Synopses & Reviews
Acclaimed garden writer Georgeanne Brennan makes growing flowers for intimate bouquets a simple pleasure everyone can enjoy. Illustrated with photographs by Kathryn Kleinman and filled with inspiring ideas from floral stylist Ethel Brennan, Backyard Bouquets is both a how-to gardening book and a guide to the rewarding art of flower arrangement. From disk- and dome-shaped blossoms to wildflowers to "stately stems" and "artful forms," Georgeanne Brennan explains the role each kind of flower plays in a bouquet, then gives step-by-step directions for growing each type in its many variations. The idea is to cultivate a selection of hearty, fast-growing flowers, fillers, and vines -- in a variety of complementary shapes, colors, and sizes -- so there's always something fresh and pretty on hand, all through the year. Sunflowers, cosmos, lupines, nasturtiums, irises, sweetpeas, daffodils, and tulips are just the beginning. Uncomplicated and spontaneous, this book gives gardeners the tools they need to brighten any room in the house with wonderful flowers.
Review
Reviews From:
California Garden
Canadian House and Home
Cutting flowers from one's own garden is a major reward for gardeners and this book describes exactly which plants, usually annuals, suit this purpose. Beginning with general planting and gardening information, it proceeds to an organization of blossoms by shapes and sizes useful for effective flower designs. Thus the first section on Discs and Domes includes everything needed to be known about sunflowers, sinnias, cosmos, coreopsis, and scabiosas. Airy fillers include Queen Anne's lace, bachelor buttons, nigella, and Cleome.
Handsome color photos of the flowers, on their own and in beautiful arrangements, could be enough to inspire anyone to dedicate all possible space in the garden to this purpose. Emphasizing that cutting flowers thrive easily in containers or window boxes, the author devotes much space to the value of interesting containers, both for growing and arranging flowers.
Brennan, a food and garden writer, and former co-owner of a seed company, shares her knowledge in this ABC of gardening (plants range from Alba poppies to zinnias), giving advice on planting (seeds, seedlings or bulbs), growing, harvesting, and assembling flowers in artful arrangements. With lots of beautiful pictures for the non-gardener to enjoy, and facts enough to satisfy the greenest thumb, this book deserves a place indoors.
Review
Many people love a cheery floral arrangement but never have enough flowers on hand. Backyard Bouquets, by Georgeanne Brennan, suggests ways to have something lovely growing all year. The softcover volume from Chronicle Books explains how to start and maintain a cutting garden of fast-growing flowers. There are even suggestions for winter arrangements. [A] beautifully photographed book....The Gazette
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 141) and index.
About the Author
Ethel Brennan is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. With Georgeanne Brennan, she co-authored Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Citrus, both from Chronicle Books.
Georgeanne Brennan is a James Beard Award-winning author of numerous cooking and garden books. She lives in Northern California and France.
Kathryn Kleinman is an award-winning photographer. She lives and works in Northern California.