Using Herbs In Bouquets

I love using herbs in bouquets. Not only are they, more often than not, beautiful in their own right but they have such a powerful scent and are ''bonus love'' edible.

With a trillion dollar perfume industry continuing to pump out the pumes, they know that scent means a lot to us humans. I found a very old Dolly magazine of mine the other day and I remembered instantly where I was when I bought it because of its smell. I bought it when I was on a family holiday in South West Rocks. There was a free perfume sachet in the magazine that gave the whole thing the smell that triggered my family holiday memory from over 15 years ago. The transportative power of scent!

Generally the first thing people do when they are given a bunch of flowers is smell them. This will often stir within them one emotion or another and can trigger memories they hold dear. Adding a herbal element can compliment and enhance the whole experience.

Whilst praising herbs SCENT-sational characteristics, I do recognise that not all scents are to everyone's liking. I saw a bumper sticker yesterday on a car that read Ï Hate Coriander" and my sister will tell you that she went off and bought one of those stickers. Thankfully I've found that the scent of coriander is muted if left to sit for a while after cutting. In the language of flowers, coriander represents hidden worth/self worth so I love hiding this special message within as many bouquets as I can when I have it available.

Our whole philosophy around growing and designing with flowers is that we use what we can grow whenever possible. This calls on us to look at what is around us in a different light sometimes. A plant not traditionally thought of as a cut flower/foliage may work perfectly fine for our needs. So having an overflowing garden of herbs to pick from as an accompaniment to dinner or adding a special touch to a bouquet is the dream for us on our small farm.

Herbs I love to grow for use in bouquets are:

Lemon verbena - lemony scented lime green foliage with white flower sprays. Cut back in winter and she readily springs to life as the days warm up.

Mint - so many varieities from chocolate to apple and variegated forms. You can use the leaves and flowers

Coriander - very beautiful flower heads and little insects love them

Dill - delicate looking floaty flower seed heads

Fennel - striking and structural, yellow sturdy flower seed heads, add height and air

Rosemary - blue flowers and you can strike cuttings readily