I love to pick flowers from my garden. I know that some gardeners do not like to pick their flowers and would rather display them in situ than in a vase. Not me. I am out in my yard most days snipping flowers for bouquets.

During the spring I always pick every daffodil bloom that has fallen over, got mud on its face, or is frozen. I am driven to save them from the fate of never being displayed to their best effect. I also pick the perfect blooms, too, of course.

Later in the season, when garden flowers are less abundant, I look for foliage to use as filler in my vases of cut flowers. I always grow some dark-hued opal basil in pots in my herb garden, as it spreads too much in beds. It looks good combined with just about any colored flowers. However, it must be quickly put into water as it easily wilts.

The foliage of many shrubs makes good filler for flower arrangements: spirea, viburnum, mock orange, caryopteris, azalea, vitex, itea, hydrangea, and many more. In late summer and fall, autumn-colored foliage can be effective in arrangements, too.

And I rely heavily on coleus, especially the dark reds like 'Redhead'. Take off the lower leaves on each stem and use the leaves with any flowers you pick, and it will look glorious in a vase. The depth of its color enhances every flower with which it is paired.

Note: Root cuttings of coleus in water over the winter months and pot them up in soil the following spring.

Reference: Shrubs Large and Small: Natives and Ornamentals for Midwest Gardens by Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris.