I Spy... PEONIES!

It's the most wonderful time of the year - peony season!  The fragrant, delicate, feather-like blossom comes in a variety of shades, from classic white to inspiring shades of pink.  It's my absolute favorite flower in the world, which is coincidentally in bloom just in time for my birthday, mother's day and my anniversary.  That guarantees me bunches of the stunning stems over the next month!

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(That picture in the middle is me on my wedding day.)

If you forgot Mother's Day is this Sunday or you simply cannot think of what to do, here is a fool-proof plan that works for every budget and is sure to let mom know how much you care:

• Change and turn down mom's sheets Saturday night.
• Leave a note on her pillow wishing her sweet dreams and encouraging her to sleep-in tomorrow morning.
• Wake up early to ensure no kids, dogs, etc. disturb her sweet slumber.  
• During that time, set a beautiful table, using mom's lovely china and silver.  Freshly pressed linens will surly impress.  (If your mom/wife is like me they are already cleaned and pressed in the linen closet.)  
• For a centerpiece/gift fill a vase with a bunch of peonies.  The bloom is widely available right now and very reasonably priced at places such as Whole Foods.  Be sure to remove any leaves below the water line and cut the stems down to fit into the container.  
• Give the children small, inexpensive flower pots to paint and plant seed in to give to mom.  
• Cook and/or bake some of mom's favorite brunch foods.  Regardless what you make or how it turns out, she will appreciate it because it was made with love.  
• Spend the remainder of the day doing an activity mom loves.  Perhaps a family bike ride or walk through the park, a trip to a museum, window shopping in town or driving through her favorite neighborhood looking for open houses...
• For dinner, heat up the grill and dine al fresco.

Happy Mother's Day and Happy Peonies Season!

Cheers!

Elizabeth

"Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into."  ~Henry Beeche

Florals: An Egg-cellent Arrangment

The blue sky, the warm sunshine, the cool breeze, the blossoms bursting, and the birds singing... Spring is here and Easter is just around the corner.  Today I was out running errands and picked up some things for the kids' Easter baskets.  One of my stops was at Whole Foods, where they had a lovely selection flowers.

When I got to the checkout I realized the beautiful bunches of flowers totaled nearly $60 and I had to come up with a way to justify that to my husband.  So here we are... a tutorial on how to make a splendid spring time arrangement for your Easter table.

*Side notes: First, I am sorry to say that Richmond has an awful selection of flowers, so the grocery store is basically my only source.  Coming from DC, where we had great flower markets and working at the BEST flower shop in town (Helen Olivia), it's a tough pill to swallow.   Once the kids are in school full time, I would love to return to floral design.  In the meantime, I do offer my services one off.  Second, please excuse the quality of the photos.  Photography is not one of my many talents.

Go to your local floral shop, farmers market, flower market or grocery store and buy flowers.  The amount you will need depends on the size of the container you use. For this arrangement I used 3 white hydrangeas, 9 light green roses, 2 green mini hydrangeas, 9 purple tulips, 5 lavender  freesia, and 3 lavender hyacinth.

You will need a container and floral knife and/or flower clippers.  (You may need Oasis floral foam if you use a small or lower container.)  

The particular container I used  is 6x6x4. I did not use any Oasis.  

Be sure to cut your flowers on a diagonal.  "Clean" your flowers.  For example, remove any leaves that are not necessary or would be below the water line, scrape off the thorns, gently pull off any petals that are bruised or discolored.

I would normally "green up" the vase (to create the basic shape) with a green such as pittosporum, however the grocery store did not have any.  In this case, it's simple to get a basic shape with 3 white hydrangeas.

Then I added 2 green mini-hydrangeas - 1 to each side.

Next add 9 light green roses.  I like roses bunched in groups of 3.  

Then add 3 hyacinth.

I added 5 freesia, dispersed throughout the arrangement.  

The final type of flower included in the arrangement are tulips - 3 groups of 3

After the arrangement is complete, wrap the vase in ribbon.  I selected a thick celadon color for the base.  Secure it with clear tape.  

Next wrap 3 pieces of scalloped ribbon and secure each piece with clear tape.

Finally, add a thin piece of ribbon over each scalloped ribbon and secure with clear tape.

Congratulations, you've just made a delightful flower arrangement for Easter!

If you have any questions or would like to hire me to design floral arrangements for your next party or event please email me HERE.    

Cheers!

Elizabeth

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."  ~Emma Goldman