We are going to a Hukilau

When I was in elementary school we had a cherry blossom festival each spring.  For some reason one year we did the hula to the song "We are going to a Hukilau".  Tonight I was reminded of all this as I set up the flowers for a luau themed sweet 16.  Here are the photos.  I used lots of green cymbidium, Free Spirit orange roses, green mums, gold cymbidium, large and small philodendrom leaves, green anthirium, pinky yellow Dahlias, hanging and upright Heleconia, lotus pods, safflower, Mambo sprays and black callas.  It all worked out and I was singing that d@#m song the whole time...

Dinner at Holton

Today we made arrangements for a dinner at Holton.  I used Zazu roses - they are a lemon/lime color with a red edge - a very unusual coloration.  I added Safari Sunset protea, red yarrow,  and Avalanche greens - not sure exactly what shrub this is but reddish stems with mottled lime green and cream foliage.  The buffet piece is an assymetrical design - not the usual for me but fun to do.

Hydrangeas 2012

This year is the best crop of hydrangeas ever.   The plants are about 7 feet tall and the colors range from pale pink to purple to blue.   I can't wait to use them in arrangements.

Alum party at Landon

Tonight there is a party for Landon alums on campus.   They chose pale yellow and white tablecloths and we made bright yellow centerpieces for them.  We used Gold Strike roses, poppy pods, ladies mantle, yellow yarrow, brezillia berries and grey dusty miller for a sophisticated touch.

Landon party

We also did an event at Landon last week.  We used pink tulips, pink wax, pink/gold spray roses and Sahara roses. 

Luncheon at Holton

We made some small arrangements for a lunch at Holton last week.  Free Spirit orange roses with blue cornflowers and yellow mums in tiny vases that we arranged together to make one large centerpiece so the guests could take them home.

St. Albans dinner

On Thursday we made some arrangements for a dinner party at the headmaster's house.  We used brown cymbidum orchids, Black Beauty an  Sanna roses, cream tulips, blue cornflowers, lime berzillia berries and rolled red ti leaves.  We put two stems of brown mini cymbidums with some large flowers at the base.  It was a vibrant color combination against the royal blue tablecloths.

Bouquets from Seattle

A friend sent me this photo of some bouquets he bought to greet his visiting family.  He got them at a market in Seattle and I loved the beautiful color stories they tell.

Iris Peony arrangement

I have been making some upright front facing arrangements with horsetail and orchids for some time but a client wanted more English garden flowers in a piece that was constructed in that way.  This is the result, vibrant blue irises, pink peonies and varigated ivy in a gold ceramic container.

House party

One last event from yesterday.  A continuation of the blue and white theme - blue hydrangeas and white callas for two pieces and a euycalptus tower with white roses and thistle  placed in between the layers.

UMD Graduation

We also did some flowers for a UMD graduation at their Shady Grove, MD campus yesterday.  They wanted blue and white colors, so we got a lot of blue hydrangea in a range of blues and made some pieces on tall glass risers, low arrangements in two shapes and some small cabaret table pieces. We used white gerbers in two sizes, white lisianthus, blue thistle and varigated pittosporum.    They filled the tall risers with blueberries to enhance the blue color theme.

Luncheon flowers

Some simple arrangements for a luncheon at the Sulgrave Club at Dupont Circle yesterday.  Lovely pink tulips, baby green hydrangeas, garden euphorbia, pink wax flower and varigated pittosporum. 

Saturday's Bride

This is a picture of the beautiful Kasia who got married on Saturday at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington.   I worked on this wedding with my friend Terry who made this wonderful peony and ranuculus bouquet.

Spring Posey

A bird's eye view of a little spring posy.  Pink tulips, green viburnum from my garden, pink rice flower and a couple of cream roses.

Business lesson

I made this little piece at a meeting of my independent floral designers group (IFDA).  We had a workshop in which each of us got a slip of paper with instructions to make a specific piece within a specific price range.  My instructions were to make an arrangement to be given to a new hire (a man) for his desk, something zen and masculine for the retail cost of $75.  I came up with this - gold cymbidium orchids within a red twig dogwood framework, with some chartreuse moss, stones and a burgandy grass.  It was a fun exercise. 

Yard Art + Delivery

Today I delivered 23 little arrangements:  a horsetail background, tropical leaf and orchids and seeded eucalyptus in front on most and the addition of a calla leaf and brunia berries in a few others.    These went to Matisse Restaurant as favors for a thank you luncheon.  On the way I passed a riotous front yard on Fessenden St. with lots of great art.  Such fun to see.  One of the perks of driving around making deliveries.

FDR Memorial color studies

I went down to the FDR Memorial the other day.  The cherry trees were losing their petals and it was beautiful to see.  Pink petals all over the granite stones and plants.  The plantings in the memorial are maturing and soften the look of all that stone.  The first photo is of a pine tree interwoven with a blooming maple.  The second is of the petals on an about to bloom red azalea.

Landon party

They are having a party over at Landon tonight.  In part, it celebrates the return to the house after a fire in November.  I continued my tropical theme this time with apricot tulips, brezillia berries, mimosa, kangaroo pods, flax leaves and baby monsteras in  pinched waist vases.  

Today's arrangements

This morning I made some pieces for a fund raising dinner tonight.  The client wanted some small yellow arrangements for her kitchen and a large dramatic orchid piece for her living room.  I used yellow Finesse roses, yellow mimosa, Viking mums with varigated pittosporum for the kitchen flowers.  For the orchid arrangement I used 3 large brown cymbidium stalks, flax leaves, brown kangaroo paws, yellow mimosa and 2 baby monstera leaves.

Wednesday ikebana

Yesterday we made arrangements in the shoka shimputai style.  Our teacher has a black pussy willow plant in her yard and I used those branches with gold cymbidum orchids and some small eucalyptus twigs.  You can hardly go wrong with such strong elements.

Basket design

I made a little arrangement in a basket the other day.  I have little call for this type of thing but it is always fun to work on something like this.  Pink roses, novelty carnations, white tulips, white filler, pink larkspur and 3 types of foliage. 

Dinner party at Holton

On Sunday I made a few arrangements for a dinner party at Holton.  We used the Holton plaid for tablecloths and I used flowers that would go with the colors in the design:  blue iris, Vendela and Golda roses, some rolled gold speckled leaves and a little seeded eucalyptus.  I never tire of this type of arrangement - it may not be a design breakthrough, but it is always pretty.

Ikebana Class

Today in ikebana class we made some shapes with wood veneer and used those shapes as part of our arrangement.  I used an anthrium flower and crocodyllus foliage rolled and unrolled. 

French embassy event

Tonight I delivered a couple of buffet pieces down to the French embassy for an event.  They wanted tall buffet pieces with a modern tropical look.  I used anthiriums, orchids - green dendrobiums and green cymbidium, orange double parrots, brezillia berries, orange pincushions and several kinds of tropical leaves.

Flowers for Claire

My client Claire had a baby a few weeks ago and I have been running flowers over to her since.  This is the 3rd piece I made for her -  I used lovely garden roses with beautiful greenish cream hydrangeas, cream spray roses and princess pine in a cylindrical vase.