Mixing Herbs and Flowers

There is this great farm stand in Martha's Vineyard that sells farm fresh flowers in tin cans mixed with farm fresh herbs. The mixing of flowers and herbs creates this very aromatic, textured arrangement that looks so great! I went to the Prospect Park farmer's market today to try and recreate some of the arrangements I've seen in Martha's Vineyard.

Now, Ina Garten aka the Barefoot Contessa, can do no wrong in my book, but there is one piece of advice that she gives that I do not agree with. I don't think that you need to stick to the same flower in the same color to make an elegant bouquet. I feel like using herbs and vegetables in an arrangement already makes it look rustic so mixing colors and flower types stays within the same theme and is totally OK. I was first drawn to these pod looking flowers that had a slight reddish tint to it and then tried to find other flowers with complimentary colors and shapes.

 

I also grabbed some red kale to go with the color theme and some rosemary to go with the texture.

 

There are two tricks to make your cut bouquet last longer. One is to make sure that no leaves are sitting in the vase water. Make sure you trim the leaves off the stem which will prevent them from rotting in the vase water a week later. Also, trim your stems diagonally to maximize water intake.

 

The second trick is to add about one teaspoon of sugar to your vase to feed the cut plants. It is pretty much what is in those little packets that you sometimes get in store-bought bouquets.

 

Here's how my mixture of flowers, kale and rosemary turned out:

 

I love how they turned out! I think the different textures and scales create a more interesting arrangement and the use of veggies and herbs brings the garden indoors. I had a lot of flowers left over so I made another, larger arrangement too.

 

Other great combinations are mint with sunflowers or dahlias for a more summery feel, marigolds and oregano for a small, bright pop of color, as well as lavender and iris for a purple plume. I've also seen asparagus mixed with all types of flowers. Just try mixing your favorite herb scent with your favorite flower color and I'm sure it will turn out beautiful.