Valentine's Day - Beyond the Rose

As a floral designer you can have mixed emotions about valentine's day. You can either look at it with a sense of dread knowing the craziness that is sure to come or you can look forward to the energy that comes with knowing you have so many people anxiously awaiting to give or receive this simple expression of love. I prefer the latter.

And contrary to the tasteless opinion of one particular big market florist, it's not just romantic love (and that's giving a little class to the real message they were sending).

Remember everyone this valentine's day and send them a little love. Think beyond the traditional red rose, PLEASE, I beg of you. Be open to other flower options, there are many and they are all beautiful.

I'm are already taking orders for Valentine's Day and will be up until February 13th. 

To ensure quality and delivery we will not be taking same day orders. 

send an email anne@bladenyc.com

give a shout 917-723-3577

Flower Market Finds: Local Flowers

Late July through the fall brings about a great local flower season. It's always a treat to visit the market and see the many bundles of flowers wrapped in brown paper lining the sidewalks outside some of my favorite vendors. When you see these bundles you know you are in for a great find. Today we had hydrangea, cocks comb (celosia), lady's mantle, asclepia, zinnias and dahlias. The dahlias start slowly but once they are in full swing they are readily available in amazing tones (that lend themselves to fall and jewel toned color palettes). It's great to be able to use local flowers when it's the right season to do so...and now it is.


Zinnias


Asclepia

Cocks Comb (Celosia)


Lady's Mantle, Hydrangea, Millet


Dahlias

Behind the scenes: Shopping for flowers

Back in April we took part in the Modern Tablescape Challenge over at Brooklyn Bride. While this end up being the final submission we did have a few designs that we played around with before choosing. I'll post those over the next few days but today I thought I would give you a little peek into the behind the scenes process of shopping for the flowers.
Sara Wasilausky was my teammate on the challenge and took some beautiful images of everything.

A view of the flower market early Saturday morning.

Vibrant pin cushion protea - we ended up choosing the yellow variety.

Thought about using this amazing palm leaf as a vessel but decided to go in another direction. Pretty common to start with one idea in mind and then be swayed in another direction by all the amazing options to choose from.

Rows and rows of tulips, hyacinth, ranunculus and other seasonal beauties.

Here I am choosing the final bunch of pin cushions.

These amazing open cut white calla lilies are not always available so I couldn't resist grabbing some for at least one of the table set-ups. My hands are also full with craspedia and waxflower as I make the final choices.

Nicky from Associated Cut Flowers and I catch up on the happenings in the market and new flower arrivals as he writes up our invoice.

Just another day for Fat Cat at Gpage.

A visit to the flower market can really give you a new perspective on your original design and help you better define the direction it will take. It's a great experience and I always welcome couples to take a trip with me to explore all the options available for their wedding flowers.

Stay tuned for our other table set-up options that we didn't end up using for the challenge.

This Little Piggy Goes to the Market

after more than 10 years of visiting the flower market (often at the wee hours of the morning) you begin to look at some of the people there as a second family. an interesting, eclectic mix of people who begin their day at an hour when most people are either still sleeping or finishing up the night before.
so as my family grew to include this little guy we often make the early morning trip together. he loves it even though he is shying away from the camera here he spends most of his time flirting with anyone who will have him.
it makes those early mornings surrounded by beautiful flowers just a little more beautiful.