Peony - the Luscious Flowers

If you had to award the title of luscious to one flower, wouldn’t you say, peony! Peonies are blessed with abundant petals and hues that range from palest pink to deep rich burgundy. The papery white peony is a favorite with many brides. There are also garden roses, with greater availability that rival the peony. However, for some people, it is the motherlode of flowers!

In this bouquet, I enjoyed the luxurious effect of combining peonies with a variety of roses, lisianthus, hydrangea, foxgloves, goldstrike leucadendra and to top it off, some showy blooms of clematis Henryi from my garden. It’s exciting to have the rare opportunity to nip a few favourites and foliage from my garden.

Bon Mot. Bon Carnation.

A meeting of the Bon Mot Book Club took place on February 13th, 2014, at the Vancouver Club. We chose a Valentine's theme for the centerpieces using carnations in rich shades of red and pink.  Dianthus, long known as flowers of the gods - flowers of love.

In some of the centrepieces, the green dianthus among the hot pinks added warmth and gaiety.

pink n green carnations

As one of the world’s oldest cultivated flowers, the many colours of carnations have assumed different symbols.  Pink, symbolizing a mother’s love, is traditionally given on Mother’s Day.

And by mid-March, many of us think green: Spring, St Patrick’s Day, shamrocks, green beer. And the green carnation! It was the signature flower of Ireland’s beloved poet and playwright, Oscar Wilde, and is the name of a newly launched men’s fragrance, The Green Carnation.

We know that some things will always have their place. The dianthus, flower of the gods, remains.

- Lois

Designing for a Designer

What could be more exciting than designing florals for world class design firm Celine Interiors?  Where each room in this stunning West Vancouver home has exquisite décor;  where fresh flowers sit like jewels?

Enter the living room where the floral on the coffee table provides a centrepiece for the hub of the home.  Huckleberry and leucadenra connect with the wintry landscape outdoors.

The floral provides a centerpiece for the hub of the home

Moving into the dinning room the gold stems of the goblets and rich textures of the place settings are complemented by a minimal arrangement of green cymbidium blooms.

The extensive marble counter in the Kitchen is a perfect foil for this arrangement of colourful “Pig Face”—fruits from a Hawaiian shrub.

A shock of orange roses contrast perfectly with the bold charcoal of the Powder Room.

Powder Room: Fresh bright orange roses contrasting with bold charcoals

Then it’s into the calm of the Master Bedroom. The theme here is white and I've chosen to stay with the softness by combining clear mink protea, silver tree protea, dendrobium orchids and pussy willow branches in a large bedside bouquet.

Clear mink protea, silver tree protea, dendrobium orchids and pussy willow

The white theme continues through to the Ensuite Bathroom where the marble counter has two tiny bouquets of white dendrobium and green cymbidium orchids.

white dendrobium and green cymbidium orchids

-Lois

Wedding Trends: Paris

Hear someone say “Paris” and you immediately think of great food, great art and yes, great fashion!  As far as weddings go, here is what caught my eye on a recent trip.  

green dress

I dodged throngs of peak-hour pedestrians to get a shot of this super chic lime green bridal gown! Multiple layers of green tulle filled the entire shop window. The deeply textured lace bodice clung demurely to the mannequin.

Still dazzled by all that green, I come across a Parisian gem on the cobbled street of Saint Sulpice.  A florist’s greatest delight at the end of a long day of museums and eating!

“Make me a bouquet - florist to florist!” I said to Yannick in my best French.  With a big welcoming smile, he plucked a handful of Pacific Blue roses and local berries - just the touch my apartment needed.

“Come again tomorrow," he said, "I have way more coming!”  The next day his narrow old-world shop was bursting with fresh blooms. But as with all well-heeled florists, space is no hindrance where passion and craft rule.

A green gown may not be in the cards for your wedding day. But why not peak your romance with my stunning green bouquet!

-Lois

Letting the Bride Lead

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Last spring, when Sam came for a wedding consult she said she didn’t know much about flowers, but loved my website and my blogs.

The one thing she was sure of was that she had bought a beautiful white silk flower for her hair and wanted a bouquet to go with it. We looked at many possibilities and Sam happily chose an elegant white orchid bouquet.

Just before leaving, as Sam chose a complementary vase in which I would deliver her bouquet she spotted some dyed blue dendrobium orchids, which I had special ordered for someone. I almost never buy them and have never recommended them to a bride. Sam became very excited: “What are they called? What a great colour!”  Aquamarine - the stone in the ring her sister gave her and which she planned to wear on her wedding day!

This flower spoke to Sam in a way I had no way of knowing. I was completely caught up in her story and saw the flowers through her eyes.

We went back to the couch!

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By the time Sam left, I had come up with the perfect design, incorporating dyed blue dendrobium orchids and white disbud mums-the star-shaped disbud, closely resembling her hair decoration.

-Lois