To create with flowers grown, with my hands and heart, adds a level of connection to every arrangement I make. No matter how simple or small, each piece is living art that tells our story. Every bloom a gift from mother nature, one I’m lucky to work with and preserve. Even if for a brief moment in time.
For a short moment in time, the garden blooms in visions of a purple hued rainbow. You can take a walk through my garden here, and read more about each flower, including some gardening tips and fun facts. From Iris to Clematis, Allium and Bluebell, each one a statement. This year my intention is to create arrangements spotlighting each singular bloom, from large and lush to small dainty bouquets, and below you’ll find just that…
B L U E B E L L S
My wandering glances fell
Upon a little trembling flower,
A single sweet bluebell…
bluebells seemed like fairy gifts
A prize among the flowers. — Anne Brontë
Known as the “fairy flower,” Bluebells are an enchanting and iconic Spring flower attracting bees and butterflies…a sure sign of the season’s evolution. As much as I love wild and organic bouquets, there’s something quite magical about small single flower bouquets. As if simply picked from the garden and tied with ribbon, they’re an innately romantic gift of Mother Nature. Over two dozen Spanish bluebell were arranged in a bouquet using the spiral method, and tied off with a silk ribbon. These small romantic bouquets are gaining popular amongst brides and their bridesmaids, but also make lovely gifts.
A L L I U M & L A R K S P U R
The remedy for almost all things…F L O W E R S. Not to merely look at, but to feel nature within our hands. To pause our minds, flow with the breeze and slow-moving clouds. To grow and design with flowers is always a moment; one to reset, recharge and reconnect…
…And one that can always delightfully surprise you. I certainly live by the notion that green pairs beautifully with just about every color. And lately I’ve been surprised at how drawn I am to greens and purples. In this piece, the deep violet hues of garden Allium and Larkspur, become even more vibrant and whimsically designed in a matcha green hued vessel.
To garden is to care deeply, inclusively, and audaciously for the world outside our homes and our heads. It’s a way of being that is intimately interwoven with the real truths of existence—not the things we’re told to value {money, status, ownership}, but the things that actually matter {sustenance, perspective, beauty, connection, growth}. — Georgina Reid, Audacious Gardening: On Daring to Care
I R I S
When you don’t work with floral foam, mechanics become an even more important part of floral design. Yet sometimes we rush, we overlook crucial steps and mistakes happen. And it’s important to share failures as lessons, even when we’re professionals.
Rushing to get a piece done before the natural light disappeared, I was photographing near an open window when the wind started picking up. One of my flower frogs wasn’t secured well, and so the taller stems began to sway and eventually toppled everything over. If this was for an event, I absolutely would’ve made a tape grid and been extra careful with how secure the flower frogs were. But I was being a bit lazy, forwent proper mechanics and this arrangement was a fail…
I didn’t get annoyed, I did it to myself. So I gathered the flowers and simply placed them in another container that would hold them well in plenty of water. It was still nice and I managed to create something with the bountiful Iris before their season was over. But more importantly a reminder of the importance of mechanics in floral design…
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