Massed Greenery

This is a great example of how JUST greenery can be used to make a statement. Take a peek in your garden and see if you have any interesting foliage that you can bring in, and give this a try at home.  Don't forget to always pull of any leaves that will be under the water line as it promotes the growth of bacteria. In the photo below I used Mexican Orange greenery, which I find quite beautiful because of it's glossy leaves.

Green Spider Mums

I must say I am a big fan of mums, especially spider mums! These green ones have to be my favorite. In this design, I wanted the intensity of the flowers to be consistent, so I've paired the mums with some bright pink carnations and purple limonium. All these flowers are extremely long lasting, so there is always good value when using them!

Lady's Mantle

For me it is necessary to have flowers in my garden that I can cut and bring into my home. I adore dahlias and garden roses but my lack of sun and space prevent me from growing them. Lady's Mantle with it's gorgeous chartreuse color I have lots of. And I have it growing in various locations all over my yard successfully. I love being able to cut masses of it to brighten my dining room and living room . I just bought this new vase and I think the lady's mantle is quite happy with it, and so am I!

What I love about being a mom!

My daughter recently finished her first year of Montessori school and she loved it! One of my favorite things about school is the artwork she brings home, it seriously brightens my day. And my kitchen walls. For almost three months straight she drew pictures of princesses everyday. But of course, she is after all a four year old girl! Here are a few pictures from this past year.....enjoy!

Georgia O'Keefe

Love when they start to print!

Hard at work painting at home!

Anthuriums & Calla Lilies

My latest floral installation at a retail clothing store here in Victoria featured some gigantic anthuriums. I don't know if I have ever seen such big flowers. For this particular job I need to use long lasting flowers, so  I quite often use orchids. But anthuriums and calla lilies also last just as long. The callas right now have some really sleek long stems which I wanted to use some how in the design. Behind the three large vases I placed two smaller vases filled with a grass. I love the look of layering flowers this way!

Rose Bowl

Remember when you were young, and your grandmother would float a garden rose in a rose bowl? I love enjoying one bloom for it's own beauty and perfection. Not to mention it's easy! Try putting it somewhere special that you will see it numerous times throughout  the day.  Like your desk at work, windowsill at home or perhaps your bedside table.

My modern take on the rose bowl is using a cymbidium orchid with some spun grass inside. Of course both of these look amazing in multiples. They would be nice at each place setting at a dinner party too!

Pink rhododendrons

It was recently my mother-in-laws birthday. I wanted to do up some flowers for the dinner table which I knew she would appreciate as she is a avid gardener and plant lover. My neighbor has a this spectacular bush ( I think it is some kind of butterfly bush) which hangs into my other neighbors yard which allowed me to snip a few pieces for my design. As I just finished snipping the "orange ball flower", I then noticed my neighbors gorgeous pink rhodo with it's orange speckled center right beside me. Perfect!

I then added some lily of the valley greens and some podocarpus and voila! This design only lasted about 3-4 days but I absolutely loved the combo of orange and pink. I had a lot of fun putting this together, and if anyone knows the name of the "orange ball" flower let me know!