Summer Wedding Unity Candle

Yesterday, our Weddings & Events class came together to create H’s wedding flowers. Each of us worked on a different set of arrangements, and after I finished teaching my morning Floral Design III: Silks & Drieds class I arranged her unity candle design. This design included Roses, Germini’s, Wax Flower, Stock, Spray Mums, Statis, Hosta, Leather Leaf, English Ivy, and Veronica.

Big Southern Garden Wedding

This past week I had the privilege of helping Beth Hohensee AIFD, owner of Studio Flora Diva, and 8 others with a HUGE wedding in Lexington, NC.  It was an incredible learning experience!

"L" Wedding

If you happended to be at the Michigan Floral Association's Great Lakes Expo this past March, you would recognize the inspiration for this bridal bouquet.  Sorry to say, I didn't have the designer's full name in my photo so I can't give them credit here - really wish I could though!  What a great idea! 

"L's" wedding this weekend is a small, family affair so simplicity was their request!  A bridal bouquet, boutonniere, and two centerpieces for the poolside wedding.

Two Lakes Wreath

Two Lakes Campground in Drummond, WI was a second home to my family in the summers.  As a child, my dad spent countless hours in Boy Scouts walking the shoreline of Lake Owen, and years later it's where I spent hours watching waves come in.  My great-grandparents settled there after immigrating from Norway, in part, because the towering forests reminded them of home - a deep feeling I share with them more than 100 years later.

Everything about this design reminds me of Two Lakes and the connection I have to the Drummond area; the birch, pine, and driftwood, the mosses, and delicate forest flowers.  In an instant, it brings me back to the shoreline of Lake Owen.

A Passion for Gardening

Recently, I discovered my passion for gardening.  My husband and I have been doing more than we ever had in the gardens this year; transplanting, container gardening, tilling, weeding, putting in a retaining wall, sod, and a vegetable garden, not to mention replanting the pond area.  Every day has been the same: go to work, hurry back and change into gardening clothes, and hurry outside to get one more project finished.  This spring has hands down been the best I can remember!  There's something about digging in the garden that gives us such a sense of accomplishment. 
If you share this obsession, you know, as I discovered this year, that the gardening center is among one of the most dangerous places around - next to the antique and thrift shops, of course.  Today was no exception, although I had good reason for spending almost $200!  A client of mine requested "something different" for centerpieces, and loved the photos of vibrant flowers and plants in galvanized pails.  She's not the only ones who loved to be next to the pretty pots!

 

Pretty in Pink

Soft pinks and whites have been my colors of choice during this semester's European Floral Design class, and our last assignment was no exception!  Create a bouquet in an Oasis holder with a collar made from tulle wrapped foam core.  Pay no attention to the crumpled flowers - I dropped it just as I was leaving the classroom, and the lily bud that had a mind of its own and didn't want to follow the line formed by the tulips, grass, and Lisianthus buds.... we'll just blame that on the fall!

Copper Comfort Wreath

This wreath has been on my front door since December, and if I had my way, it would be up all year long!  Copper is my comfort color, and birch, twigs, and frosted pine cones are a just a few of my favorite things!