poppy

Mauve & Yellow Flowers for the Month of March

0 · Apr 1, 2020 ·

Yes, it’s techically April 1st and I’m just finishing up my March flower series. But since we’re all at home in quarentine, who really knows what day it is anymore anyway??? Plus these flowers will spill beautifully into the month of April as well.

My orginal plan was to create this arrangment (using my 5 flowers from the month of March – linked here in case you missed them), and then create an Easter inspired tablescape. But it was as I was finalizing these plans that the world outside got a little chaotic – schools closed, sickness showed up in our state and we were all ordered to stay home. This order extends well past Easter and so all of our traditional Easter day activities (church, Easter dresses, egg hunts, a fancy brunch, etc) have all sort of been put on hold. Onto Plan B….

I made a little video. I thought we could inspired eachother with putting together flowers that still exist, even if sourcing them is a little more challenging right now. Easter is all about the season of hope, which is what these flowers are giving me. Hope that this is part of a greater plan, afterall He’s got the whole world in His hands and if there was ever a reminder to let go and reliquish control, it’s this. None of us can truly control what’s going on in the outside world. Instead we can focus on what beauty can be found in the situation.

A quick little video of me putting this together (along with some dog barking and high speed curious facial expressions 🙂 Realtime, it took me approximately 29 minutes to put this centerpiece together, but I edited it down to just 14 for your viewing pleasure.

And then when I was all finished, I really couldn’t resist the idea of seeing what this might look like next to a placesetting. So I grabbed some mustard napkins and simple stoneware plates and played… complete with candles and gold flateware. I really should have just put together an entire tabletop because this little snippet by itself was so good!

We finally have some spring weather here in the forcast in Michigan and the last of our snow piles have just about melted. Hope the weather is doing a happy dance whereever you are as well!

5 Flowers for the Month of March

1 · Mar 24, 2020 ·

Coming here to write has been a little bit of a struggle. With all the things happening in the world, chatting about flowers seems a little frivilous. I mean, they’re just flowers…

At the end of last week I watched videos of some of the California wholesalers having to dump product because their doors are closing. They weren’t throwing out just a couple of bunches of blooms, but hundreds of thousands of flowers (and dollars). Flowers that were grown by farmers across the country and across the world. This is people’s careers and livelyhood. Tears welled in my eyes and I still get a rock in my gut just thinking about it.

On top of that, flowers bring joy. Right now, we all could use a little joy. It was like seeing buckets of joy being thrown away. We might be forced to stay in our homes, but that doesn’t mean that we need to suffer in ugly silence. We can still seek out the joy in each day. For me, much joy is found in flowers so I’ve decided to continue sharing it the only way I’m able to right now, here in this space.

I know I’ve said it several times in the past few months, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m going to say it again – there are amazing flowers available in the winter and early spring months. The colors and textures are like those not found at other times of the year. Here are 5 that I’m especially loving right now.

Daffodils

I’m sure I’ll talk a little more about these once Michigan bring us more, but for the moment let’s just soak in the happy, sunshine hues and their coral counterparts. There are 2 different varieties here because I was indecisive and couldn’t choose just one (and the ones that I had actually ordered were sold out). Sometimes that indesiveness is perfect though, as I find new flower varieties to love. Daffodils are cheery, cost effective and great as either an accent flower or even the star of the show.

Clematis

Another springtime favorite, I dream of having beautiful climbing clematis vines around my property… I just haven’t quite figured out where exactly I’d plant them. So in the meantime, I’ll buy them to use in your arrangments. I love their spidery star shapes, the touch of yellow in the middle and the long graceful lines of their foliage.

Poppies

When I first started working in the floral industry, I was told that poppies make a poor choice for cut flowers. They have a short vase life and wouldn’t last in an arrangement. I’m so glad I haven’t found this to be true. I absoultely love these flowers during these dreery months (and again when Michigan will bring us her’s in the summer). These are the Icelantic variety, and each bunch is a farmer’s choice mix of bloom colors. They’re shipped still in their budded stage, which means opening each bloom is like a Puppy Surprise, you never know what you’ll find inside! This particular bunch was almost all white with yellow middles, except for 2 coral blooms.

Japanese Meadowsweet Spirea

This is an ingredient I don’t get to use nearly enough. It’s so delicate, lacey and screams springtime! I love the mix of woody, dancing branches with teenie little flowers all clustered together. It adds amazing texture and height to an arrangment. I would highly recommend using this for both your base when creating the overall arrangment shape, as well as some last minute accent/textural pieces.

Japanese Sweet Peas

I don’t descriminate amoungst sweet peas. I love them all. I bought way too many just for myself at the farmer’s market last summer and plan to do the same again this year. However, when the Japanese ones come into season, they bring extra long stems and the most unique color variety. These are technically brown, but like many other flowrs that fall into that brown category, I see other colors shining through. In each single bloom, I see vains of mauve, purples and even bits of amber. My only regret with these? I didn’t order more!

As in months past, I have put together an arrangment using all of these ingredients together which I will share soon. A little teaser to make sure you come back… this is one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever made (that is, until I make my next favorite!)

Stay safe and healthy flower friends!

Friday Flowers :: Spring Seaside Bouquet

0 · Apr 15, 2016 ·

Spring Beach Bouquet | The Day's Design | Ashley Slater Photography

As it so often happens, last spring I was eager to make something pretty. I wanted to stretch my wings and create. I needed to dust off my flowering skills. Editorial styled shoots are one of my favorite ways to quench this yearning.

The story was inspired by the sea. The tablescape was to appear as if it had just been washed ashore. I easily sourced driftwood and nautical touches but we all know that the flowers sometimes make the greatest impact in the overall design. You may remember the entire feature with Ashley Slater Photography here.

I remember putting the flower order together. When it’s been months since you’ve seen and touched real live blossoms, you can start to feel overwhelmed with the whole order process. I wanted it all. And I always make it a point to order something new, especially with styled shoots – that’s the perfect opportunity to try something new.

Poppies. That was my new source of inspiration. I placed an order for lots of Matilija poppies to be the star of my bouquet. There’s something about them that remind me of sea anemones. Their petals are dainty and paper thin. And in my imagination, sometimes I see them living under the sea.

The day before my flowers arrived, I was informed that my precious poppies were not available. A quick change of plans and I substituted Bowl of Cream Peonies and other gorgeous variety with a cheery yellow center – both flown in from California.

Eucalyptus is another favorite of mine to use by the beach. The blue green tinge compliments the water in the background so nicely. I’m always cautious of using too harsh of a green tone against a blue backdrop.

California grown Caramel Antike Roses (the beigey, gold garden roses seen above) are some of my go-to;s. You’ll see them in my work time and time again. The perfect neutral.

But the piece that really pulled this whole bouquet together was the blooming branches foraged from my own neighborhood. I stopped early morning to trim a few flowers and as soon as I started working with them, I realized I needed more and more. I sent my husband down the road with hedge trimmers and told him to grab as much as he possibly could. He returned a short while later with a massive pile of branches. I thought there was no way I would ever use that much, he argued that I had told him to get ask much as he could. Very true. I think I ended up using all but one small branch. They were amazing. I’m sad I don’t have a wedding the first week of May this year – although I’m not longer living in that neighborhood either.

I added gold ribbons that complimented the stamens in my peonies, as well as the touches of glimmer in my other decor, and blue ribbons to match Lake Michigan in the background. Silk ribbons are your best friends in the breeze. I can’t get over how they glide in the wind.

Shelby signature