Daffodils of Spring

It is that beautiful time of year again when the daffodils spring from the ground in honor of the season to come.  The garden is starting its symphony of color and our pink charm daffodils have begun to naturalize.  They add a touch of seasonal splendor before Easter arrives.

A vase filled with daffodils is always a joy.  They make an elegant display and have a very soft fragrance.  For longevity, it is best to keep only daffodils in the arrangement as their sticky sap will poison other flowers.

Daffodils make stunning cut flowers and there are so many types of specialty daffodils available to grow for bouquets.  These were planted years ago and come up every spring as long as they receive an ample amount of sun and water.

They are beautiful when massed in a bud vase, placed on an accent table, or in an entryway where the subtle scent of spring will welcome guests.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Garden Inspiration

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Pumpkin Spice Floral

 

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

The beauty of autumn is now upon us as we settle in to the season with pumpkins on the porch and magnificently colorful leaves falling from the trees.  Autumn has always been a favorite season of mine, and like Fitzgerald, I see it as a time of new beginnings.  I always look forward to sweater weather, a pot of hot soup on the stove, planting bulbs in the garden, and of course, the quintessential taste of the season- pumpkin spice!  

This fall bouquet of vivid orange zinnias, mixed with peachy-pink dahlias, blush lisianthus, and mustard yellow amaranth captures the mood of autumn with its spicy hues and rustic texture.  It was a pleasure to style and also to paint!

A simple metallic gold vase highlights the warm colors in the bouquet and provides an opulent finish to complement the varied texture of the flowers.

Dahlias in a pale warm pink soften the bouquet with their ombre color and elegant rolled petals.  

Bright orange zinnias add earthy texture and a pop of color.  These traditional autumn hues remind me of pumpkin spice!  Happy fall!

Leave a Comment Tagged: Autumn, Creative Process, Fresh Floral Styling

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Autumn Berry and Burgundy Bouquet

Last week I received this beautiful bouquet of pink sunflowers, zinnias, and burgundy amaranth to style and paint.  The unique colors and striking patterns found in these flowers made them fascinating to photograph.

Styling the bouquet with hydrangeas and sprigs of green berries offset the pink tones in the flowers.  The rich palette was enhanced by a wine colored vase.

The bright green color in this Queen Red Lime zinnia complemented the greens in the hydrangeas and the berries.

Next I rearranged the flowers and added silvery dusty miller for contrast.  Then I began to paint!  

Leave a Comment Tagged: Autumn, Creative Process, Fresh Floral Styling

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A Fall Floral Treat

Amazingly, autumn has already arrived with yesterday the official first day of fall!  The summer garden is now in its final phases and I am clearing out debris of a successful vegetable harvest.  However, with so many edibles planted this year, I miss the flowers that would usually fill our garden in the fall.  I've found that although vegetables feed the body, flowers nourish the soul.  So, you can imagine how happy I was to find Kelley Flower Farm offering a four-week floral subscription.  I promptly signed up for the program, and last Friday these stunning blooms were delivered to our door!

Since I will be painting these flowers for a new collection of artworks, I styled two different arrangements with them and took a myriad of photos for future art reference.  The first, in a rustic jug vase, is pictured below.  To create the design I mixed the bouquet with hydrangea and foliage clippings from the garden for added texture.

These beautiful burgundy dahlias add depth to the arrangement with their dark rich color.

The apricot zinnias stretch from their stems adding a sense of movement to the design.

Finally, the sunflowers are clearly the stars of the show, with their large blooms and soft unusual color.

In the second arrangement I changed to a more formal vase to complement our current table setting with pumpkin plates and soft amber glassware.

I also used this arrangement to paint, which is one of my favorite ways to record the beauty of flowers.



I look forward to sharing my progress on this new collection of paintings from the beautiful flowers that arrive over the next few weeks!  The paintings and prints of them will be available for purchase in my shop when the collection is complete.

Happy Fall!

Leave a Comment Tagged: Autumn, Creative Process, Fresh Floral Styling

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Fresh Flowers Styled in a Long Wooden Bowl

 

Today is a beautiful winter day here in California with the sun shining through the icy cold air.   I'm finally getting time to share some floral fun after a very busy last few months.  It's great to be back blogging as it is such a wonderful way to connect with all of you who share my passion for design and flowers!

This season I hosted a winter tea party for my Mom's birthday and created a centerpiece of fresh white roses for the occasion.   Having just purchased a long wooden bowl for the holidays, I decided to create a "rose boat" centerpiece for the dining room table.

The wooden container is 36" long and about 6" wide which makes it the perfect size to hold three dozen roses.  First the bowl was lined with plastic to keep it dry, then three loaf pans filled with water were inserted and covered with a grid of tape to hold the flowers in place.  

Long stemmed white roses were combined with clippings of foliage from the garden and a few holiday pine tree branches.  First, the foliage was arranged in the loaf pans of water to create a bed of greenery for the roses.  Then the roses were cut shorter to fit in the containers and baby's breath was added and strewn throughout the design.

The roses were fresh and lovely for the birthday tea party and lasted about a week after the event.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Winter

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Spring Garden Floral

The early spring garden is now dressed in shades of pink and white as our cymbidium orchids, anemones and camellias take the stage.  They are lovely in the landscape but also make beautiful cut flowers for arranging!



This design began with a pedestal planter and a smaller glass vase of water set inside to hold the fresh flowers.  Then a garland of faux greenery was wrapped around the vase to fill in the gap between the containers.



A series of garden flowers and a few filler flowers from the market were added to the glass vase, which created an unstructured floral design.



These raspberry colored cymbidium orchids were arranged first and then surrounded with blush carnations to hold them in place.



Fragrant sprigs of stock and a few black and white anemones were woven into the design.




White camellias placed near the bottom of the arrangement were encircled with carnations and filler foliage.

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For texture, a few fluffy budding tulips were added to the mix.



Providing the final touch, fluttery petals of the white anemones contrast the sculptural shape of the orchids and add interest to the design.

When I brought this arrangement inside to use as a centerpiece for the Easter table. it felt like spring had truly arrived!

Leave a Comment Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Spring

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Winter Decorating with Dried Hydrangeas

The winter months are quiet as I prepare the garden for spring and await the first blooms of the season.  It is always a challenge to keep the vases filled until the garden starts to produce flowers for cutting, so I often use dried or artificial flowers this time of year.

Dried hydrangeas are elegant when placed in wide vases or bowls and provide soft color and texture.  They are simple to preserve during the summer by cutting the blooms and placing them in a vase of water until the water evaporates and the flowers start to dry. 

Fresh blooms, as shown in the photo below, can also be made into wreaths which will dry and last through the winter.  See the post about  "How to Make a Hydrangea Wreath" for instructions.  I have used them for centerpieces as well as wall decor.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Dried Hydrangeas, Fresh Floral Styling, Winter

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Creating a Fall Garden Floral

Our fall garden is beginning to bloom at last as we welcome October with cool weather and raindrops.   It is a beautiful time of year to design arrangements from the garden, and creating a fall floral using homegrown flowers mixed with a market bouquet is an easy way to enjoy the garden indoors.  

Choosing a few key homegrown stems and combining them with a complementary mix of store-bought flowers can create a dazzling autumn arrangement.  I chose these peach roses for a focal point as they are large and spectacular this season and have a beautiful scent.

Orange garden dahlias and zinnias in a soft antique pink are also sourced from home.

To bring an autumn glow to the peachy-pink tones of the garden flowers, I selected a market bouquet with deep, rich fall colors and textured foliage.

Orange mums add warmth and texture and their color pops next to dusty green eucalyptus branches.



Variegated burgundy mums pick up the pink in the zinnias but add a deep fall hue, while cherry brandy roses mix in a vibrant berry and golden orange color.



To keep the arrangement from looking too formal, I usually place the largest blooms first, then add filler flowers and foliage in an asymmetrical pattern.  This results in an unstructured, flowing design that reflects the way flowers grow in nature.

As there are so many beautiful blooms to enjoy during the autumn months, I hope you will create a natural floral design of your own.  Happy Fall!

1 comment Tagged: Autumn, Fresh Floral Styling

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Peony Season...

Peony season is here and I'm enchanted with all the beautiful blooms!  These lovely pink stems were brought to me by a friend who has grown them for years. The one with the yellow center is called "Bowl of Beauty" and the other is "Pink Chiffon".  The pink hue and intense scent of these flowers is quite a seasonal treat!



These elegant flowers are a pleasure to photograph and also to paint. The complex structure of the petals and the way they reflect light is fascinating to observe and capture with a camera or paintbrush.

The Duchesse de Nemours white peony is one of my favorites. It has a soft yellow center with ruffled petals. The more common, but equally beautiful, Sarah Bernhardt peony is shown below. Its vibrant pink color is enhanced with a profusion of fringed petals.

This year, I am inspired to paint peonies for both their beauty and meaning. The peony is often a symbol of good fortune in life and love. Celebrated for its fragile beauty and fleeting nature, it is a traditional symbol in Chinese art, where it is referred to as "the king of flowers" for its majesty and grace.

Below are a few examples of my recent paintings inspired by these botanical treasures.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Creative Process, Fresh Floral Styling, Summer

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