Art Deco

Designed as birthday present from a husband to his wife. This bedroom bureau arrangement reflects my need to minimize the use of chrysanthemums when creating a sentiment of love during autumn. I also try to minimize "autumn-obvious" elements.
In a rust rubbed, hand poured, concrete, Art Deco pedestal, on a nest of natural reindeer moss studded with pearl pins, three different kinds of orchids asymmetrically radiate. Sprays of Green Murk orchids and stripped salal stems and ruffles of miniature Burgundy Kiss green cymbidium orchids arrange to showcase a Majestic Chocolate burgundy orchid blossom.
I designed for Thanksgiving a similar composition with slightly different elements. Pictured below: miniature red roses, birch twigs, red spider spray orchids and raspberry stained green orchids with moss and dried heliconia.
I rarely photograph outside of my studio so please forgive the picture quality.

The FREE Bridal Bouquet

I was recently interviewed by Toronto Life magazine for their annual Wedding issue. During this interview I was asked how many bridal bouquets I had made. I had honestly lost count and didn't know what to say. I used to keep track of such things early in my career, but now it seems more important to try and make each one look unique for the woman who is to hold it.
I suppose I'm a popular florist because I give brides flowers to hold that are in scale to their body and are designed to compliment their dress using flowers that are part of their overall theme and flowers that have meanings to the bride. I don't pull out a book of styles, (most of these books are out of style the moment they are published), and ask a bride to pick one. Brides are paying for three things as I see it: skill, beauty and original design.
Now I give the bride her dream bouquet for free, if her total floral order is over $900. On average, a bride I design for spends more than a thousand dollars on flowers for two venues.
FREE sometimes implies cheap. This is not what I am offering at all. I'm offering the bride the opportunity to hold whatever she wants. Every flower is available to her from imported peonies from France to locally grown tulips. The bouquet comes with a resting vase of her choice too!
My production team works within the framework of my designs and are a tremendous help. All the junior florists that help me are very talented people, but I make all the bridal bouquets for every wedding I agree to do.
Since the Toronto Life interview I have calculated I have made approximately 470 bridal bouquets, not including designs for publications and designs for bridal salons.

Hydrangea: loved yet feared

Hydrangea is in my opinion, (based on sales and requests), is the most loved flower by women in Toronto. Hydrangea grows everywhere in Ontario, actually it goes everywhere in the world. Florists have the option of using home grown hydrangea or hydrangea from China or Holland. I use hydrangea from many sources.
Hydrangea dislikes being a cut flower and is notorious for shriveling up in a few hours. Air, once in the stem shortens the life blood of this beauty.
The Internet is full of articles that tell you to dip the stems in boiling water or to cut the stems under water, give the flowers a bath in warm water every three days and on one site I read that you should pray to your God. The Martha Stewarts of the world might have the time to bathe their hydrangea but most women that shop my boutique work for a living and most likely have more pressing things to do. Praying to God?
I have tried many things to keep this beauty longer in a vase. But only one thing seems to work for me, and that is to generously cut the stem quite short and immediately get it into floral food water ASAP. Once arranged, I never remove the stem from water. Sometimes they last only a few days and sometimes a month.
The truth is: hydrangea is a crap shoot flower. Very few stems match it's beauty and no flower makes a florist more nervous than hydrangea. There are no guarantees with hydrangea.

Hydrangea are available in many colors. The color of the flower depends on the PH level of the soil. Color also dictates the price of the flower too. White, blue and baby green are the least expensive. I usually design with these colors and often use pink in pink themed wedding designs. Brides almost always ask for hydrangea to be somewhere in their wedding flowers.

An upscale baby shower arrangement

An apothecary glass jar was used as a centerpiece for a recent upscale baby shower.
The base of the design was a nest made of shredded yellow satin ribbon, beige river rocks, clear crushed glass and golden mini pebbles. A corsage consisting of a white garden rose, a cream rose and a yellow rose was added to the nest. The corsage was then edged with loose white dendrobium orchids and the new pewter green mini dendrobium orchids cut away from the stem.
The unborn child was represented as a lone white mini cymbidium orchid which rested on top of the corsage. The jar was trimmed with pale gray and pale yellow silk organza ribbon.
The design was then filled with water so that the loose orchids would float around the rose corsage.
"The flowers were very beautiful. I got many compliments and told everyone where I got them! Thanks so much!" Bev

How to care for cut flowers in water

A bouquet of flowers of loose stems or a hand tied bouquet

Mix the floral food provided with your bouquet with water, following the packets instructions.
Pour the desired amount of water into a clean vase.
Cut all stems 1/4" on an angle with clean scissors or a clean knife.
Place stems into the vase.

The following reasons shorten the life of cut flowers:
-temperature of the room exceeds 22 degrees Celsius
-flowers are exposed to direct sunlight
-flowers are exposed to cigarette smoke
-flowers are exposed to a draft
-touching the petals

You should add water as often as needed. There is no reason to cut the stems again unless the flowers were left for any time without water.

Floral food consists of sugars and bleach and is intended only for flowers.

An arrangement in foam
A high concentration of floral food exists already in the arrangement. Simply add generous amounts of water daily, drain and enjoy.
Some flowers will live longer than others, this is unfortunate, but it is a reality.