Garden Bouquets and Beyond, Suzy Bales' Newest Book

Suzy Bales, author of recently published “Garden Bouquets and Beyond” came to town last night and the Hardy Club garden members greeted her with flowers from their gardens.  This morning Suzy Bales arranged the clippings of azaleas, Lilac Sensation, parrot tulips, tree peonies and hellebores to the delight of her audience.  “Take all the foliage off your lilacs for them to last longer, and don’t crush the stem, a common myth,” she said.

Ms. Bayles who has been featured in Ladies Home Journal, House Beautiful, Better Homes and Gardens, Horticulture, Beautiful Gardens, and Easy Gardening,

talked about using oasis to get the most out of it.  Her process starts with water and floral food and then floating the block of oasis on top of the water.  She uses the quick oasis and makes sure that the side with the little holes in the bottom hits the water first so as to not create water bubbles in the oasis.

Suzy Bales' Azalea Wreath and Candle

Ms. Bales’ philosophy is to give a plant several tries and then eliminate.  “Of course, you can always blame the neighbor’s dog,” she quipped.  Her six acre garden is full of roses and she doesn’t use chemicals to kill the blights.  One climbing rose may just camouflauge the spots of another as they ramble on. “There is no need to have any empty space in your garden,” she told fellow gardeners.

The author of “Gifts from Your Garden,” “A Garden of Fragrance,” “Garden Parties,” “The Down-to-Earth Gardener,” and “The Garden in Winter,” said, “Think of your garden like others think of money – you can never have enough.”

The Hardy Garden Club of Baltimore, Maryland is a member of the Garden Clubs of America.  Their continued efforts to clean and green the Jones Falls Waterway benefitted from Suzy Bales’ appearance.