Green flowers are more than a curiosity for St. Paddy's Day. While blooms that match their own foliage may not show up too well in the garden, cut and brought indoors their unexpected coloration shines in flower arrangements.
Euphorbias chartreuse blooms hold their own in the garden or the vase. I use these weird, bright little flowers in every flower arrangement I make from March through autumn. If you cut them, be sure and wear gloves for euphorbia sap can cause a rash. And be sure and singe the bottom of the stem - just touch it with a match or lighter for a few moments, and euphorbia will hold up for a week in arrangements.
My favorite primrose is a delicate apple green ruffled beauty called 'Francesca' (below). It blooms April into May, is sturdily perennial, and has long enough stems to make a great cut flower. The mosaic egg next to the primrose in the photo is by Vashon artist Clare Dohna...
Long blooming Rudbeckia 'Green Wizard' (below) is an oddity, with its brown dog-nose cone surrounded by emerald green petals. This one really does disappear in the garden, but well worth growing for a cut flower...
I was just admiring beautiful big bunches of green cut flowers at Metropolitan Market - I hope green flowers are on display more often than just March 17th. From hellebores in winter, to 'Lime Light' hydrangeas and spiky green chrysanthemums in autumn, green flowers are worth tracking down year-round.
Lovely idea, to show some of these beautiful green flowers. You're exactly right about Green Wizard "disappearing" in a garden setting but you've solved the problem by picking it! Exquisite.
Posted by: kate | March 17, 2011 at 06:42 PM
Beautiful, natural green flowers!! With all these available, I still can't figure out why they spray paint ungreen flowers...green! So fake looking! Especially those "green" carnations and roses! I still have to laugh though! :)
Love your Green Wizards in the individual vases!!
Posted by: Chris | March 18, 2011 at 08:34 AM
Oh, my gosh! I LOVE that Rudbeckia!!!! For a second, I thought it was an Echinacea with its petals plucked...of course that doesn't really make sense, does it??!!
Posted by: Lauren Hall-Behrens | March 18, 2011 at 01:20 PM
Hi Lauren,
I always want to call 'Green Wizard' an echinacea - I think it's the shape of the cone....it has unfortunately big, floppy leaves that almost hide the blooms still, I grow it for those very cool flowers that keep on producing for many weeks....
Val
Posted by: valerie Easton | March 18, 2011 at 01:41 PM