Some Dutch "Harbingers of Trends"

On Garden Rant today (Welcome, Dallas Readers by Susan Harris) there's a link to an excellent article by Mariana Greene (great surname for a gardener BTW) about Amy Stewarts book Flower Confidential. In this article Mariana Greene writes: The Dutch cash-an-carry bouquets, to those in the know, are harbingers of trends in the American floral trade some months hence; to wit: (here she quotes from Amy's book) "monochrome blends of dark red gerberas, fuzzy burgundy cockscomb, wine coloured foliage and, tucked around the edges, wild blackberries still ripening on the vine in shades of green, red and blackest purple", she (Amy) writes.

"Who puts blackberries in a bouquet ....? The Dutch do, and that means that soon the rest of us will, too."

Well this morning I went shopping and I couldn't find the dark red gerberas and blackberries thingy but I did find these ones. I hope you will enjoy them.

The first picture shows a bouquet of orange flowers with all kinds of leaves and berries and even the odd twig or two. The second shows some flower arrangements, the third a bouquet of mixed flowers in various shades of pink. The 4th photo is of a bouquets with gerberas and a few very big and glossy leaves. Note that the leaves are folded origami style. The 5th photo shows a display of the famous Dutch cash-and-carry bouquets. Remember, you saw them here first. ;-)

Before I forget, the Dutch not only put blackberries in their bouquets but also twigs, all kinds of leaves, raffia, grasses (can we spell Piet Oudolf?) and many other weird and wonderful things.

I have always noticed that the more a man loves his garden, the more he delights in constantly changing the arrangements, which were, perhaps, good for a time, but which, as time goes on, must give way to others.
Canon Henry Ellacombe, In a Gloucestershire Garden, 1896