Busy

I am so busy that I can't even remember what these pieces were for - maybe for the Canadian ambassador's wife's lunch, but who knows?

Anyway, peaches and cream - 3 pieces that work together....peach roses, white tulips, white veronica, peach hypericum, cream roses and apricot ranuculus, I love this color palette.

Harry Belefonte

Harry Belefonte !

received the Eleanor Roosevelt award at the Women's National Democratic Club last week and I was happy to do the flowers and to attend.  My sister in law arranged the event, she and my mother in law presented the award, and one of the speakers was a long ago high school classmate.  Next year we should do the catering as well!

Anyway, the flowers were pinks, corals and lime green, a little touch of tropicals mixed with roses and other flowers.

Harry Belefonte was every bit as elegant and stately in his 80s as when he was younger.  He told some stories about the things that propelled him toward a life as a civil rights activist and about his friendship with Eleanor.  It was a wonderful evening. 

Today's ikebana arrangements

Today at ikebana class the teacher had a huge bucket of double cherry blossoms which we were lucky enough to use in our arrangements.  Such fun to find the perfect arc of a branch to express the ideal of this particular botanical.  A calla leaf and pink ranuculus completed the piece.  The second piece was a little more playful - I used curved pussy willow, dried calathea leaves, looped lily grass and a calla leaf.

An arrangement for Ducks

Today I did this arrangement for a reception for Ducks Unlimited.  I wanted the piece to evoke a marsh so I used some dried grasses, purple Queen Anne's lace, Sahara roses, pale yellow ranuculus,

blue scabiosa, seeded eucalyptus, grevillia greens and a small protea.  I put everything in a birch bark lined glass vase.

Winter wonderland (in May)

Today I worked on a sample for a winter themed lunch in May - this is the first iteration - a few more ideas to follow.  White anemones, white roses, grey brunia and dusty miller, seeded eucalyptus and white astrancia in a birch covered vase sitting on a branch section.

Calla lilies

A new take on the submerged flower idea - calla lilies in and out of the cylinder with calla lily leaves wrapped around the interior stems...

Wedding arrangement sample

Today I am messing around with some ideas for a wedding at a winery in Charlottesville in June.  The bride wants bold bright colors, I want to bring in some idea of the winery - we will see how they like it.  I used the flame callas, orange roses, Blue River delphinium, green hypericum, and yellow Mokara orchids that she liked, as well as some dark fuschia stock and fuschia wax flower.  Instead of my usual round flower bomb I tried an assymetrical piece with the callas spilling over the side, the various in flowers in tight groupings and curly willow (standing in for grapevine)  rising from the vase and sheltering the piece.  This is just an experiment and we will see how it goes.

Long low arrangments

Here is another long low piece - peach roses, hellebores from my garden - Ivory Prince, flat ferns, white Eskimo roses, ranuculus peach hypericum, pussy willow, white parrot tulips and varigated greens. 

Dinner party

Tonight I did the flowers for a dinner party at Landon. I am doing lots of long low pieces these days - for this one I put three small glass glass squares together.    I used 3 color of parrot tulips - a dark red, a tomato red and an apricot, Euphoria roses and a tomato red ranuculus mix.   It was a nice bright piece.