taking tiger mountain

For some reason this piece this made me think of Brian Eno's "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy," The rock like container, the colors of the zinnia and lantana and the low to high movement just made the title pop in my head. If you don't own any of Eno's music I strongly suggest you get some.

october 4th

Some backyard flowers: Mexican sunflower, hybrid sunflower, marigolds, zinnias, salvia and a couple unknowns.

Aunt Gracie

Today we celebrated our absolutely incredible Aunt Gracie's 75th birthday! Gracie is a bright, insightful,  brilliant person, brimming with joy and love. Her love for humanity is backed by a mighty spirit. You honor us. Her birthday bouquet is a hand-tied mix of: peach roses, lavender stock, limonium, celosia and zinnias. Bright, beautiful and feminine, just like her (top photo by Heather Handyside.)

the mighty monarch

This monarch has claimed the garden as his kingdom (note his mexican sunflower throne in pic2). He's very territorial, but is starting to tolerate me.

picked bouquets

Thanks to the rain, some flowers from the yard hand arranged while they were harvested.

monarch and admiral

I know this is supposed to be a floral blog but I have become completely enamored with butterflies. When prowling through the backyard (with a camera around my neck) it just seems silly to pass opportunities like these up. They are however all on flowers so I believe this redeems me. Top; the mighty monarch on a Mexican sunflower-Tithonia rotundiflora, actually a member of the daisy family (there's your flower info.) Middle; the rather aggressive red admiral drinking from a lantana bloom and giving me the "that's close enough boy look." Bottom; the same guy on a zinnia with some great light behind him.

cutting garden

Zinnias, phlox, crepe myrtle, seedum ( which makes a great armature,) echinacea, mint and a few balloon flowers arranged in a vase. I, just love how it looks like it grew there. I did however put it in my kitchen.

backyard bounty

My first post on this blog was a beautiful arrangement of zinnias and cockscomb taken by Lisa Suits. Though Lisa takes a better picture than me and the Westphalia Trading Co.'s zinnias are flawless, this design has something great going for it. It's from the backyard and there's more.

Zinnias & Cockscomb

Zinnias are one of my favorite summer flowers, here mixed with cockscomb, arranged spherically in a low dish. This type of arrangement showcases the intense colors of the blooms. Simple and beautiful.

Design: Stacey Halstead
Flowers: Rocky Top Farms, Photo: Mycologista