Persimmon wedding

We did a lovely wedding this weekend.  The colors were persimmon and grey and we expanded that to include pinky persimmons and silvery grey and all the persimmon colors in between...This picture is the sweetheart table arrangement.

Two photos of new work - one with orange pin cushions, roses, red hypericum, poppy pods and safari sunset protea.  The other with lavender roses, blooming lambs ears, newly blossoming lavender hydrangea and nigella. 

Daphne's wedding

Yesterday was the wedding of Daphne and Dave.  The were married at a farm in Potomac, MD and we were happy to do the flowers.  They ceremony was in a wonderful barn and the reception in a huge tent.  We used our shutters for the place cards.  In the barn was an old ruined piano that we decorated with plants, moss, succulents and branches.   I found an old piece of sheet music that we propped on the keyboard.   We made some nice loose wild arrangements for the barn with queen anne's lace, grasses from my garden, lime green foliage and a little delphinium.    The reception centerpieces were made with lime green mohito hydrangeas, white gerbera and daisies and ruskus foliage.   After a spate of cold weather they were lucky to have lovely weather for their day.

Lily of the valley

We have a nice bed of lily of the valley in front of the house but I have never had a bride at the time it was blooming (except for my daughter who got married this weekend - but in Chicago and that is another story).

Anyway, this is a nice picture sent from a friend in NJ who takes lovely photos and makes interesting art works, Mark Nolden.  You can google him and see what he does.

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.

Ikebana

I am a sporadic student of ikebana - it is all dependent on my flower orders.  I always learn so much when I go and I think it is having a positive effect on my work.  It is a study for a lifetime and occasionally I get a glimpse of what it is all about.

Anyway, yesterday the practice was shoka shimputai.  3 different types of materials in a line, front to back with a couple of inches of clean stem showing above the rim of the vase.  I bought some wonderful arrowhead shaped anthirium leaves and had the yellow ranuculus on hand.  My teacher grows black pussy willow which I am trying to root so I can grow it myself. 

The large leaf is of course the star, but the pussy willow and the ranuculus are fine supporting players.

Woven twigs

Another experiment.  I was working with some birch twigs - I always have a lot on hand - my neighbors in back have a row of river birches that shed their branches constantly.  I was going to do a french weave on the inside of the vase and instead hooked the twigs onto the rim and had the longer sections fall outside.

I filled the inside with carnations and like how their fluffy soft look contrast with the spiky twigs.

Experiments

Today I am messing around.  I saw an incredible arrangement on Facebook and am shamelessly lifting from the design.  I made a wall of red twig dogwood sticks around the perimeter of the gold vase and then put a garland of flowers on top - I love this idea.  I used green cymbidium orchids, and green spider mums on the top with some seeded eucalyptus and philodendrum, aspedistra and ruskus leaves.

Luckily I have a stash of dogwoods at the house and have now chopped them all as low as I can to get the sticks I need.  I may have to head across the street to my in-laws to get to more.

CARE reception

Last week the people from CARE had a reception at the French Embassy.  They chose orange and yellow tablecloths and I used pink and coral flowers to make it all a bit spring like.  I used pink roses, green spider mums, pink and apricot carnations, pink and yellow alstromeria and yellow button mums with a touch of silver blue eucalyptus to tone it all done a bit.

Ikebana freestyle

Last week in ikebana class we did freestyle arrangements with wired narcissus leaves.  It was surprisingly easy to thread a fine wire up thru the entire length of the leaf and then bend it into nice curvy shapes.  In this piece the flowers stay below the top curved leaves and are not the real focal points.  I wanted to echo the curve of the container and the curve of the orange tulip stems.  The last part was the curved and folded aspidistra leaves on the left.

Event at the Canadian Embassy

I also did the flowers for an event at the Canadian Embassy yesterday.  I expanded on a small arrangement I made a few weeks ago - one that included pincushions, roses, tulips and some grass.  For the larger version I added in callas, flax leaves and several colors of roses and tulips.  I also made a tiny version for the coffee tables.

Luncheon flowers

Yesterday I did the flowers for a luncheon.  I have done many events in this home and I am always thinking about the decor and color palette of the interior.  It is fun to have these parameters and I think it creates an air of sophistication to have such an integrated look for an event. 

Wedding color ideas

I am working with a bride and groom whose wedding is in June.  We went to the wholesaler the other day and they picked out some flowers and colors they liked.  The groom had the good idea of my providing an early Valentine bouquet in the flowers the bride liked.  They are taking dance lessons so as a surprise from the groom, I brought the flowers over to the dance studio. 

For this piece I used bright blue delphinium, blue hydrangea, flame callas, orange roses, green hypericum, yellow mokara orchids and varigated pittosporum.

Tone on Tone Birthday

Loi's birthday is today.  He is the owner of Tone on Tone, an incredible European antique store in Bethesda.  His emphasis is on pieces from Sweden and the store has a moody tone. 

I took over an arrangement that was green and white with a large variety of flowers and greens.  I used green hydrangea, white roses, tulips, astrancia and ranuculus, grey dusty miller,  Green eryngeum, gardenia leaves, and hanging amaranthus.   And the element we both loved the most, Australian tree fern that adds some frothy spikiness. 

Birthday arrangement

Yesterday I delivered this arrangement.  I love the colors in this - my favorite lime green/

grey/burgandy color story with pink accents.  I used grey Dusty Miller, lime green hydrangeas, dark pink proteas, purplish black mini anthiriums, gren hypericum berries,  red spray roses,  tan Sahara roses, pussy willow and gardenia leaves that look like green patent leather. 

Reality floral design

Today I had a challenge.  I had to make 2 medium buffet arrangements, 2 centerpieces and 4 small cocktail pieces on a very slim budget and the client wanted something that would make a statement.
I bought 2 stems of large cymbidium orchids, 2 bunches of spider mums and 5 large varigated leaves.  I had on hand some small white mums and eucalyptus greens.

I used everything - I cut a varigated leaf in half down the stem and used it to line the centerpiece vases and filled the vase with mums and some individual cymbidiums.  For the buffet pieces I used two of the large leaves and 1/2 of the cymbidium stems.  The small pieces consisted of just one mum and one cymbidum.   I love to use masses of flowers but sometimes it is fun to see what I can do with only a few elements.

Glass flowers

This is a bouquet of glass flowers owned by a friend.  There is some history here but I have to admit I don't really remember it,  I am just so taken by the object itself.  What a great wedding bouquet for just the right bride.