A Certain Vintage

Ruffly ‘Green Spice’ heuchera foliage pulls together the mocha-colored vintage vase and the deep burgundy sweet William flowers

Ingredients:

A Bit of Purple Heaven

A wistful arrangement of blue, purple and plum flowers looks awesome in a chartreuse vase.

Ingredients:

The little “dancing” bottlebrushes are called burnet, or Sanguisorba menziesii.

5 stems dark purple lilacs (Syringa vulgaris), grown by Sunshine Crafts and Flowers

Joyeux Anniversaire

I created this bouquet as a birthday gift for my friend Carrie Krueger. The soft and feminine
gathering of blooms, paired with a vintage butter-yellow Wedgwood Jasperware trumpet vase, makes a complete package.

Top view: so sweet~

5 stems hot-pink peonies (variety unknown), harvested from my garden

Pitchers of Poppies

Why do we love poppies so much? Perhaps it’s because of their pure, vibrant petal colors with the charming button-like centers.

This arrangement, in a clear glass vase, showcases yellow Icelandic poppies, paired with variegated Astrantia and apple mint foliage.

A Softer Side of Green

An unexpected combination, inspired by the pale ‘Supergreen’ hybrid tea roses given to me by the grower

This sweet detail shows the delicate features of the apricot verbascum and the varietgated Star of Bethlehem

Ingredients:

FIRST PEONIES OF THE SEASON

These luscious red peonies from a local grower reflect the garnet-colored art glass and complement two forms of ornamental allium.

The lady’s mantle foliage is absolutely the BEST for spring bouquets. And if your garden is like mine, it’s super abundant right now!

Ingredients:
10 stems red peonies, grown by Ojeda Farms
7 stems each ‘Purple Sensation’ and ‘Cowanii’ ornamental alliums, grown by Choice Bulb Farms
12 stems lady’s mantle foliage (Alchemilla mollis), harvested from my garden

Vase:
9-inch tall x 5-inch diameter hand-blown glass vase

Design 101
Create a collar: You can use flowers or foliage to ring the base of a bouquet or arrangement as a finishing detail. This technique is usually done as the bouquet’s last step. For this arrangement, I pre-cut the greenery and then added it beneath the peonies, slightly overlapping each stem as I worked around the circumference of the bouquet. Here, the lady’s mantle visually separates the dark red peonies from the wine-red vase.

Still Life With Flowers

A wine crate serves as a shadowbox for this sweet spring bouquet of white lilacs and ranunculus in a bright pastel palette.

Grower Vivian Larson’s delectable spring ranunculus are in big demand by floral designers.

Ingredients:

10 stems lilac (Syringa vulgaris), grown by Oregon Coastal Flowers

12 stems Ranunculus asiaticus, including ‘La Belle’ and ‘Super Green’ varieties, grown by Everyday Flowers

Vase:

5-inch tall x 5-inch wide x 3-inch deep vase (overall height is 5½ inches)

From the Farmer

Extending the vase life: For decades, it’s been the conventional wisdom of florists that woody shrubs, such as lilacs and hydrangeas, benefit from a second cut, a vertical slice up the center of the stem, to increase the surface area that can absorb water. But according to professors Lane Greer and John M. Dole, authors of Woody Cut Stems for Growers and Florists, a research-based reference, the practice “has never been proven to extend vase life.” The best thing you can do is to use clean, sharp pruners and refresh the vase water every day or so.

Jewel Tones

This indigo-blue vase is a favorite of mine. Love it with fucshia anemones, bachelor’s buttons and white tulips.

Ingredients:

12 stems fuchsia anemones (Anemone coronaria ‘Galilee Pink), grown by Everyday Flowers

8 stems pearl bush (Exochorda x macrantha), grown by J. Foss Garden Flowers

6 stems bachelor’s buttons (Centaurea cyanus), harvested from my garden

7 stems white tulips, grown by Alm Hill Gardens

Vase:

8-inch tall x 6-inch diameter round vase with 5-inch opening

Stunning detail shows those velvety black button-like centers of the anemones.

Design 101

Color wheel lesson: The flowers and vase combination illustrate an analogous color palette. Analogous colors are adjacent to one another on the color wheel. Fuchsia, purple and indigo are pleasing when viewed together because they each share varying quantities of the primary color blue. White floral accents offset the black centers of the anemones, adding a graphic punch to this composition.

Here’s what I’ve been up to lately. I traveled to Southern California all of last week  – from Saturday, April 13th through Saturday, April 20th.  I experienced many great highlights; too many to mention. Here are some of them:

Tours focused on the entire process – from planting and growing to harvesting and grading. Mums, also known as pom poms, are one of the last commercially grown flowers still grown in soil.

Fun to wear the VIP badge!

Chalkboard welcome at Padaro Floral in Carpinteria, California

DAY One: Carpinteria Greenhouse & Nursery Tour, sponsored by the California Cut Flower Commission. I was hosted by Harry and Michele Van Wingerden, the great folks at Myriad Roses and Padaro Floral Design for a day of book-signings and eco-floral demonstrations. A special thanks to the Van Wingerden family, CCFC CEO/Ambassador Kasey Cronquist and Event Planner Anna Kalins for making it a successful and enjoyable day!

Erin Taylor, designer of flowers, interiors, landscapes and more~ The talented owner of botanik in Summerland, California hosted my lovely book event.

DAY Two: Book signing and flower demos at botanik in Summerland. Loved spending time with very talented owner Erin Taylor and her team. After several hours at botanik, I met up with Cristi Walden and we headed to Sea Crest Nursery, her father Jack Stevenson’s palm and cycad collection. It was so exciting to return to this beautiful place and hear how my talented friend is learning the business of growing and selling amazing landscaping plants (oh, and propagating, too!).

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