A birthday bouquet (aka. use what you have, part 2)

It was my friend Jeanne's birthday.  And I didn't know it, until I was told that day.  (She knows my birthday, and she always brings a card, which makes me feel even worse that I didn't know her date.)  In fact, earlier this year, on my day, she and Jim gave me the most beautiful bouquet with five different daffodils that they grow in their yard.

I really, really wanted to give her something special.  So, taking a cue from her, I took a look in my yard, where I have been striving to grow enough perennials for a nice cutting garden.

And I thought I came up with a nice vaseful for her!  (Another reason to keep the cute and inexpensive Goodwill vases on hand.)

The first early summer bloom was finished (the irises, roses and salvia).  I have some daylilies, but their name is a clue as to why they make terrible cut flowers.

Still, I managed to put together something really pretty from the few things I have going. 

I've got two perennials looking really beautiful at the moment.  Here they are:

Look at this beautiful astilbe!

I've got purple and white blooming.

The white astilbe is at the end of it's bloom time, so I didn't use it.

This is my shade garden on the shadowy side of the house; it's so beautiful right now.

I've got ferns, hostas and astilbe that just LOVE the lack of sunlight!

The other perennial looking stunning right now is the phlox.

I planted it last year and it's come back looking thick and beautiful.

With the purple phlox and astilbe as my base, here is how the bouquet turned out:

There were three Don Juan red roses, I clipped them all.

There's also a small pink rose, some pink carnations and a little purple lantana that was growing in a pot.

I pretty much clipped everything I could find in bloom.

But didn't it come out pretty?

It felt great to have a "birthday emergency" and rise to the occasion with just what I have in my yard!  I try to grow my perennial garden a little bit more each year.

And finally, one more pic:

We were cleaning the foster kids' sandbox toys with the hose so we could donate them to Goodwill.

I left a box out to pack them in for a few minutes, and - wouldn't you know it - found my cat hanging out there all afternoon.

A great big yard to enjoy and he prefers to sit in a box.

💓🐈😻

Sometimes, you may have a million options, but what's simple just feels good.