Backyard Bouquets: Growing Great Flowers for Simple Arrangements

Acclaimed garden writer Georgeanne Brennan makes growing flowers for intimate bouquets a simple pleasure everyone can enjoy. Illustrated with photographs by Kathryn Kleinman and filled with inspiring ideas from floral stylist Ethel Brennan, Backyard Bouquets is both a how-to gardening book and a guide to the rewarding art of flower arrangement. From disk- and dome-shaped blossoms to wildflowers to "stately stems" and "artful forms," Georgeanne Brennan explains the role each kind of flower plays in a bouquet, then gives step-by-step directions for growing each type in its many variations. The idea is to cultivate a selection of hearty, fast-growing flowers, fillers, and vines -- in a variety of complementary shapes, colors, and sizes -- so there's always something fresh and pretty on hand, all through the year. Sunflowers, cosmos, lupines, nasturtiums, irises, sweetpeas, daffodils, and tulips are just the beginning. Uncomplicated and spontaneous, this book gives gardeners the tools they need to brighten any room in the house with wonderful flowers.

Ethel Brennan is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. With Georgeanne Brennan, she co-authored Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Citrus, both from Chronicle Books.

Georgeanne Brennan is a James Beard Award-winning author of numerous cooking and garden books. She lives in Northern California and France.

Kathryn Kleinman is an award-winning photographer. She lives and works in Northern California.