stash in my home.

I love creating boutonnieres, especially when I am not under pressure. They are little works of art. The experimentation is wonderful and you can come up with all sorts of combinations!

The end result was delicate and sweet~

Next, I set out to make a wrist corsage. I guess I was thinking of an imaginary event for, perhaps, a special anniversary or even an intimate wedding. I didn't get around to making a bridal bouquet. I wish I had because that would have really been fun to do.

I added some sedum, pictured below, to the corsage. The other plant is the "grass" that I picked in front of my barn and included in my centerpiece.

I hope I am not confusing you by going all over the place. I was winging it as I was going along but, that is what makes it fun! Finding how you can make something special out of things you naturally find around you. If I were truly doing an actual event I would have been more organized...for sure!

I was just having fun!

Following my plan and design, the corsage was delicate and sweet, as well. I added in the sedum and a tiny dahlia bud to give it a little more fullness than the boutonniere. Actually, I'd wished I had included some of the sedum in the bout, as well. If I were to do it over again, I definitely would have.

I included a touch of the raffia, as well. The silk ribbon is for tying onto the wrist. A burlap ribbon would have worked nicely here too but, unfortunately, I didn't have any in my craft supplies. Again, if this were an actual event and not practice, I would have had the burlap ribbon ready and at my disposal. All things to consider when doing the flowers for an event. Make sure you have all your supplies before starting :).

So, here are my little creations. I think they would be lovely for a backyard event. Pin-on or wrist corsages might be a nice little addition to a ladies afternoon luncheon too. Sometimes new (or in this case, old) ideas are well received at parties. So, try to think out of the box, if you have the luxury of time to do so. You might really surprise your guests and that's always fun!

If my garden had not been so ravaged by deer and bunnies this summer I may have had all the "ingredients" I would have needed for this project, which means if you have an ample, flourishing garden you might be able to whip up some of these ideas for your next soiree yourself :). Even with the cost of farm stand flowers and herbs the overall cost was pretty low.

So, think of the farm-to-table idea for flowers and not just for food when considering entertaining your guests. Flowers can be included in the mix. And, don't forget about herbs. I didn't mention how heavenly this centerpiece smelled. The basil has made my kitchen smell wonderful!

Thank you to Jessica for opening up my horizons to farm stand flowers. They are definitely worth considering!