Flowers for Patients at Lions Gate Hospital

For over 12 years I’ve supplied flowers for the gift shop at Lions Gate Hospital. I also receive many phone calls from family and friends with messages of love and hope they want to convey. Often they struggle, trying to find just the right words. 

It’s an honour to use the language of flowers to deliver these messages, whether the occasion is to celebrate the birth of a baby or to express caring for a loved one who is not well.

I think of each bouquet as a little ray of sunshine arriving at a bedside.

Designing Flowers for Gordon and Marion Smith Foundation

It is always such a pleasure to create centrepieces for the Gordon and Marion Smith Foundation fundraising luncheons at the Capilano Golf Club in West Vancouver. I am inspired by the tableau of flowers that arrive with spring, the well-appointed elegance of the club, and best of all, the spirit of charity which is at the heart of the luncheon, and to which the centrepieces contribute.

Hanging Amaranthus

I first saw Amaranthus in a nursery – a whole field of red ones - and understood why they are commonly called “love lies bleeding.” Dramatic droplets of velvet are suspended from stately stalks. I was smitten. I bought a whole van full of them and made curtains everywhere in my studio. They grew more intense and tactile as they dried.

Then I designed this red garland, which a couple bought for their Christmas wedding celebration, and which still hangs ten years later in their home in Horseshoe Bay.

Three Pink Roses

I love the juxtaposition of these fresh pink roses and the ancient iron grill work. Each has their own beauty and character as they age. Some rose buds open into full bloom and let their petals fall into a lovely potpourri mound. Others keep their form as their colours fade into soft, velvet tones.

People  sometimes ask me, “Will these flowers last?”  The answer is “Yes.”

A Favorite Tree

This Contorted Locust (Robinia Crispa) tree, reminds me of a low-growing mango tree I used to climb with my brother. It was friendly like this locust, with horizontal branches, easy to reach. It also had a bushy character, great for hiding out. Mangoes too, of course!

I love the cascading, bright green leaves, which are almost translucent on a sunny day. The leaf form also reminds me of one of my favorite flowers, amaranthus, which you can see hanging sweetly from this bouquet of pink peonies, roses, lisianthus and coral fern.