Local Flowers

Flower of the Week :: Daisies

0 · Jun 18, 2018 ·

This week we’re celebrating 8 years of marriage. Working in the wedding industry means that I’m always thinking back to my own wedding for one reason or another. But the trigger for this trip down memory lane is a field full of daisies.

We got married in my grandparents’ back yard, an outdoor ceremony overlooking the lake. It’s always been one of my favorite places on earth. There is, however, one spot in particular on their property that is even more magical. A small point of land that juts out into the water. This little pennisula is only a few feet wide and not very long at all, but the size never mattered. I used to spend hours in this spot. And it gets even better, because each June, it became overgrown with wild daisies sunbathing near the water.

Naturally I made sure that this sweet little flower would fit in with my wedding decor. It was one of the perks of getting married in June, these blooms would be a part of my wedding day.

I put this bouquet together to somewhat recreate my orginal bouquet made 8 years ago, complete with local peonies and sweet daisies. Photographed by Samantha James Photography.

Right now they’re dancing in the fields around our house and they take me right back to that place and time. This week, they’re the TownLine Journal Flower of the Week. Share your own daisies or follow along with mine #TLJfloweroftheweek here in my journal and on Instagram.

August’s Garden Update

0 · Sep 5, 2017 ·

September has suddenly graced us with it’s presence. From the instantly cooler temperatures to the passing of Labor Day weekend, it’s clear that fall has made it’s arrival.

However, I really want to live in denial a little longer. As much as I love the crunching of leaves and sweater weather, August departed all too early and I’m still longing for the warm summer sun. Plus, I’d really like some more time in the garden – which has in all actuality turned to a weed plot with a few dahlia’s poking through.

If you remember in my last update, I had the beginnings of a few lush dahlias plants and a couple slow starters. Throughout the last month, I watched some steady growth and then suddenly, the leaves started disappearing and were replaced by blunt ends. I have a theif in my garden. At first, it wasn’t quite obvious who the culprit was. Perhaps a little groundhog or bunny rabbit. But as the plants grew, I knew it was the handy work of our taller woodland friends, the deer were eating my dahlias.

Slowly, my little buds began disappearing from my plants and my heart sank. So much time and effort had be placed into growing these and the deer were treating them like dinner. I had read in serveral places that deer really don’t like dahlias or might eat them only if there weren’t better options availible, so I really didn’t stress about putting up a fence or other boundry. There are 3 apple trees within a few yards of my plants, bursting with fruit. We have 6 acres of other greens, grasses and treats. And yet they were eating my dahlias.

However, I found a little home remedy that seems to be doing the trick. A little concovtion of water, egg, garlic and cayenne seems to be teaching these pesky deer a lesson. I now have several buds back on my plants and have actually seen two flowers bloom. The anemone mix have produced two beautiful yellow flowers and my cafe au laits finally have buds and I cannot wait for these beauties to bloom. My slow starters are growing but I’m yet to see any signs of flowers, hopefully they’ll produce something before the first frost – which I fear will be really early this year.

And those gorgeous white fluffy flowers there? Those are not my dahlias. But I did use them for a wedding a couple weeks again, gathered from a Grand Rapids grower and they were simply heavenly. The single yellow ray of sunshine is all mine though.

Friday Flowers :: Flowers on Film

0 · Jul 14, 2017 ·

I haven’t arranged wedding flowers in nearly 6 weeks. After the initial exhaustion of a long, yet exhilarating wedding day wears off, the itch almost immediately comes back to create something new. I start dreaming of better combinations, new shapes, unique color palettes and ways to incorporate what’s naturally found in my world.

After my last wedding, I had some of the most glorious peonies left in my possession. These beauties were nearly the size of my head and I couldn’t bear to see them go on living without being captured. I would love to photograph all the lovely things I see around me, but my camera skills are surely lacking. Thankfully, Emily Jane Photography came to the rescue to preserve this moment in the summer when leftovers found love again, paired with local treasures and an antique glass bowl.

Peony and Iris Centerpiece | The Day's Design | Emily Jane Photography

The recipe may have started with these beautiful white ruffles, but I couldn’t resist the bold iris that were standing tall in my yard. Their muted plum and yellow tones sang to me. I suppose they must have been growing there last summer as well, but for some reason I didn’t notice them. This year they were all I could think about.

From there, I added some cappuccino ranunculas that I had hanging out in my cooler. Their dark centers and plum rims were the perfect connector. Also sourced from my yard was a few branches of mock orange. If you could smell this post, then you’d understand why I love adding these delicate little blooms into as many arrangements as possible. A couple small pink and yellow columbine made their way into this piece and then I finished it with a few roadside weeds, in shades of soft lavender and a pop of yellow.

I don’t know where the ranunculas came from, but other than those mystery blooms, this arrangement was completely American grown. Peonies from the west coast and everything else was Michigan made. My favorite kind of recipe.

Purple Wedding Flowers | The Day's Design | Emily Jane Photography

Peony Centerpiece | The Day's Design | Emily Jane Photography

Local Wedding Flowers | The Day's Design | Emily Jane Photography

Photography: Emily Jane Photography

Happy Friday!

Using Local vs. Seasonal Flowers :: Part 2

0 · Apr 7, 2017 ·

Recapping back to the first part of this post, local flowers are always seasonal but seasonal flowers aren’t always local. I think there’s a lot of confusion within those terms as many designers use them interchangeably (I’m guilty too!) Here are some ways that I would further like to differentiate, why I don’t rely solely on local blooms and how I use flowers from around the world, plus right here at home in my designs.

Local is Risky (and you might not get what you want)

“You can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.” Any excuse to quote classic rock, right? I’m pretty sure the Rolling Stones were talking about flowers when they wrote this song.

I’ve never actually seen anyone post about this. I touched on a little in part 1 of this post, but think it’s a really important point to make. If you’re getting married in June for the purpose of including peonies in your bridal bouquet, that’s wonderful. Hopefully I can find another $5 roadside stand or similarly priced local grower. But that really was a fluke incident and a stroke of luck on my part. However, if we have a cold spring they might not be ready until the end of June. If it gets warm really early, then we could have peonies the first week. Northern Michigan can be 2-3 weeks behind southern Michigan’s growing season. So when you’re done gambling on the weather and trying to figure out all of that math, realize that locally, right here, where I am, I have about a 2 week window of my own peony blooms. Hopefully that aligns with your wedding date. If not, I’m going to have to find something else or hope that someone else’s bushes are on a different blooming schedule.

Secondly, there are few large production flower farms in Michigan. Those few that do exist are definitely not near me. While farms around the country may also deal with weather affecting their crops, when I source through a wholesaler they have a network of farmers supplying their roses, or whatever bloom I need, so if it isn’t available from one grower, they have many backup sources.

For these reasons, I never promise certain flowers but always do everything within my powers to get you the most amazing blooms.

Michigan grown dahlias from Field & Florist & foraged berries

Photography: Katie Grace Photography & Videography

Where do Local Flowers Come From?

“Local” is a very generic term, meaning it could mean Michigan grown, West Michigan grown or they were grown right here in my town (which isn’t likely because as I previously mentioned, there aren’t any large flower farms near me). So, this question will be answered differently by each and every florist. Certainly, there are local flowers farms accessible across the country. I’ve gone to u-pick gardens and sourced blooms small amounts from various farmer’s markets. Some local growers even sell to wholesalers, who in turn, then sell to florist providing them with local flowers.

My approach is slightly different. It was born out of necessity and I wouldn’t say is the normal thought process from a floral designer or flower shop. My nearest, local wholesaler is an hour drive away. When you’re on a time crunch for a wedding, that two hours (there and back) adds quickly. For this purpose, I have many of my flowers flown in and Fedex sets them right on my doorstep. However, that never satisfies my floral needs for a couple reasons. First off, because I was unable to hand pick the bunches myself, sometimes colors are just a little off. Which leads me in search of a replacement. Sometimes as I start designing, I realize I need more texture. And sometimes the product arrives in poor condition so I have to find something else, quick.

So my local flowers, often come from Lowe’s nursey or Menard’s garden section. I’ve been known to cut up hanging baskets in a pinch. And often I find the most perfect tidbits growing in my own woods. The truth of the matter is, I started doing this just to get me out of a pickle here and there, but have found that this creates my favorite pieces. I’m now addicted to adding nursery plants to my arrangements and wander the greenhouses and nurseries just for fun. I’m able to add colors, textures and unique details that I wouldn’t find otherwise. My floral proposals often reference “seasonal flowers” in addition to the ruffly roses and staples that I know will be available. But really I could replace that term with local treasures or nursery plants.

This little number is filled with roses from my California wholesaler along with foraged autumn olive and begonia clippings from a potted plant.

Photography: Samantha James Photography

Foraged Flowers are Free Flowers

If I’m able to pick flowers or greenery for free, it should be really cheap to work with a florist who takes this approach, right? Sorry to say, this is not the case and here’s why. Foraging takes a ton of time. As does sourcing flowers from various local farms because chances are, unless you shop at a wholesaler market, you won’t find all your floral needs in one place. So either I have to allot enough time in my own personal schedule for special treasure hunts and foraging adventures or I have to pay an assistant to do it for me. I did that once, it was all going well until she saw a snake. Game over and I had to go do it myself. Because of all the extra time, care and planning the benifit of using foraged gems is the variety, the texture and how creations became truly unique. It’s not used as a cost saving technique.

Incorporating foraged ferns into Crissie’s bouquet made it feel right at home in the woods of Northern Michigan

Photography: Samantha James Photography

I’ve used the terms local and seasonal flowers so often that they almost seem cliché. Its trendy right now and so everyone is doing it, even if they’re just grabbing a few local blooms via their wholesale markets. However, my hope is that this will help you understand where flowers really come from and why they cost so much. Regardless of how you get them, love and care is taken in crafting each recipe, each bouquet and in delivering them to you on your wedding day.

Using Local vs. Seasonal Flowers :: Part 1

0 · Apr 4, 2017 ·

Flowers are shipped to us from around the world. We’re often educated by wedding blogs and others in the industry about cutting costs by using local flowers and making sure we’re choosing flowers that are in season. But because we’re able to source flowers from so many different places, the idea of what’s “in season” becomes a little clouded. If we solely relied 100% on local flowers, I think that could result in a really stressful time for brides, everyone wants some idea of what they’re getting and often Mother Nature has ideas of her own. Any flowers we purchase are “in season” somewhere, but the question is where? While I’m certain that it’s not the intent of any one writer to misinform their audience when it comes to floral knowledge, we must realize that every area and growing season is different but there are a few misconceptions that I’d really like to clear up.

Local versus Seasonal

Right now, there is a large variety of flowers available on the wholesale market. The Japanese ranunculus and sweet peas are stealing the show and poppies are making me weak in the knees. I would say these are all “seasonal” products. However, they’re certainly not local.

In January, I saw the return of lilacs to my supplier’s list. They’re Dutch lilacs and they’re very nice. Within the last week, I saw California lilacs added which are a far superior product in my opinion. The bunches are larger which makes them more than worth the price. I still have another month and a half to wait for Michigan lilacs, which for obvious reasons are my very favorite, but by then, my wholesalers are going to tell me that lilac season is over even though I’m cutting them locally.

Living in Michigan means that our growing season is shorter and behind the schedule of much of the country’s. Often I mix both local and wholesaler flowers because it’s less risky. If I’m relying solely on local peonies and we have a late spring, they might not bloom in time. Or if it rains really hard the week before your wedding, the petals may all fall off. For small quantities and accent flowers, I use local whenever possible but I have to have a backup plan in place.

This bouquet is made up of hand picked local lilacs, plus South American quicksand roses, spray roses and scabiosas sourced from a Grand Rapids wholesaler.

Photography: Ashley Slater Photography

Seasonal Products aren’t Always Cheaper

We’ve been told time and time again that if we use flowers that are in season, they’ll be cheaper and we can save our floral budgets. But this isn’t necessarily true. For example, this time of year, Japanese and Dutch products reign high, as do their price tags. These flowers are being shipped from continents away, to wholesalers in New York, California and then there’s a very limited amount that makes its way to my local, Michigan wholesalers. I am often able to source these products and love doing so, but I have to accommodate for all those extra traveling adventures those flowers are on. So unfortunately, just because these blooms are in season, there’s not a cheap price tag attached to this very premium product.

On the adverse side of that, last month I paid $6 a stem for peonies. That was wholesale price, which I then had to mark up to turn a profit and well, you can quickly see why peonies bouquets are often so expensive. However, last June I was driving along and saw a roadside stand selling the same flower in bunches of 8 for $5. Local was cheaper by a long shot. So in this case, local and seasonal peonies were the best option.

This bouquet is made up of local blooming branches, hellebores from the local nursey and seasonal peony and tulips blooms from my California wholesaler.

Photography: Samantha James Photography

The second part of this post is going to focus more on local flowers and my love/hate relationship with them. Alright, there’s really a lot of love just some challenges that get presented to sourcing them. If you have more questions regarding choosing the right flowers, local, seasonal or otherwise I’d love to hear them and hopefully provide some answers. Maybe we could even turn this into a 3 part series. Stay tuned!

All Hail the Red, While & Blue

0 · Jul 6, 2016 ·

We’re now six days deep into July and it’s taken me this long to dig through my portfolio to find a somewhat patriotic, or red white and blue flower arrangement. While these colors might not be every bride’s dream palette, it doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult to find something with a little red in it.

This little challenge of mine has got me thinking, once again, about color. I just can’t seem to get the impact of it off of my mind. Color is everywhere.

Through this searching process, I have realized why there’s very little red, white and blue in my work. Perhaps not that surprising unless you’re part of a military wedding. But the real reason is, red doesn’t inspire me. I don’t choose to add it into my creations. After all, how am I supposed to work with a medium I’m not inspired by?

Of course I’ve had brides tell me that they’re using shades of cherry, burgundy, garnet, marsala and berry in their palette. We’ve always worked together to bring this vision to life in a way that is inspiring and artful to both of us. But just red, count me out.

Perhaps one of my favorite sources of color inspiration was when dear Mary showed me a picture of her maid of honor’s blooming dress. The dress was clearly fabulous but suddenly I was panicked, I would have to use red flowers.

And then she told me how much her and the groom love food. I started dreaming of eatible berries and olive branches and other seamingly obvious ingredients. But then, I started taking a deeper look during my weekly grocery shopping trips and examining the various tones in the produce section. Their wedding flowers were no longer about color, but a feeling and a representation of them. I began to reshape my thought process and take notice of the small details in the everyday world around me. I experienmented with wiring chilis into buttonholes and scheming of how to sneak a few apple branches from my neighbor’s tree. Trips to the farmer’s market, searching through greenhouse herbs, bay leafs, lavender, peppers, artichokes and pomegranates created a palette that wasn’t just pleasing for the eyes but really was good enough to eat. Together, we worked to find something that was beautiful to both of us – and it’s one of my favorite weddings to date.

So if you’re presented with an obstacle in your wedding planning that at first glance may seem less than ideal, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and tackle the challenge. Sometimes you just need to approach things from a different angle and not be so quick to judge a color (or venue, chair, suit, etc).

Photography: Cory Weber Photography

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

And if you want to see my chili pepper buttonhole, pop on over to instagram – it’s red, white and blue perfection!

10 Local Flower Favorites

0 · Jun 3, 2016 ·

Once upon a time, when we used to think of usual local flowers in your décor, images of black-eyed susans and statice in vibrant rainbow colors was the first thing to pop to mind, i.e. wildflowers. Today, floral designers across the country have found a balance of collecting any wild bloom they can find with making it more purposeful and part of your color story. Beautiful, textural and local artpieces are created.

When I talk about using local flowers, most of us imagine purchasing flowers Michigan’s huge flower farms – but not many exist. While I lot that thought, in reality when I saw using local or special seasonal touches, I’m really adding anything that I did not source from one of my wholesalers. For me, gathering local flowers may be a fresh farmer’s market bunch, picking a few extra special blossoms from my garden (when I don’t kill them first!), walking through the woods or collecting roadside finds or even heading to the greenhouse to disassembled a few potted treasures (which I will then try to plant later and probably kill). Here are a few of my very favorite ingredients found throughout the seasons and how I love to incorporate them into wedding and floral décor.

Blooming Branches

Whether you’re utilizing cherry blossoms, dogwood or service berry – May brings so many beautiful branches in bloom. These delicate blossoms add so much romance and texture to the overall design of the day and also create stunning floral photo backdrops.

Coral Bells

While the dainty little blossoms are sweet all on their own, my favorite part to use of this perennial is the foliage. The veins and color variation in a single leaf makes it the perfect complement piece. However, the stems are short at times depending upon variety and maturity of the plant, so often this greenery is better utilized as in centerpieces although I love to use them in bouquets whenever possible.

Dahlias

Big and bold, dahlias are a show stopper. The color variety ranges from deep burgundy’s to brighter pinks, yellow, whites and many shades in between. They start blooming late in July, with August and September being their prime time to shine. Use them in centerpieces, bouquets, on your cakes or really anywhere you want a bold conversation starter.

Foxglove

Known as fairy’s caps, thimbles or bumble bee hammocks, these linear blooms are spotted perfection. Early summertime is when they’ll beautify our lives. I sacrificed my plant’s only bloom last week for a bouquet and it was so worth it.

Hellebore

These moody blooms capture my heart every time. They’re one of the very first flowers to come to life after a long winter and are the very voice of refreshment. Also known as the Lenten rose, they’re perfect for bouquets, centerpieces and boutonnières.

Lavender

Such a soothing aroma to calm any wedding nerves. I had a plant in my garden that produced blooms from early June until autumn brought its first frost, however most commonly you’ll find fresh sprigs in July and as a dried herb at farmer’s market throughout the fall. I love adding these into boutonnières, bouquets and using them as place setting garnishments.

Lilacs

The fragrant blooms scream spring. They are worth waiting all winter for with their intoxicating scent, they make the perfect bouquet or centerpiece all on their own or can also be paired lots of other springtime favorites making a great border flower in shades of rich plum, lavender and white.

Peonies

Everyone’s favorite, the peony has become wedding royalty. Their ruffley array of petals just cannot be matched. While the spectrum of colors can be great, most commonly you’ll find shades of white, fuchsia and softer pink locally but on occasion I’ve seen a coral or red charm. Purchase them at roadside stands, the farmer’s market or plant a bush in your own back yard and enjoy the blooms throughout mid-June.

Pokeweed

American Pokeweed grows wild and is considered a nuisance by many. It has a long smooth leaf and green berries throughout the summer which become purple in the autumn. However, these are best utilized before the color change because once they turn, the berries fall easily from the stems and will stain anything they land on. They’re the perfect filler green for all your flowering needs.

Sweet Peas

These little pink blossoms start late June and grow almost everywhere that reaches the sun. So much beauty is added to the side of Michigan’s highways and the color lasts through late July. These hardy little vines are great in centerpieces and bouquets alike.

Photo credits:

Slideshow 1: Blooming Branch Cake, Ashley Slater Photography | Coral Bell Foliage, Bradley James Photography | Cafe au Lait Dahlia, Hetler Photography | Foxglove Bouquet, Bradley James Photography | Hellebore Boutonnière, Bradley James Photography

Sideshow 2: Spray Rose & Lavender Flower Crown, Kelly Sweet Photography | Lilacs, Ashley Slater Photography | Peony Bouquet, Kelly Sweet Photography | Pokeweed Centerpiece, Bradley James Photography | Sweet Pea Centerpiece, Bradley James Photography

A version of this post was originally published on Simply Blue Weddings, you can see it here.

Happy Flower Friday!!

Local Flowers

Local is Risky (and you might not get what you want)

Where do Local Flowers Come From?

Foraged Flowers are Free Flowers

Local versus Seasonal

Seasonal Products aren’t Always Cheaper

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