I believe studies that say spending only a few days around flowers, at work or at home, boosts well-being and makes us more compassionate.

These days I travel no further than my back yard to find flowers to bring inside. I love how flowers breathe life into a space. I love how they help me stay connected to beauty and nature.

Early this month peonies were plentiful. With four bushes I could easily stuff several large vases until overflowing with blooms. When I ran out of vases, I hung them to air dry.

My garden flowers in bloom right now are not the kinds that lend themselves to big bold arrangements but I'll be bringing them inside, too. These days I'm thinking smaller scale and choosing  tinier arrangements.

Wee flower arrangements are one of the most effortless and least expensive (if you have to buy your flowers from a shop) ways of bringing flowers into your home. They require minimal flowers, leaves or grasses, and yet tiny bouquets provide equal beauty and benefits as larger ones.

First you need to find the right sized vases. If you don't have any tiny vases, eggcups, liqueur glasses, shallow bowls or an empty vanilla bottle will do.   Next you decide what goes in them. When you take a good look around a garden it's surprising how many choices there are.

Smaller arrangements can be grouped together or amongst other plants and objects, or placed individually in a small spot, on a bathroom shelf or window sill.

Instead of a tiny vase I chose a large cylindrical one for this arrangement. I added an inch or two of water, a stem each of hosta flower and day lily to stand no taller than the vase, and floated two marigold flowers in the bottom. Simple!

I look forward to finding new ways to enjoy whatever else my garden provides and to soaking up all the benefits.

xo