Table Place Setting Cards - Winter

When the dinner table is too full of food and there is no room for a floral centerpiece, then it is the perfect time to do something different. Let each of your guests enjoy their own little floral design at their place setting.

Anyone can do these, and my four year old can vouch for that, as she helped me put these together for our Christmas dinner. These don't even need water, so there is nothing to spill. I chose some small vintage glasses and filled them with a sprig of fir, a single fir cone and two cymbidium orchids. Add a tag of your choice and you are done!

Choose a winter wedding

I was thinking the other day how cozy and wonderful a winter wedding would be. If you feel like everything has been done already and you don't want your wedding to be like all your friends, consider a winter wedding. Dare to be different!

Four reasons to have a winter wedding.......

1) You get to accessorize your gown with fur or faux fur!

photo courtesy of a-la-parisienne.blogspot.com

2) Winter floral smells....pine, cedar, paperwhites, lilies, and roses to just name a few.

Tara McHugh Flora

3) Color schemes:

- ivory & green with a hint of chocolate (think pine cones, magnolia leaves and branches)

- deep jewel tones of ruby, sapphire and emerald (amaryllis, glossy camellia leaves, )

- grey and white (think dusty miller and eucalyptus)

- antique gold and blush pink (perhaps a vintage flare, maybe some feathers)

http://ritzybee.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/a-grey-winter-wedding.html

4) You can add some holiday drama. Line church pews with cedar garland or hang mini wreaths down the aisle. And it's not the holidays without some sparkle, try hanging crystals from large branches at the altar, or in your center pieces, or one single droplet from your bouquet. I would say this one time of year you can't have too much sparkle!

courtesy of  http://www.zenadiadesign.com/archives/category/color-palette/silver

Vintage postcard

Whenever life gets really busy (especially this time of year), cleaning my house is on the bottom of my list. Reading this old postcard always makes me feel better about not having an immaculate home!

Hydrangea and Stocks

I think white flowers for a funeral are beautiful because they seems so peaceful, light and airy, reminiscent of clouds in the sky. Rest in peace Joan.

Holiday Wreaths

Wreaths are a wonderful way to welcome guests to your home or business. There are so many possibilities it really is endless! You can never go wrong with a nice simple wreath of evergreens, as long as you have a gorgeous wide satin ribbon in a color to match your holiday style. This year I added some sparkle with some lovely tear drop crystals!

Skimmia, lilies and hypericum berries

Skimmia is the name of the gorgeous greenery used in this bouquet. It is such a lovely green to use at this time of year because it really adds a nice lush fullness. Pair it with white lilies and red hypericum berries and it then has a subtle festive flavor! Even a mass of this as a center piece would be quite stunning and good value. It lasts really well. A must have for holiday decorating!

Paperwhites - Holiday Decorating

With the busy holiday season fast approaching I embrace the use of potted flowers for one reason. It is easy and they last for weeks! No changing water or cutting stems, but don't forget to water. I've already got some paperwhites in my entry and the smell is lovely.

Always cover the plastic pot with something more decorative. And experiment with pine cones or moss to cover the soil. Even small ornaments would be nice closer to Christmas.

Winter Pots

I love the look of gorgeous outdoor pots flanking a doorway. Check out this link to Canadian Gardening  magazine for steps to creating your own beautiful pots this season.

http://www.canadiangardening.com/design-and-decor/garden-decor/create-an-elegant-evergreen-planter/a/28890

Bells of Ireland and Pink Dahlias

Dahlias are so vibrant and cheery. These pink ones made my heart skip a beat when I saw them! They are one of my favorite flowers to work with and I would love to be able to grow them in my garden some day!

Victoria Flower Guild

The Victoria Flower Guild has it's annual Christmas show on right now at the Cadboro Bay United church for anyone who lives in Victoria. This happens to be in my neighborhood so I took my kids and mother-in-law there today for a look. I can't say much of it is my style, but I do appreciate the hard work that goes into the construction of some of these pieces. If you need an escape from the rain this weekend go and check it out. Any excuse to enjoy flowers is a good one!!

Green Anthuriums

Anthuriums are a great flower to use! Like most tropical flowers they last two to three times as long as any other flower. They prefer simple designs, which let their own sculptural beauty stand out. Here I paired three gorgeous green anthuriums with folded aspidestra leaves. The leaves add a sharp, textural quality for some contrast. When I add the bouquet tag to a design it needs to compliment it. Here twigs and grass were used because ribbon just wouldn't do.

Strathcona Lodge Wedding

I know, I know, you're all thinking "Summer Wedding"?? Yes, it is autumn but I just received some pictures from a wedding this past July that I had to share! It was a four hour drive from Victoria up-island  to Strathcona Lodge, the wedding location, and I was blown away with the scenery. To be married beside a lake, surrounded by forest, with mountains in the distance is absolutely dreamy. Not to mention arriving to the ceremony in a dug out canoe is pretty romantic for a west coast wedding!

Michael the bride didn't want anything tight and formal, no roses and nothing too big. The color palette was green and ivory/white. To keep things from being too fussy I used dahlias, lisianthus, astillbe, stocks and scabiosa throughout the wedding. Her bouquet was a mass of cream astillbe, lisianthus buds and one large focal dahlia.

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It's always great when the ceremony flowers can be moved and also used in the reception. These designs did double duty.

This picture of the bride and groom is one of my favorites! That dress just looks soooo gorgeous sitting in the grass and the red kilt I must say is perfect. I would like to give credit to Brawns Photography for such an amazing job of the photos.To see more of Michael and Jesse's wedding go to http://brawns.ca/blog/2010/09/05/jesse-and-michael-married

Fall Dahlias and Celosia

These dahlias remind me of the color of butternut squash. Paired with the celosia (also known as brain flower) and the yellow kangaroo paw I think it makes a nice non-traditional autumn design. Yellow and orange are always typical fall colors so it's nice to throw in a splash of pink for us pink lovers! I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving weekend.

Witch Hazel Branches

These witch hazel branches from my garden are looking so gorgeous right now! I love how you can see the color variations in each leaf. What are you enjoying from your garden or flower shop lately?

Interview with Ivan Meade

I recently had the pleasure of doing an interview with Ivan Meade from the Meade Design Group. He has featured me in his column in Victoria's Snap Magazine and also on his wonderful design blog. I must admit I was very thrilled with how many photos he posted with the blog interview. Thanks Ivan!

Please visit Ivan's blog at http://meadedesigngroup.blogspot.com/ and have a read.

Autumn is here!

The cooler weather, rain and fog have all arrived here in Victoria.  Although, it was nice to have the sun shining for our first day of fall. Yes, fall has arrived which means our selection of flowers is slowly dwindling. What I do love about fall and winter is the use of branches and berries in floral design! Take a stroll through your garden and snip a few branches to bring inside. I  have been enjoying these Japanese Maple branches for a couple weeks now.

Summer bouquet - Hydrangea and Scabiosa

Blue Hydrangea, lilac Freesia, and pale purple Scabiosa make up this bride's bouquet for a lovely summer garden wedding. The Abkhazi Garden is an exquisite heritage home and garden located in Victoria, British Columbia.  It is internationally famous for its incredible collection of rhododendrons which tower above you in the spring time! What a lovely garden location in Victoria for a smaller wedding. This bride looks beautiful, I especially love her necklace.

http://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/properties/vancouver-island-region/abkhazi-garden/

Flowers at Home

Floating Flowers

To me there is nothing more simple than floating a few blooms in water. Dahlias and Mums are two of my favourites, but experiment with what you have in your garden. Some will last longer than others as petals can become water logged.

Some people think mums are a bit of an "old lady" flower but I love to use them in unexpected more modern ways. Their best feature is they can last up to two weeks and are always available.

Another great thing about floating blooms is that it gets you to dig into your cupboards to find bowls and even glassware you never use. So go dig around and see what you come up with, you may surprise yourself!