Sunday Dinner

Last weekend my boyfriend's Mom invited us over for some burgers at her house and I had plenty of flowers left over from the farmer's market.  My boyfriend's five-year-old nephew said that "he liked them," and quizzically asked if they were real.  I like a five-year-old that appreciates flowers.

Weekend Farmer's Market: Summer Arrangement

Another weekend trip to the farmer's market and supporting the local flower cause.  I cannot take credit for the combination of these flowers because I purchased them as pre-picked bunches of flowers.  I like the wildflower, rainbow effect they all have together.



And when I woke up in the mornings I got to see these lovely colors.  And Domo, of course.

Floral Design Class: Wedding Flowers

During the beginning of the summer Delta offered a Wedding Flowers workshop that I jumped at the chance to take. It was a packed class with lots of ladies looking to do flowers for their own weddings, so it was fun to hear about all of their ideas.  We had four classes where we learned about the varying parts of doing flowers for a wedding and we got to make a wedding bouquet and a centerpiece.  Carol brought in all white flowers for the bouquet and I think all of the ladies in the class squealed when we saw them.  We were all saps.  She had roses, hydrangeas, carnations, stock, peonies, alstroemeria, and--as an expensive treat--we all got one stephanotis each.
This was my first try at a bouquet with the Oasis bouquet holder, and I've got to say that I prefer a hand-tied bouquet.  Hand-tied bouquets look so much more natural, and while the Oasis holder will help it to last longer, I think the holder just takes away from the overall look and feel.  Here is the bird's eye view.  It looks like a star!  I'm sure if we all had more flowers our bouquets would come out much fuller, but everyone did a great job and it smelled amazing in the classroom.

And here's a side view.  I used oregano to fill in the gaps since we didn't have enough flowers to fill our bouquets entirely out, but I kind of like it. 

Another week we got to do a small wedding centerpiece.  Carol brought in classic red and white flowers and tall vases for us to set our pieces on.  I didn't get a picture, but it was a nice chance to see how adding height to an arrangement can really change it.  I wasn't in love with my outcome, but I'm sure with practice I'll find what I like best.

Floral Design Class: Scalene and Vertical

One of the other styles we tackled in our advanced class was the Scalene Triangle design.  We had a lot of different flowers and greens to choose from, thanks to Carol and to other classmates with overflowing gardens of their own.  I used yellow gladiolus and some sort of fern to make the basic frame and I used some form of oregano (I believe that's what it was...) and misty to fill in a little of the negative space.  I liked the overall dramatic look of it and had fun watching my gladiolus open over the week.

And now for the design I battled with.  I don't know why, but I had a lot of trouble with the vertical arrangement.  Maybe it was a bad night, maybe I was tired, or maybe I just need more practice with it, but I was frustrated with my result.  We used myrtle and swordfern and [insert name of unidentifiable purple line flower seen here! Anyone know?] to make the vertical frame and used carnations and pom-pons to draw the eye up.  Amaranthus, pittosporum, and leatherleaf helped to frame the bowl.  I'm not sure, I can't put my finger on what I don't like.  The amaranthus look whimpy, that's for sure.

Floral Design Class: L-Shape and T-Shape

I realize that I'm putting all of these posts for my floral design classes out of order, but who cares!  Here is a picture of my attempt at an L-Shape design from the Advanced workshop.  Again, we used larkspur and this time some swordfern to create the basic frame of the design.  I love larkspur, it looks so dainty yet it is strong and great for making a line.  My "L shape" dips a little, but I enjoyed it.

Next the T-Shape design.  I left my class that night pretty unhappy with my attempt, maybe it was because my snapdragons were not cooperating with me, but I still enjoyed their gorgeous color for the rest of the week.  The thing about L-Shape and T-Shape designs is that they are very formal and I probably won't myself sit down in my day-to-day to make one of these types of arrangements, but it's important to know them because they are basic styles to build upon.

Weekend Farmer's Market: Gerberas and Carnations

I make it a habit to visit the farmer's market every weekend to buy some fresh veggies and to check out any flowers.  I'm not sure what farm I keep buying from because they don't have a poster or banner up, but they have had some really beautiful and reasonably priced flowers for sale.  For some reason a white, yellow, and pink color palette really appealed to me that day because I picked up bunches of carnations and gerbera daisies and made my way home.  I was able to get three different arrangements out of the bunches I purchased and my home was very colorful and cheery for the rest of the week.  I did a little free-standing, no foam table arrangement.  I also added some gyp and alstroemeria.  Let me just say that I never can get alstroemeria to cooperate with me and it never lasts long.  I have classmates who say that they can get theirs to last for a week and on day five mine all fall apart.  Any tips?  Maybe I mixed them with some other flower that repels them.  Who knows.  The one thing that I learned from this weekend was that I need to buy less mass and focal point flowers and more green and filler.  I get so excited by the big, showpiece flowers that I buy too many and they just overpower each other and end up getting squashed together.

Here's another view of it sitting on the coffee table.

I also got to practice a foam design at home.  This was the first time using foam outside of the floral design workshops and I'd say it was positive.  I still don't really like using foam, but it's definitely needed sometimes.

And last, I stuck whatever I had left in a vase and called it a day.

Floral Design Class: Biedermeier

I was instantly excited when we began learning about Biedermeier-style arrangements because, as I've said before, I enjoy balance and preciseness in design.  So, concentric rings?  Sign me up!


The bird's eye view of my first attempt at a Biedermeier is pretty cool.  I definitely like this view better than the more important side views, but it was my first try.  I look forward to making some during Christmas.

I really wanted to stick to rings of the same color, but we were low on flowers and there was no way I was going to have enough yellow carnations to complete the lower ring.  The different colors break up the rings, but I still like the effect.  A very fun first attempt.

Floral Design Class: Bud Vase

When I stepped into the classroom for my very first class of Basic Floral Design, I was greeted by some lovely flowers and some even lovelier people.  I have enjoyed these classes so much and I have loved getting to know all of the ladies in the San Joaquin Delta Floral Design Workshop program.  I've learned a lot and I'm raring to learn more!

For our first class we did a simple bud vase arrangement with leatherleaf fern, swordfern, gyp, red carnations, and green gladiolus.  If I learned anything from that first class, it's that you have to enjoy yourself while you are designing.  If you're frustrated, it's time to step away and take a breath.  It seems obvious, but if you are crabby and forcing things to fit together, then your work is gonna look exactly like how you feel.  I got a little overwhelmed at first, but I just relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

I was pretty happy with the results and damn proud of my bow.