Sweet peas flowers are usually trimmed at their stem base for a tight bouquet of elegant color and perfume. This style can loosely be described as the "Biedermeier" style, a European hand-tied style tightly structured flower arrangement in a circular pattern. See my recent post, First Bouquet of Sweet Peas.  Author, Debra Lee Baldwin, graciously commented from that post, "Did you know that the fragrance of sweet peas has never been duplicated chemically?" Something that I did not know, and makes sweet peas all that special.

For another style using sweet peas, try cutting your sweet peas in long boughs, in other words try cutting and using your entire sweet pea vine. It is an entirely different look for sweet peas, similar to a dramatic "tossle" of some one's beautiful long mane. Cutting sweet peas in this manner, you have a larger bouquet, whimsical sweet pea tendrils, the fragrance and color of romantic sweet pea flowers, and the wonderful texture and color of the sweet pea vine itself.

In the above photo, I have used a mid-century flower stand rusted container with height, and character. These un-named sweet peas, their seeds a gift from a garden club sharing table, are a combination of white and ivory sweet peas, elegant and romantic. This type of cut arrangement will last and provide enjoyment for at least a week.

Please comment if you have made flower arrangements using sweet peas in this style. Please share your favorite sweet pea to grow.

VintageGardenGal Tidbit Thyme...

Attention Chicken Lovers! Spruce up your chicken coop for VintageGardenGal's Annual Chicken Coop Photo Contest. Send in your photos this coming May!

Encinitas Garden Festival is Saturday, April 30, 2011. For more detailed information and tickets, please visit Encinitas Garden Festival.

Best Garden Boots from The Best @ Dianne B. Garden Boots. Tired of the standard Wellies? My dear friend, Debra Prinzing had the skinny when I asked about her great gardening shoes. She was right. These Panther Print Garden Boots ($74) are garden chic, comfortable, and durable. Did I say French, too? I always get compliments on them. Boots are also available in Olive Green ($64). Tip: I ordered a whole size larger, than my normal shoe size.

French Woven Baskets by The French Basketeer. Beautiful, authentic French baskets and totes. Prices vary by different shapes and sizes. They are beautiful! Available online, and Sundays 9am-1pm at the Rancho Santa Fe Farmers Market.

Books! My dear  friend, cookbook author, and speaker, Carole Bloom, has another hit with her new book, Intensely Chocolate. More on Carole, and her new chocolate cookbook next month, as I must share with you her "Milk Chocolate-Dulce de Leche Bar" recipe that I recently made!  Edible landscaping pioneer, Roslind Creasy has a "hot" new book out, Edible Landscaping, pushing us to continue to explore the endless possibilities of edible and garden together.  I also recommend many more incredible books on VintageGardenGal's home page, right side bar!

Cobra Head Weeder & Cultivating Tool. My dear friend, Anneliese Valdes, and her family out of Wisconsin, make a wonderful must-have gardener's tool, The Cobra Head ($24.95). Created by her father, the Cobra Head concept was invented from a five-tined old fashion cultivator. I use my Cobra Head all the time. It is easy on your hands and wrist, and glides through soil. Check out other fine products for gardeners on their website, Cobra Head.

Zingerman's Olive Oil Food Club. ($125.00). Most gardeners are terrific cooks. What better gift for them than rare olive oils from around the world. Think spring mesclun salads, roasted home-grown vegetables, and dipping with artisan fresh-baked bread. Zingerman's Rare Olive Oil Food Club. Coined "Best Food Club" by the Wall Street Journal in 2007. You have the option of different monthly installments.

Succulents Galore. Author, speaker, and painter,Debra Lee Baldwin, has opened an online store, Debra Lee Baldwin with "everything succulents" from key chains to mouse pads, to her paintings. We all need to add a few more succulents in our life!

Debra Lee Baldwin's recently released book, Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care Plants, is a terrific follow up book to her wildly successful book, Designing with Succulents.

Debra Lee Baldwin's new book Succulent Container Gardens, focuses on the infinite possibilities and versatility of succulents in containers. Her new book is armed with over 300 succulent-rich photos that Debra Lee Baldwin photographed in Southern California, and beyond. She visited talented designers, nursery owners, home owners, and folks who every day design with succulents, sell succulents, and in general appreciate the beauty and textural elements of succulents.

Succulent Container Gardens is organized into four chapters of pairing plants, designing with succulents, plant palettes, and all of the necessary basics in starting, maintaining, and caring for succulents in containers. As an extra bonus, she gives us detailed design lists of succulents by color, size, and function.

VintageGardenGal, caught Debra Lee Baldwin's attention, and has two cameos in her book, the first is a succulent-potted vintage chicken container, and the second, is a succulent-planted table top wreath adorned with a crimson candle for the holidays. Many thanks.

If you are not on the succulent bandwagon yet, Debra Lee Baldwin's new book, Succulent Container Gardens, will inspire you through the many possibilities of succulents in containers. Please share if you have been bitten by the succulent bug. Please comment on what attracts you to succulents, and how you design with them in your garden and in containers.