Inside the Studio: Busy days of spring

I've been working on a bunch of different projects lately and I hope to share them all with you soon but in the meantime here's just a sampling of some of the pretty things I've surrounded myself with over the last few weeks.

 Oh peonies, peonies, peonies, 'tis the season.

You don't often see me mix white and purple (my old flower friends might gasp!) but this just seemed to work for me and these tulips...sneaky little guys with their "Mysterious" name. Yes, that's really what they are called. Those flower growers over in Holland must love choosing the variety names...makes you wonder what they might be smoking doing when choosing names...ahem.

 Okay so I did it again...more purple and white...what can I tell you?!? It just felt right. And the accent of the cherry branch foliage was the perfect touch.

 A little something for my friends over at Catch for a dinner a few weeks ago. The asked for deep rich cranberry tones, keeping it clean...what do you think?

 I had made these arrangements for a client but then...

 

...they turned into these because of a request to make them a bit more masculine.

What do you think? Were they masculine before or did the yellow make them too feminine?

 

 

 These were great little bundles wrapped with twine to use in a small vase for cocktail tables.

You can see I was a big fan of the "mysterious" tulip while I could get it.

So I've been busy (thank you very much!) and I've been trying to be really good about talking pictures before these loves head out the door so I can share them with all of you!

More to come...

Spring Wedding Flowers

having a spring wedding? most likely you've already chosen the flowers you will be using but if not here are some great options.

• tulips - there are endless varieties of tulips and sometimes i feel like they are constantly growing new ones. don't think about your average single tulips (meaning single layer of petals) that you find at the grocery store or deli. consider special varieties of fringe, pencil, double or parrot varieties.

• hyacinth - they are known for the fragrance and often considered an Easter flower but can be so beautiful when using one type of flower in an arrangement.

• cherry blossom branches - oh, how everyone loves cherry blossom!!! it's a crushing blow to brides when i have to tell them that the only time that they can get cherry is for a few weeks every spring. the white cherry starts and ends earlier than the pink which is usually available from late March until early to mid-May. The timing can fluctuate a bit based on weather and market region.

• peonies - another all time favorite of brides everywhere! the timing of peonies is greatly dependent on season but you will find that if budget is not a concern the season for peonies is greatly increased. with importing from all of over the world commonplace in larger markets you will be able to have peonies in January from places like New Zealand since our seasons are opposite. locally peonies start slowly in mid to late March and last well into June (sometimes July depending on the weather).

any of these options are the perfect addition to a Spring wedding but keep in mind there are many more options to choose from and to combine these flowers with...lilacs, viburnum and hydrangea are just a few. here are some great examples of designs using a mix of spring flowers.

purple hyacinth with calethea leaves

white peonies, blue hydrangea and lemon lime cymbidium orchids

purple lilac, sarah bernard peonies and amnesia roses