Flowers: Not Just For Spring

Metro's May seminar will teach how to enjoy flowers throughout the year.

By Carl Grimm

The Forest Grove News-Times, May 14, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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Spring may be the time of year when our daffodils bloom, but with a little creativity and know-how, you can enjoy beautiful floral arrangements all year long.

Linda Beutler knows her flowers. Plant names like “euphorbia” and “sambukus” pepper her conversation, and her delight in the simple beauty of a flowering bud or branch is obvious.

“Think about it. If you have a place where you often sit and read, wouldn't it be nice to have a bud vase with a stem or two on the table next to you? Or, if you're having guests, it's always nice to put flowers in their room.”

Beutler says she has several places in her own house where she likes to keep something year-round. And, she says, you don't need to have a lot of room.

“There's a shelf in my bathroom next to a mirror that's just big enough for a few flowers in a vase. It reflects in the mirror and looks bigger, and I can enjoy it from different places in the room.”

As curator at the Rogerson Clematis Collection at Luscher Farm in Lake Oswego, Beutler manages the volunteers and is helping to plant shrubs, flowers and trees that would have been grown when the farm was built in the early 1900s.

The greenhouse on the property is full of different varieties of clematis in pots, most of them on their way to plant sales and garden fairs. On Saturday, May 24, the farmhouse will serve as a location for one of Metro's natural gardening seminars, “Four-season flower gardens,” which Beutler teaches.

During the Metro class, Beutler will take participants for a tour around Luscher Farm for a first-hand look at some plants that offer year-round interest. Most of them are easy to grow and easy to care for using natural gardening techniques.

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