Blog

Notes From the Garden: Late Spring

2013-04-14T14:45:06Z

I have nearly reached the 1-year mark since we transformed the front corner of the yard into a garden patch. Last year we missed the early Spring planting, so in the ground currently are: eggplants, basil, green beans, tomatoes, zinnias, and nasturtiums. The winter was interesting in that it was actually quite cold, consistently. I had a hunch that the winter season was going to be my finest. I imagined huge fluffy kales and sweet pea vines climbing 10 feet skyward. Totally wrong on both counts. Instead, the garden has mimicked the general pattern of Austin---with everything I sowed in a pretty nuetral state throughout the winter months, and them suddenly bursting forth in the early days of Spring (which in these parts means March. The ryhme "April showers brings May flowers" doesn't exactly apply here. It's more like "February gloom brings March blooms")

Living Room wedding!

2013-04-14T14:30:56Z

Living room wedding! A while back, Emily had an artist friend paint a rainbow on her blue living room wall. With an intimate group of their favorite folks, they decided to get married under the rainbow "arch." Floral for the day was throughout the house-- tiny pink bedside table pieces, a pretty kitchen table piece in Emily's adorable strawberry bowl, and a few coffee table stunners to spread the color 'round. Fun, sweet, simple.

Mackenzie & Nate at The Wildflower Center.

2013-03-16T18:17:36Z

Today I am sharing a few shots of Nate & Mackenzie's wedding captured by Day 7 Photography. This was one of the first weddings of the year, and while the winter months tend to be a bit less busy around here, it is actually when a few of my most favorite floral items are in season. Case in point: blooming acacia. The tiny little puff ball goodness is just the cutest thing in my book. It is different, a little quirky, and unexpected. It is also highly seasonal, at most available three months out of the year. Luckily, it fit in perfectly with the wild, eclectic vibe Mackenzie and Nate were aiming for. They had a gorgeous day out at The Widflower Center surrounded by family and friends. Take a peek:

Virginia & Jeremy at Casa Blanca, March 10, 2013

2013-03-11T19:16:01Z

I'm going to jump the gun on this one. I can't wait to see the professional images--but mostly, I can't wait to share this one! Here is a bit of truth: Mother nature is finicky, and the ruler of my land. That is the bottom line as a floral designer. That being the case, there is often an element of improvisation (read-- substitution), or the occasional round of calls to every floral supplier within a 500 mile radius in order to show up with the best version of what your client is expecting on their wedding day. In this instance, there were some "hope fors" on Virginia's floral ist--namely, green eyed anemones, poppies (preferably peach tones) and peach ranunculus. We got all three--in fact, we get the very best version of all three a bride (& designer) could ask for. When the poppies started to open (they arrive still in their fuzzy pod casing, their color a possibility of anything along a white/peach/orange/yellow/pink spectrum) the amazing CORAL color-- of which I have NEVER encountered in my entire floral career--began to emerge in force. It was the perfect accent to the palette we were working with!! Next, the peach ranunculus arrived--- a hybrid variety of epic proportions which was in fact the most beautiful soft romantic shade of peach on the planet. The result of all these elements was stunning-- and I was thrilled to deliver it to this flower loving bride.

Tales From a Traveling Floral Designer: California

2013-03-04T03:37:10Z

As a floral designer, travelling to California feels a bit like making the journey to Mecca, or the Taj Mahal, or the Vatican. It is a magical land where temperate climates allow succulents to grow bigger than your head, and walking down the street you may spy a variety of flora you have only ever encountered previously wrapped in cellophane in your wholesaler's cooler. I may have already mentioned how in Austin I often have urges to jump people's fences in order to raid their landscaping for floral tidbits... Well, if I lived in California, I am pretty sure I'd become a professional floral poacher, stealth in my black jumpsuit, shears in hand as I zig zagged across town lopping tufts of silver dollar eucalyptus from the treetops and clipping crocosmia from the roadsides. I swear, its pracitcally begging to be taken home with you!

Jessica & Patrick's fun & funky wedding at Palazzo Lavaca

2013-02-06T19:46:11Z

These two are fun. You can tell just by the photos, right? Be sure to hop over to Katherine O'Brien's blog to see their engagement session---hot stuff! For their wedding, it was to be a just-before-the-holidays, cozy party of 50, at the newish, amazing downtown venue Palazzo Lavaca. Click below for all the details and eye candy.

Jackie & Thomas at Zilker Clubhouse-- December 28, 2012.

2013-02-06T16:46:57Z

Jackie contacted me several months back and was interested in having a bouquet for a courthouse wedding with her man Thomas. We met and talked flowers, succulents and wintery colors. Then, not too long after our initial meeting she wrote to say the plan had changed---they'd be having an intimate wedding at Zilker Clubhouse, a little Austin gem tucked back in the hillside with a sweeping view of the city as ceremony backdrop. It is the perfect spot for a small wedding. Jackie and Thomas had around 25 guests attend their celebration, and the day was filled with hand made touches and sentiment---like the fur stole Jackie is rocking in the photo!--A "something old" AND "something borrowed from Thomas' grandmother. (We girls had a little laugh over the "scandalous" fur--it was grandma's! Waaaaay before things like animal rights had cropped up! It's VINTAGE! And, fabulous, so there.) They had one long, happy table we loaded with some of the season's finest--it was gorgeous! Click below for more details & photos.

2012 Reflections

2013-01-14T00:12:24Z

I have been simutaneously looking forward to and putting off this post for weeks. Writing a "Year in Review" feels like a monumentally overwhelming task! That kind of task goes against the vibe I've been channelling for the coming year-- a combination of maintaining calm and balance in all things, working smarter not harder, focusing on some real goals, and all in all, approaching every interaction with energy and positivity! I've never been a New Year's Resolution kind of girl. And, technically, what I'm feeling doesn't have as much to do with resolve as it does with resonance. Making resolutions feels like acknowledging that something needs fixing, and as I've been bopping around town proclaiming "Happy New Year!" to passers by, I've been feeling quite the opposite. I feel solid. I feel refreshed and ready for all that lay ahead. It is as if a wave had been building this past year---full of momentum and growing as the months progressed to finally hit land in an "a-ha!" moment. You see, all the parts are already here. Everything I need to be a successful business woman, mama, wife, friend--is already here--and though I'd be lying if I said I'd mastered the skill of balance in life and work, I do believe I am reaching a point of Zen on the matter.

Catie & Luke: Southampton, New York

2012-12-07T14:37:11Z

Early this fall we travelled to Southampton, NY for our cousin Catie's wedding. Both sides of my husband's family were originally farmers on Long Island, and the majority of the family is still located there. It is incredibly beautiful in a way so different from Austin. For me, Austin's beauty is kind of dishevelled and quirky--a mix of bright neon, iconic wild flowers, and eclectic architecture. Long Island's beauty is sweeping and striking in a whole different way--it is organized and manicured with its tall privet edging the pristinely landscaped yards and the rooftops meticulously lined with slowly weathering cedar shakes. It is always a treat to make the trip out there. It sometimes feels like we've stepped---mary-poppins style--into a painting (or the pages of Martha Stuart.)

This wedding was special because it was our family. My daughter finally fulfilled her long-time wish of being a flower girl. (It's HARD watching your mama craft all these frilly wands and baskets and halos and never being the one to play with them!). We stayed for nearly a week and had lots of time to visit and even a chance to jump in the ocean--in September!

Catie and Luke are the sweetest of couples. So attentive to one another, and kind and thoughtful. It was exciting to be a part of the wedding--it had been a long time since I had done wedding flowers for a family member or a friend! And, as you can see below, Catie and Luke have impeccable taste. Here are just a few of the shots from the day. Images provided by Toni Robertson Photography.

From the top: Catie and Luke after the ceremony. Catie and her ladies (that's my little one posing in the middle!). Under the tent. And a shot of the cake--which was made by the famous Kathleen King of Tate's Bake shop.

Ellen & Gerard's Herb Gardens

2012-12-03T18:41:52Z

It seems only fitting to follow up my Notes From the Garden post with some pictures of these fabulous herb gardens I made for Ellen & Gerard's wedding at Mercury Hall in mid November. I loved that the couple wanted to do something different than the usual floral arrangement, and loved it even more that they'd be gifting the pieces to their guests to take home and care for, as well as using them as the decor for their brunch the following day. I tell ya, one of the hardest things for me personally about the floral industry is the fleeting life of the beauty I create, and the environmental impacts of it all. We are always recycling, re-using, re-purposing, and trying to source as much of our product as locally as possible--but it never feels like enough! We made 25 of these herb gardens. All of the herbs were grown locally here in Texas, and the containers we planted them in are a recycled fiber board. Even with the added floral accents, we barely had any scraps to compost--yeah!! The bride loves thistle, so we tucked some of that in there along with some chamomile daisy and a lovely variety of marigolds grown in Blanco, Texas on the Arnosky Wildflower farm. Our herbs were a mix of dill, sorrel, lavender, rosemary, sage and pineapple mint--they looked wild and lovely, and smelled amazing!