Winter flowers - white hydrangea and red roses

Keep things simple for your holiday flowers. White hydrangea mixed with the most velvety tea spray roses, leucodendron, cedar and some beautiful feathered eucalyptus creates something textural, seasonal and lovely.

In my home - Kale

Right about this time of year is when we are all really missing beautiful peonies and big round dahlias. There are not many options available right now for big full looking flowers. Right now on my coffee table I have one small bunch of autumn kale. It can last up to two weeks and satisfies the craving for something fluffy!

 

Forcing Paperwhites

They say paperwhites are the easiest bulb to force indoors. They don't need a cooling period like most other bulbs. I am giving it a try this year and so should you. Just pick up a bag of bulbs at your local garden center.

1) Find a glass or ceramic container with no drainage hole.

2) Fill with clean rocks, or gravel.

3) Nestle the bulbs into the rocks so that they are secure.

4) Water the bulbs so that the water just touches the bottom of the bulbs. 

 

Be sure to keep an eye on the water level and fill as necessary. Once your paperwhites are in full bloom keep them in a cool room to extend their life.

This is a great activity to do with your kids! They will have lots of fun watching the stems grow for weeks. Happy planting!

 

Flower Workshop - Vancouver

Last weekend I had an incredible weekend in Vancouver at a floral show and workshop. I met some great people and I was able to ask them a million questions about the floral biz. As I'm dying to have my own shop one day I'm trying to learn as much as I can. The design show was presented by Dee Baunsgaard a very inspiring designer originating from Denmark who now resides in Toronto.

Below was our afternoon creation. We had to create a grid on top of the bowl using the orange sticks and then the flowers were grouped on top of that.

 What do you think of this "different" design?

Yummy flower left overs!

This year at my daughter's new school I have volunteered to take over the current garden club. There wasn't a whole lot in the garden club budget so I pulled together a couple flower sales as a way to raise more money. These beautiful dahlias were donated, (thanks J.M) and a major hit after school selling at $5.00 a bunch.

At our last sale I ended up coming home with 4 left over bunches which I just shoved into a vase on my dining room table. 

Dahlias are one of my favorite flowers!! Such variety in form and color.

Pretty good for left overs I would say!

Thanksgiving Place Setting Ideas

Here are two really quick and easy ideas to make your Thanksgiving table beautiful. A friend of mine has an abundance of mini apples right now which inspired this idea. Below I have used a small piece of ivy from my garden and wrapped it around the napkin. I have just simply set the mini apple on the napkin to compliment the ivy. A name card would be a nice addition tied onto the apple stem with twine.

This next idea is a bit more work as you need glue. Cut a strip of burlap to aprox. 1.5" wide. Cut to desired length to fit around your napkin. Glue ends together and let dry. Snip an individual floret from your garden hydrangea and with a dab of floral glue adhere to the burlap.

Have fun decorating your table this year. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Fall leaves - Witch-hazel

A beautiful shrub to have in your garden for fall leaves is Witch-hazel. I absolutely love the leaves at this time of year as they look as though they have been dipped in yellow and red paint.

Autumn is my least favorite time of year for flowers. Way too many orange mums and fake plastic wreaths around. I prefer to enjoy interesting grasses, berries, leaves and branches. I do love the earthiness of autumn floral designs though.

And if you do decide to plant a Witch-hazel in your garden for some fall color, a bonus is the fragrant yellow flowers in late winter and early spring.

Summer Camping - Tofino

Once in awhile I like to post something from my life unrelated to flowers. This past August my husband and I took our 5 year old and 2 year old camping in Tofino. It was the most amazing family trip yet with our kids. Luckily we were camping with many good friends which really helped out as we don't have a lot of camping experience.

Tofino is by far the most spectacular place I have been in British Columbia. 

There is nothing quite like mornings in a west coast rain forest.

The kids were so exhausted every night from hiking around and playing on the endless beaches. A few nights we cooked dinner down on the beach and were able to see some beautiful sunsets!

A must see spot in Ucluelet is the Ucluelet Aquarium. Not only is the architecture itself impressive but the marine life was beautiful!

We decided that this camping trip will have to happen every summer. I already can't wait till next year! Do you have a favorite camping spot in BC?

White and Green Bouquet

I recently had a bride contact me from Singapore. She was coming to our beautiful city for her destination wedding! She said she wasn't too picky on the actual types of flowers used and most of the inspiration shots she sent me were a very neutral palette of whites and greens. This is what I ended up creating for her. The bouquet consists of white mums, alstroemeria, sedum, green hydrangea and cymbidium orchids.

The boutonnieres were these bright green cymbidium orchids. I find with these orchids it is best to keep things simple!

Old Field Farm Wedding

Here are a few shots I took this past weekend at an Old Field Farm here in Victoria. A great setting for a casual, outdoor farm wedding. I had so much fun creating the baby's breath wreath for the barn door!

Hydrangeas, lisianthus, and gerbera daisies were used for the "white, red and sky blue" color scheme. A color scheme obviously inspired by the location.

 

 Raffia, mason jars, burlap and lace were also used to add rustic charm.

Garden Flowers - Japanese Anemones

Japanese anemones are a late season garden flower. They don't last long as a cut flower, maybe a day or two. I had my in-laws over for their anniversary dinner recently and I did up this little centerpiece for the table.

Remember when you are wandering through your garden, be sure to look at all the interesting greenery and add a variety of different sizes and textures to your arrangements.

Calla lily bouquet

Calla lilies are a modern, sleek and sophisticated choice for a wedding. They are a very tough flower and can withstand many hours without water. They come in various shades of purple, mango, yellow and white. The bouquets below have a variegated lily grass added to the callas.

 

Summer Bouquet - White mums and green hydrangea

I find this combination of colors very "happy and classy" at the same time. This lovely little bouquet is filled with white mums, green hydrangea, craspedia, calla lilies, and alstroemeria buds. These are very hardy flowers which make them very suitable to a summer wedding.

 

 

Every flower in this bouquet is available all year round except the yellow ball flowers.

Zinnias

I am so excited to have picked my first bouquet of zinnias from the garden the other day! My mother-in-law has generously let me use some space in her raised beds to try growing some flowers. I planted poppies, cosmos, dahlias and zinnias. 

I was hoping to see more pinks than oranges but am still happy with the varieties so far. If one had the space, these would be a fun flower to grow for a colorful August wedding.

Want to try growing your own flowers? This website has some great info. 

http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/zinnias.html

Summer Bouquet - Tea spray roses

 I have had brides request no roses. I think quite often brides associate roses with tradition and formality and some brides just don't want that. These roses have a nice casual, informal feeling to them because of the uneven nature of the bouquet. Perfect for a garden wedding. This sweet little tea rose bouquet is actually mixed with another lovely flower called godetia.

Lady's mantle, camellia and hydrangea leaves are a few of the greens used to add texture.

Family-Friendly Flowers

I was so nervous for this but having my kids with me made it so much easier!! Not to mention the host of the show Adam Sawatsky knows how to do his job and helped put me at ease. In the end I was having lots of fun!

Summer bouquet - Hydrangea and scabiosa

This sweet summer bouquet has blue hydrangea, a mixture of succulents and purple scabiosa through out. It's been finished with some burlap and a lace ribbon detail.

  The boutonniere is a small succulent and dusty miller leaf finished with burlap.

Kindergarten Artwork

As I may have mentioned before I love kids artwork! For today's post, my blog will be more of a mom blog than flower blog. My daughter can't make it through the day without making something! She absolutely loves art. And here are some of her works from her kindergarten year. It does help she had a great art teacher! Thanks Miss Lisa.

Vase with flowers

Ted Harrison

Georgia O'Keefe

Here they carved a design into a foam meat tray and pressed it onto the paper.

And my favorite looks beautiful framed in my kitchen!

Children love to see their work on display, it makes them feel proud. Ikea frames are perfect for kids art. I have also noticed my children like to hang their own art creations. Our sliding patio doors seem to be the place they choose!

Ring Bearer Ideas

There are so many great ideas out there for the ring bearer. Here are a few of my favorites...

Tara McHugh Flora - driftwood, mum and ribbon

April Hiler Designs

Source: http://www.polkadotbride.com/

I really love the sign idea! Super cute and easy to customize to the style of your wedding.