Wedding Flowers | Floral Arrangements | Bridal Bouquets | Ideas

Photo Shoot - Wedding Centerpieces

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:45:00 +0000

Recently did some centerpieces for a photo shoot with wedding and event stationer, eInvite/Checkerboard.

These are just a couple quick snapshots in the shop, but I can't wait to see the real pics! They were building sets and everything!!!

Sprout Prom - the Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:46:00 +0000

OK, everyone knows I love books ,but I never thought I'd make one of my own! It was so easy!

There's always so much interest in our unique and custom prom flowers, that I compiled a bunch of our pictures into a book.

Ta dah!!!

If you're going to prom, come on down and check out the designs in our book - they'll give you some good ideas that we can use to create a custom look just for you!

(And if you're a florist who would like a copy of the book to inspire you, it's for sale on Blurb - see sidebar towards the top of the page.)

Book Review - Flowers in Tears

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:32:00 +0000

If you're anything like me you covet a beautiful flower pic filled book.

I try to keep my book buying urges in check as it can be quite the pricey indulgence. Thank goodness we have the internet to fill the gaps between book buying sprees!

But really nothing can replace a book in your hand filled with great images on paper. Looking at a monitor is just not the same, is it?

I have a range of flower books, but one area my library was deficient in was sympathy flowers. I just never ran across a book on funeral flowers that I had to have. Until this one - "Flowers in Tears" by Moniek Vanden Berghe.

This is a gorgeous book filled with flowers for funerals, memorials and burials, by Belgian floral designer Moniek Vanden Berghe.

The designs are edgy and very avante garde by American standards for funeral flowers. Most casket designs are very flat, dominated by pavee, and are more sculptural than what you would be apt to see here in the US.

This casket design featuring roses and passionflower is the most "American" look in the book.

More typical of Vanden Berghe's work is this tightly paved design with interesting textural elements like the swirls of xerographica foliage and rustic woven material. The look is lush and sensual.

Every page is filled with great inspiration. Even if you have a hard time envisioning these looks at a funeral, there are flower combinations and textures that will stick with you and that you might consider for other applications.

There's a little multi-lingual text (including English) at the front of the book, but the picture filled pages are mostly devoid of descriptions. Also, for those who are hoping for step-by-step how to's and techniques, this is not the book for you.

But if your flower library has a gap when it comes to funeral flowers, "Flowers in Tears" will fill that space nicely!

Flirty Fleurs & the Smith College Bulb Show

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:34:00 +0000

One half of the Flirty Fleurs blog team, Alicia, came out to Massachusetts last week as part of a flowers and family road trip and I was lucky enough to meet up with her at the Smith College bulb show in Northampton - YAY!

Where's Flirty Fleurs?!
(camera lens fogged up moments later, so this sighting is unconfirmed)

Another possible Flirty Fleurs sighting!

Alicia, in what seems to be her natural habitat.

Yup, some people prefer one side of the lens to the other...

Bulbs - right! We were there to see bulbs...

More adventures to come...

Prom Flowers - Bright and Funky for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:09:00 +0000

There are a lot of cool new products that we are using with our prom flowers this year- check them out!

This wrist corsage and boutonniere combo is built on a background of black diamond mesh ribbon. Very cool and comes in several colors like red and fuchsia.

I also had to use some of the new mesh tubing - certainly not your same old, same old ribbon!

And feathers, yeah, gotta have some feathers.

This set of wrist corsages is a lot more subtle than the first picture, but no less interesting. The orchids have a little rhinestone bling added to them and instead of ribbon, we nestled them in bases made out of the new sparkle tulle. The sparkles don't show up well on my computer, but you have to trust me -it's very pretty!

Phalaenopsis orchid boutonniere using some of the silver diamond mesh ribbon.

Gerbera daisy boutonniere with rose petals and more diamond mesh accents!

Crazy composite flower made out of three different kinds of flowers. Oooh - don't forget the cool mesh tubing "petals"!

And what do all three of these boutonnieres have in common? Why magnets!

No more pins, no more bloody fingers - YESSSSS!

Flirty Fleurs and Smith College Greenhouses

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:40:00 +0000

I had a great time recently meeting up with one half of the Flirty Fleurs blogging team, Alicia, at the Smith College Conservatory in Northampton MA.

As you can see they are late 19th century glass greenhouses, pretty neat and old fashioned in this era of generic big box garden centers. Charming is just the word.

The buildings were obviously built over a period of time and not all at once and were a bit of a maze.

The first "house" we came to was the cacti and succulent house. It's hard not be mesmerized by the thorny patterns on this cactus, isn't it?

So I have this degree in horticulture, but half the time I had no idea what we were looking at. Good thing most everything is labeled. That said, did I photograph the corresponding labels?

Of course not. So this tree, which I'm going to call a palm, which we can all say is completely wrong, made the greatest sound when a tall kid walked under the leaves.

Pretty awesome.

Here we have an aeonium, a cool succulent which you'll see from time to time in my shop. I know some folks get a little upset when leaves fall of their plants, but for some plants, like this one, it's to be expected and perfectly normal.

You can't expect it to remain cute and stumpy forever.

A lovely, old looking Wardian case - a little greenhouse to-go. Just the sort of thing you'd have on your exotic plant collecting travels so you could ship specimens, by ship, back home.

Again, going with some kind of palm thing here. But who cares? It was pretty cool!

In an old greenhouse such as this one at Smith, besides life and growth, there's also a sense of decay. There is always something not at its peak of perfection, losing a leaf, coming out of dormancy, or in the case of this wooden orchid container, just outright rot.

Marvelous.

Really. Why do we expect everything to look just like a catalog? Living things are going to grow, change, mature, have offspring, die...it's part of why we keep looking at them, isn't it?

OK, I am totally mad for these begonia leaves. If my mother were around she would have quick snapped a leaf off and tucked it into her purse for rooting back at home.

I was forever mortified when we would go to some fancy historic mansion and she would whip a baggie out of her purse and break off columbine seed heads or some such.

I need to get one of these plants. I'll pay.

We never figured out these pond things, but they were absolutely primeval. And the little "sensitive" plants were right nearby! I love those things! They are one of the plants of my childhood - and always remind me of trips to creaky old greenhouses.

Pretty, pretty, purple, velvety. In a crusty old terra cotta pot to boot. Each glass house we entered had a completely different climate. If you should go, be prepared to shed a few layers as you switch greenhouses. And your camera lens may fog up.

You are warned.

More cool leafy textures to put on the "I want" list.

These are small greenhouses, but the abundance and the climate makes you forget there's an out there.

And orchid plants, because what trip to an old greenhouse such as this is complete without an orchid plant or two?

Wedding Bouquet Photo Shoot

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:15:00 +0000

Had a professional in the shop taking some pictures of last week's bridal bouquet...He brought a model and some white background with him and we had to turn off the lights, natural light and all that being better for pictures.

I think the giant roll of white stuff is pretty cool, but it would get filthy in a heartbeat with me near it.

I think it will be a couple months before we see the results of the photo shoot...I'll keep you posted!

Smile for the camera!

Easter Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:45:00 +0000

I'm feeling this limegreenbluepurple combination for Easter.

New grass and baby birdie eggs.

What colors are you feeling for your holiday table?

Wrist Corsages for Prom

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:54:00 +0000

You know we keep calling these wrist corsages prom flowers, but really they could just as easily be for a ball, cotillion, debutante, or any other formal event.

We just mostly have proms around here.

This black and white set features orchids with flash ribbon and the new sparkle tulle. Simple but sparkly!

More mini cymbidium orchids, but this time with a hint of pale icy blue.

Shades of purple. Looks like there's some blue in there on my monitor, but since I made these, I can tell you it was all in shades of purple and lavender - purple mini callas and orchids with a splash of agonis foliage.

And last but not least, hot pink baby roses with purple and black accents. I'm loving the agonis foliage again here, but my favorite bit is the new bracelet set with a kind of artsy eclectic look. Like most of our wrist corsages, you can carefully snip the flowers off after and enjoy the bracelets!

Flowers at Home - the Inconvenient Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:04:00 +0000

So I seldom take flowers home.

I know - bad florist.

I'd like to take flowers home, sometimes I even put them aside at the shop fully intending to take them home.

But then they sit there.

And languish.

Until my staff says "Maybe you should throw these out...?"

The horrible truth is, it feels like work to do flowers at home.

I can't throw the stems on the floor.

I have to chop them up small to get them in my trash and then you just know they're going to poke through the bag.

There's nothing like a broom, big barrel, and a dumpster.

The second horrible truth is, I just don't have that many places to actually put flowers in my apartment. We don't have a coffee table, just tiny tables barely big enough for an actual cup of coffee and a magazine.

No kitchen table.

No mantle.

Our bookcases are crammed with books.

The dining room table is generally covered with paperwork - hello small business owner and too many committees!

Here is where I can put flowers -

the tiniest corner of my bathroom counter!

It occurs to me that many of you might have the same space problems I do.

Why do we let that stop us from bringing home flowers?!

Just one or two blooms, something special or sweet - we can find a spot, can't we?

The bath,

a nightstand,

next to that cup of coffee.

I'll put the magazine on the floor.

I resolve to try to find a spot for flowers.

Will you?!

My New Obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:14:00 +0000

I might be kind of distracted.
I found a new toy - a color toy.
I love color!!!
I'm sure you didn't know that about me.

Chip It from Sherwin-Williams paint company has this the little widget thingie that allows you to turn any picture on the inerwebs into a palette of paint chips.

Oh my!

It has all your social media hookups so you can share to Facebook or Pinterest.

Imagine a couple finding a picture of flowers they liked and then using this to create their wedding color scheme!!!

Pardon me while I turn more flower pictures into color schemes.

Now I just need to find something to paint...

Prom Flowers 2012 - Succulent Wrist Corsages

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Sun, 06 May 2012 19:30:00 +0000

Prom season still has about four more weeks to go around here, so we are just over the halfway mark.

Here is a twist on the wrist! What do you say to using succulents for wrist corsages?!

I had made the fuchsia and cheetah base for this corsage when I noticed this lovely little succulent sitting on my workbench, and thought "Why not?"

Popped it in and some awesome blingy feathers and snapped a pic. What do you think? I love it!

Here's the actual corsage filled for a custom order, with baby pink roses and sweet little ranuculus blossoms. Matching boutonniere - of course.

This delicate wrist corsage has several types of flowers in it - mini callas, nerine blossoms, and tiny mini cymbidium orchids with just a touch of waxflower.

And here's a very similar wrist corsage, but set up with succulents and feathers.

What do you think - would you go out on a limb and ask for succulents for prom? They're hot as all get out for weddings, is prom next?

Do you dare be the first one??!!

Springy Blues and Greens for Prom

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:03:00 +0000

Just a few springy looks for prom...

Tinted lime mini callas with white baby roses on a blue pearl bracelet.

Pearly swirly orchids and mini callas.

New grass green orchids with cream and white touches.

Blue tint over purple orchids with funky beaded accents.

Flowers in Mourning - Memorial Service

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Flowers for a memorial service can be kind of tricky sometimes. Without a large focal point like a casket, it's hard to know what kind of display to make, how substantial to make it, or even if any display at all is too much. Don't want to cross the line into ostentation.

In this instance the client had envisioned using a pair of orchid plants that she would keep after, and combining it with some other plants as well as fresh flowers. She wanted it to be very springy.

This is the display at the church. I had never been to this church before and pictured a much more traditional altar space and never imagined a sanctuary on the scale of this one. Not saying our New England churches are tiny, but most of them don't seat 1200 people.

So I while I liked the display well enough, it was also a little disappointing. The orchids disappeared into the plain background, and while colorful overall, it seemed under scaled for the space.

But then while I was tidying up the last crumbs of moss, someone flicked some switches and - voila!

Blue skies, spring, and sunshine burst forth!

Context is everything.
So bear with me if I ask you questions that might seem irrelevant, like -
"Will the wall change color?"

DIY - Terrarium Bar!

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:34:00 +0000

Have you seen our new Terrarium Bar?!

It's pretty cool! Everything you need to make your own terrarium - from plants to soil to accessories. It's a great gift to make for someone or with someone. I'm thinking moms and kids this week, but really I could see lots of people having fun with this!

Each complete kit is $30 (items are $35.50 purchased separately) and contains:

1 fern plant
1 moss plant
1 bag of either Mossy or Woodsy decor
1 bag of either Stoney or Sparkly decor
1 bag gravel
1 bag soil with mesh combo
1 vase
Step-by-step instructions

Put it all together and you could end up with a terrarium very much like this one!

Come on - get your green thumb a little dirty!!!

In My Spare Time

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Fri, 11 May 2012 02:52:00 +0000

In my spare time, I sometimes get to represent my fellow business people and West Side Business Network members at community meetings such as this one held by Worcester State University.

I Kind of Like These Vases

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

And I might have um, borrowed them, at home. Cuz you know, they're pretty cool, and they don't take much stuff to make a modern floral statement.

And you all know how I am loathe to arrange flowers at home, but these are easy peasy and make me look super cool, right?

Right.

Green House Open - Green House Closed

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000

My favorite wholesale grower had an open house a few weeks ago so we took advantage of the opportunity to see the greenhouses in all their springy glory.

Teeny tiny "plugs".

See how small they are! Greenhouse plankton!

Thought these ivy walls the caterer was hiding behind were a nifty screen.

Yes, succulents are still in. I'm kind of in love with these neon edged kalanchoes.
Especially en masse.

Bromeliads.

You know a nursery has been around along time when they have something quirky & old in it.
Might be a large plant.
Might be a moss beaver.

I know "they" say that no interior space is complete without a touch of black.
Do you think the same holds true outdoors?
If it does, then I would order up some of this black mondo grass.
Pronto.

Pansy path.
Not primrose.
To port-a-potties.

A few more pansies.

You might wonder about the title of this post: Green House Open - Green House Closed.

Green House Closed is the mnemonic we used in college to remember the three types of soil water. If you need to know them they are - Gravitational, Hygroscopic, and Capillary.

Don't you feel better for knowing that? I haven't needed that piece of knowledge for many many moons, but there you have it - I have passed it on to you! Do with it what you will, but remember, Green House Closed.

MAKING YOUR WEDDING BOUQUETS LAST

noreply@blogger.com (NVLLC) — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:48:00 +0000

Because a lot of the wedding preparations start in the morning and go well into the afternoon, the flowers will need to be delivered well before the ceremony. it’s a warm day, you might find you and your bridesmaids with wilted, dropping flowers. But don’t worry; there are ways to avoid this as well.

Keeping it cool

Most of the bouquets and other floral arrangements will come in either vases or small plastic bags of water. These are designed to keep them moist and pert until the start of the wedding. And while keeping them in these packages will help the most for keeping your flowers from wilting, there are other ways to spruce them up.

If you should get flowers that aren’t as perky, then you can run the ends of the bouquets under cold water as you cut the ends at an angle. This will help to create new channels for the water to flow through. Place the bouquets back into their original water and they should become straighter and livelier within an hour or so.

What you may read in some books is that you can use ice cubes in the water to help you make the flowers look better, but this only freezes the routes of water to the flower, and can cause even more harm to a sagging bouquet.

If you decide to take outdoor pictures, they you can take the bouquets out of the water, dry them off with a paper towel and stand and pose. Once you are back inside, you will want to put the flowers back into the water once more, to make sure that they get the most amount of water they can before the ceremony.

After the fact

If you’re looking to preserve your bouquet, here are a few tips. Although many florists can help you with preserving the bride’s bouquet, you can also do it yourself. One route is to hang the bouquet upside down as soon as you can after the wedding. This helps the flowers to keep their original shape as they air dry. The air drying process will take a while, so don’t worry if you’re still waiting on them to dry a month later.

Another way to preserve bouquets is to spray them with hair spray immediately following the wedding and hang them upside down. This creates a sort of layer of protection around the petals and can shield the flowers from losing their original shape.

This post originally appeared here

Birth of a Bridal Bouquet

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:13:00 +0000

Sometimes you are lucky enough to have a client who says -

go for it,

be creative,

I trust you.

This is the end result of that trust.

Modern Purple and Orange Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Yesterday's post gave you the birth of probably my most creative bridal bouquet. This is the rest of the wedding - I hope just as creative!

Maids' bouquets like no other - swirly and springy and texturey. I know, not really a word, but they're definitely loaded with texture. From the almost plastic like pin cushion protea to the soft moss and wool, everyone wanted to touch these bouquets.

Ranunculus boutonnieres for the groomsmen and orchids for the groom. A tuft of green dianthus and wool wrapped on the stems to finish them off.

This wedding was in the Lenox Hotel in Boston and the ceremony and dining room were one and the same, so we needed to create a setting for the ceremony to frame the couple that would bring a bit of the outdoors in. Do you remember the Facebook post I made showing giant pussy willows in my tiny hatchback? Well, these are them, all woven into a simple structure covered with viney foliage and pretty blooms.

We didn't get to see the dining room all laid out since it was set for the ceremony and would be converted afterwards, but here's a peak of behind the scenes.

Dining tables sans chairs, tucked away in a side room, waiting to be carried out during the cocktail hour. Yes, I said carried out. They are not on wheels.

The table centerpieces were an eclectic mix of tall and lower florals, some with branches, some without. All in the on trend purple and orange color scheme.

And this is the bridal bouquet inspiration that started it all! Those vanda orchids were much more purple in person than they are showing here. The frustrations of taking pictures - sometimes the color just isn't true. Some day, in my free time, when I have free time that is, I will have to work on my photo editing skills.

Until then...

Flowers in Mourning - "My Guitar Gently Weeps"

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 21 May 2012 11:43:00 +0000

At least once a day someone comes in the shop and says something along the lines of "How nice it must be to work with flowers all day, what a happy job!"

And mostly it is, really.

Flowers really are pretty.
People are happy to receive them.

There's all that other stuff that is less than pleasant and pretty that florists keep to themselves, so as to not destroy the illusion, but yeah, it's happy work more than not. We are illusionists of floral beauty!

But then you get the call.

It's a funeral.
People are grieving and hope your flowers can help.

And we hope the same thing.

TBUG Weed Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:06:00 +0000

It's that time of the year again! Time for the Turtle Boy Urban Gardeners to put on their capes and get some weeding done!

Meet up for the first 2012 TBUG Weed Up!

Date:

May 28, 2012, monday

Time:

10:00 am

Place:

Turtle Boy statue, intersection of Franklin and Front Streets, Worcester MA

Spring has sprung and so have the weeds around Turtle Boy. If we get enough volunteers we'd also like to get some fresh plants in the ground.

Bring your fine self, some sun block, water, garden gloves, and if you have a spare bag of black mulch that would be pretty awesome! Sprout will bring some tools, more garden gloves for those without, and plants if we get enough replies in the affirmative.

Turtle Boy turns 100 this year, so we'd like to keep him looking good for an old man! We'll have you out in plenty of time for those Memorial Day BBQ's.

Rain date:

Sunday June 10, 2012.

RSVP:

In the Comments section here or on Facebook.

Prom 2012 - Pastels

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Is prom season over yet?!

No?
Come on!

A few pastel wrist corsages to tide you over.

Rustic Romance: A Spring Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Wed, 23 May 2012 15:30:00 +0000

We've had a few more spring weddings than usual this year. So great to kick off the wedding season with the delicate and dainty blooms of spring.

This might be the girliest bridal bouquet I have ever made! LOVE! Jasmine, sweet peas, garden roses all for fragrance, penny cress, astilbe, and veronica for texture.

Pretty maids, pretty in pink - pink tulips, ranunculus, astilbe, garden roses, veronica...so feminine and springy!

Pic of one of the centerpieces back at the shop - we are pretty in love with these new hobnail glass vases. Country charm without being too casual.

And just a few pictures on location at Harrington Farm in Princeton MA. Gorgeous venue with plenty of rustic elegance to spare!

If your name is Sprout, and you happen to do a spring wedding on the side of a mountain during fiddlehead season, well, the only responsible thing to do is to stop the car and photograph them.

Best of Worcester!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sprout) — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

We are honored to again be named Best Florist in Worcester by the readers of Worcester Magazine! Thank you all SO much!!!

Awards ceremony...

...and magazine photo shoot were both at the Worcester airport.

So we made some fun airplane themed flowers for the shindig!

And this is where some of the flowers ended up. I hope they all found homes as good as this!