Serendipity in the Big Apple

I once heard an artist recommend his favorite way to find fresh inspiration....travel and SEE new things!  I think I would add, and meet a few new people, too!

This past week I had the pleasure of doing just that, tagging along on a trip to NYC with my husband, Doug. He kindly deferred to me for most of our leisure time itinerary, and I found SO much inspiration.

Highlights included, the Highline, a wonderful park made on an elevated train track in Chelsea. The artistry was striking. I love how plants allow a certain palette, texture, volume...so many things to feast the eyes.

The hardscape was well designed, too, leading you to look in just the right little corner, or over the railing, or out to the city beyond.

West 28th street was a delightful surprise, where wholesale florists spread out their wares.
 
Tall palms and various evergreens line the sidewalks, and show how plants in that hard city scape bring a humanizing element to the surroundings.

I loved thinking about where those plants would go, and why people need them...what is it that they do for our souls?

 These prickly gems made me think of Christmas!

The lovely ladies at I.A.M. 

The International Arts Movement office on West 39th street were great fun to meet. We were shocked at how many connecting dots we found, and we went away full of encouragment. They gave us a literal and figurative "cup of cold water".

Thankful for their work!

Visiting Saipua, which means soap in Finnish, was our next goal. I got up eager for this adventure, though Doug was a bit more skeptical. We headed off to Red Hook, in Brooklyn. 

First hint...the taxi driver wanted to know if we had ever been there before? HMM.

When he dropped us off on a cold, slightly snowy, nearly abandoned, rather industrial street with the words, "I'm done with you people now", we were a tad bit concerned!

After asking a local worker if he thought anyone was in, we sheepishly knocked on the metal door, where nothing but the number indicated we were in the right place.

Ashley cheerily visits with two lost strangers.

That courageous knock opened the door to a wonderful studio, where we met the very kind Ashley, who, though the location is really a workshop that wasn't even open to the public that day, she cheerily welcomed us in, and we had a stimulating chat about floral design and the work she and the rest of the team do there. The owner focuses most of her time on a farm near Albany, growing plants for the thriving business. We even got a few kisses from her brindled dog, and learned that Ashley is now engaged to be married! Best wishes to Ashley and her fiance!

Seeing this space was very inspiring...perhaps a future garage    somewhere will turn into my design studio!

A Time to Mourn

We could not leave New York without one last stop at the incredible 911 memorial, where architect Michael Arad created "Reflecting Absence".

Along with landscape architect Peter Walker, the two artists captured so eloquently the sense of loss. 

Even twelve years later, I could not help but weep. What affirmation that beauty heals, and we must take time to create more of it while we may.

A Few New Photos from Recent Work

I so enjoyed working with this couple, whose lovely wedding was photographed by Chelsa Yoder Photography. 

It was romantic and rustic, with a literary touch, as all they tables were identified by couples from stage, screen, or literature.

Wedding Work Perks

Two weddings celebrated over the last week; one romantic and lush, the other vibrant and focused on FUN! When all the flowers are delivered and the wedding begins, the joy of a new family beginning makes it all worth it.

                                    Wishing the very best to both couples and their families!

com laborare

in process

 

It seems surreal that just a year ago my daughter and I were enjoying the quiet interlude prior to wedding day. All our preparations were complete! Weather reports were promising. Anticipation was palpable, ripe and sweet like fall apples. Nothing was left but to pray for sunshine and stand by our motto...No fretting allowed!

How those "small" to do lists grow to exponential size, because of course this was going to be a simple family affair, is beyond me! But the great miracle is that through com laborare, working together, it really does ALL get done. 

 We had a fantastic team of friends, family and professionals who worked together with an enthusiastic can do spirit, and the whole thing was a wonderful success. It's a lot like marriage itself as I think about it...a beautiful marriage is guaranteed when each one does their best to make that relationship one worth cherishing over a lifetime!

Recently, I enjoyed collaborating with my friend, Lauren Matthews, a talented photographer (and Latin teacher extraordinaire) to capture some shots from one of my wedding previews.

  I love how she focused in on the little details; yet another parallel to a good marriage...focus in on blessing each other in the little things, and you'll end up with a glorious result!

Many thanks to Lauren for sharing her gifts, and here's to joyful, fun filled celebrations, and long happy marriages to couples tying the knot this fall.


 

Fall Wedding Previews

August is turning into preview month for my fall brides. We get together over a glass of wine and I share sample bouquets and boutonierres to confirm we are all on the same page. Here are some photos from our recent sampling:

 

Starting to think FALL WEDDINGS!

End of summer lush

 

 

 

 

As the summer draws to a close the rush of Fall weddings is just around the corner. Bride's are setting up their previews, tasting that final menu, eating one more cupcake, and looking at sample bouquets to be sure everything is just as they imagine it, or better!

For me, it's a time to try some new combinations, and I'm especially excited about adding some succulents to the bouquets and arrangements. I never realized how much subtle color variation can be found in these interesting plants.

Best wishes to all the Brides and Grooms!

They were but sweet, but figures of delight, drawn after you, you pattern of all those.

My Gardenia in bloom at last...heavenly scent!

                                            Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
                                            Of different flowers in odour and in hue
                                            Could make me any summer's story tell,
                                            Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
                                            Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,
                                            Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
                                            They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
                                            Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
                                                                        
                                                                      William Shakespeare Sonnet 98

At long last summer arrives, full of glorious flowers and a host of weddings. 

Wondering today about flowers and weddings. Why do they go so well together? They are lovely, and full of personality and that "something special" that takes a day from ordinary to fabulous. But, though flowers grace the wedding day with their beautiful shapes, scents and colors, they cannot compare to the bride and groom in their happiness. 

Ellis and Jenny are Man and Wife! David Strauss Photography

 Loving the boot craze!  David Strauss Photography

Spring says yellow!  David Strauss Photography

Wedding flowers bring a certain personality with them...free form and fun loving, soft and sweet, bold and courageous. Folklore from all over the world gives meaning to flowers and colors that we modern folk have long since left behind. Brides today are free to explore all sorts of options.
 

Melissa and Jason tie the knot!

Be on the look out for what is in season, as well as what appeals to your sense of style. Keeping it fresh and pretty, but reasonably priced can be as easy as looking in your neighbors yard (and asking before you cut, of course!). I like Shakespeare's advice once again:

At Christmas I no more desire a rose

Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth;

But like of each thing that in season grows.

William Shakespeare Love's Labours Lost

 

Wedding days pass by all too quickly for families who have worked so hard to plan and prepare. Their beauty is fleeting. 

The real thing of beauty is that couple themselves, starting off sharing the rest of their lives together. They get to choose, each day in the years ahead, whether their life together will be a thing of beauty or not. 

When they walk along together in their later years, holding hands in quiet contentment for a life well spent together, they will have achieved something the world still finds remarkable, and oh so sweet!
 
The wedding day is only a pattern of beauty, set at the start, drawn after the true loving marriage that lasts a lifetime. Wishing that for all the lovely young couples whose vows I've witnessed this year!