Have you seen these gorgeous pink proteas?  They are fuzzy on the outer petals and moody pink/ burgundy on the inside. They are an exotic flower that is really cool to design with. Here – I paired it with red roses. This particular rose is named ‘Freedom’ and is a bit more burgundy than other red roses. You can see the dark black Tai leaves in the background. I bent one over and taped it to give interest to this design. A hint of white spray spider mums is showing in the bottom right of this pic. I loved the way the white mums pop against that dark black Tai leaf!  These flowers I got from my wholesaler, Hillcrest Gardens Inc. in Paramus, NJ. I have not seen these lovely proteas in shop rite or A&P stores yet….but your local florist could order you some. Expect to pay within $5.00 -$7.00 for one stem if you do look for them.  Just a close-up of a cool design to share with you. Thanks to Taylor from Aevum Photography for the great pic.

The other evening I had the opportunity to share some fresh flower designs with a nice group at Bernard’s Township Library in Basking Ridge, NJ.  Eloise Branden, www.everylittledetailconcierge.com,  offered to take some photos for me of the designs I made!  I don’t often get pics of the designs at the Library Demonstrations because they are raffled off quite fast and put in the hands of the winners, and thus wisked out the door!  So this was a treat – Thank you again Eloise.  This particular design started off with a bubble bowl, then fresh curly willow branches were added and wrapped around the inside of the bowl. Then- these multiple head tulips were added, along with alstromieria and some yellow roses. Then pieces of curly willow  were added out the top of the design for height and interest.  A faux moss garland was then placed around the rim of the bowl – at the base of the fresh flowers to finish it off.  An easy, breezy design for any spring occasion : )

  One of my favorite spring blooms…LILACS!  An exciting sign of warmer weather to come.  My lilacs JUST popped into bloom 2 days ago.  Now, with the badly needed rainfall, they should be all the way bloomed when the sun hits them again!  Because of their woody stems, I like to cut the ends once one way, then again the opposite way.  This helps water to be absorbed better. This is similar to crushing them but I like the criss- cross cut better.  The lilacs look so pretty placed in a vase of water where their blooms sit just above the vase rim.  This way it allows room for the lengthy bloom to ‘lay’ nicely.  Add some stems just a touch longer to the center to keep the arrangement from looking too flat.  I used one of my antique vases here.  Another fun design to do with fresh lilacs is a French Wrap.  Gather the lilacs in your hand and move the stems around til you have a nice shape with the blooms.  Then tie the stems together or just lay them on a piece of clear cello. Water tube the ends or wrap just a couple inches up from the ends with drenched paper towel.  Start at one corner of the cello and roll the bouquet of flowers til the cello overlaps on itself.  Take a pretty ribbon that matches, I used lavender gingham here, and tie in a knot or bow, whichever you prefer.  And there you have it!  Two designs to make use of those lovely scented blooms! My husband and I were invited for coffee  to our friends’ house so I brought them this cute bouquet.  Share your fresh lilacs with someone today!

Take a theme of ‘Wine Country‘ and put it into a physical design. That’s what I did for a party last Saturday.  Begin with your container, add soaked oasis, and wine glass! (see pic).  Flowers chosen were Beautiful Quicksand Roses with the new Moon Series Carnations, (cool shades of purple and lavender), and purple wax flower.  An armature of the rose stems from the flowers I just used in the design was created in a ‘tee-pee’ style above the design.  Fresh moss and real grapes finished off this Themed Design, as well as Angel Hair swished all around.  OH! I forgot to mention that  there was a wine glass laying down with a rose head floating inside.       : )   Such fun…   Book me for your group’s next meeting to share more Armature Designs!

  I’m so excited about this!  You know how your hyacinths get so full and just topple over outside? Well, here’s an idea I saw in my new Florists’ Review magazine, (page 36).  First, Remove the florets, (the little blooms all along the stem), and put them on a wire, all in the same direction, right up against each other, to create a garland.  Then make another one and twist the two together and place in a vase.  Allow the wire to be seen through the glass.  I then separated the two garlands by pushing the floret loops gently away from each other to make the ‘loop look’ here.  Four pretty daffodils were placed at different heights into the same jar.  I then added loops of wire for interest.  What a fun way to enjoy that sweet smelling over-blooming hyacinth for a few more days!  I was surprised by how easy this was : ).   Give it a try!

  EVERY year I get excited when the peonies in my garden spring up out of the ground! Not the bloom mind you- just the plant.  The bloom seems to take FOREVER!!!! I dream about seeing that little ball get bigger and bigger then finally explode into a gorgeous scented flower. But I wait… and wait… So far there are stalks about one foot tall.  I’ve already started that ‘spring thing’ of peering at my bulbs every day at some point to see the progress they’ve made in the warm spring sun or the day of rain.  I think it’s because of my experience in flower shops for all these years that I get so excited watching the growth in my own gardens.  We get so spoiled in the flower shops. We see everything at it’s prime and often on steroids : )  so it is a very different experience watching the growing process.   What’s growing in your garden right now… or trying to if you live on a mountain in northwest Jersey like me : )

 Have you seen the new flat wire that’s been released on the floral design market?  There are many kinds of wire to design with right now.  There is bouillon wire, astro wire (24 gauge), skinny wire (28 gauge), and round wire(25 gauge).  These are all popular with floral art to wear – meaning corsages and boutineers, arm bands, over the shoulder designs etc.  Then there is the brand new beaded wire in many colors and the 25 gauge round wire that’s been around for a few years.  The Flat Wire is so cool to ‘play’ with!  It truly changes your design depending on whether you bend, twist or curl it.  I can tell you it was hard for me to ‘let go’ of this little teacup design because I wanted to fix the curl, re-shape the bends etc.  I know from experience, that feeling comes from not being familiar with the product yet. Once I experiment more, my technique of using it will get better and  I’ll be more focussed on where and how to use it!  I’ll be showcasing some designs with flat wire at my upcoming spring and summer demonstrations with fresh floral art. I love the mix of fresh flowers and metal and also the fact that it can be whimsical looking depending on what color you choose or shape.  It just never gets boring when you are in touch with what’s new in floral design!

An easy arrangement to make is this teacup design.  I used florist’s cling, (consistency of chewed bubblegum ; ), to hold the teacup from falling away from it’s saucer.  I placed a piece of soaked oasis into the china cup and then added greens around the rim only , then filled in with pretty blooms I had available. I used white lisianthus, white standard rose, pink spray roses and pink carnations.  Angel vine was added for interest.  I chose to make an ‘L’ shaped design, you can do that too by adding a little height and swinging out the one side some blooms.  Simply create an ‘L’ shape really!   It makes a perfect hostess gift, thank you, or a kind gesture of friendship.  I gave this one to my friend, Mrs. T., who is in Merry Heart Health Center, in Ledgewood, NJ.  Mrs. T. has always been a strong example of a woman who can forever find words to encourage and lift up another’s soul!  She is at a time in her life when words don’t flow easily and are often mixed with wandering thoughts so communication is difficult for both of us.  But, even with that working against us, her loving spirit comes through by her eye contact and gentle smile.  Flowers are the PERFECT way to communicate without words and her face lit up when I showed them to her.  Be a ‘Mrs. T’ today and encourage someone you know!

“A cake is only as beautiful as the fresh flowers placed upon it!”  hahaha  Spoken like a true flower lover.  This was a fun cake to decorate because of the firm icing and the tiers.  I alternated larger hot pink rose blooms with smaller light pink spray rose blooms to create  this design.  Variegated pittosporum was added to each rose head to tie it all in.  The hard part was leaning in the cooler and reaching around the back of the cake that couldn’t be moved out of the cooler for me.  Thank you to the great staff at The Imperia in Somerset, NJ, (www.theimperia.com), for allowing me to step in and decorate the cake when the bride’s cake topper failed to be delivered to her home in time for her wedding!

This past weekend, I had the privilege of designing my niece, Stephanie’s wedding flowers.  She chose pink spray roses, pink standard roses, and peonies for her bridesmaids bouquets. I collared the bouquet with variegated pittosporum.  The stems were wrapped in sheer pink ribbon and then french braided over that with the same ribbon.  Peonies are not in season here yet, (about 4 weeks too early),  but Joe Ardino over at Hillcrest Gardens,Inc. in Paramus, ‘found’ me some overseas!  So- I ordered them a week early, as Joe told me they would come in quite tight and would need time to open.  All week I watched those little balls  start to loosen and unfold.  I only waited on 3 to open the night before the wedding, and they DID open by the time I finished her corsages, boutineers and bridal bouquet.  Stephanie made a beautiful bride and her bridesmaids welcomed spring with their peonies and pink rose bouquets! Best of Blessings to Stephanie and Kyle! * Watch for pics of Stephanie’s stephanotis and white rose bouquet in future post!