It's Not Tacky - It's European

I created this potted flower arrangement with purples, yellow and reds. I wasn't so pleased with my decision to combine red and purple. It seemed rather tacky to me.



But then my friend Hillary, who has been to Europe, informed me that it is a very "European" inspired arrangement. That's cool, right? I like Europe.



Regardless of my feelings for this grouping, I love this lantana. It opens orange and yellow.



And matures to red.



Pretty cool. The foliage of lantana has a pleasant citrus scent. I just love it, and so do butterflies!

Although petunias are not my favorite flower, they do provide lush vibrant color all summer when dead-headed regularly. The foliage is oddly sticky and gives off a light sweet scent. To dead-head petunias, you need to pinch off the entire flower head, not just the flower portion. If you don't dead-head annuals, they won't bloom as vigorously, because they think they have accomplished their task of reproducing. Removing the seed pod causes them to try to produce more seeds; ie, flowers.



Strawflower is great for potted arrangements, because it is drought tolerant. The paper-like flowers close at night and during rain and persist for many weeks without the requirement for dead-heading.



So that's my European arrangement! It was totally intentional :)