botanical brouhaha

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Happy Saturday!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Trend Watch: Glitter & Sequins

Hope you don’t mind me breaking our routine today to share this trend…

Dolce Designs Studio

Tinge

Petals, Ink. (glitter-dipped feathers!)

Bows and Arrows and Apryl Ann Photography

Oak and the Owl

Bows and Arrows and Apryl Ann Photography

Primary Petals

Aileen Tran and Trevor Vieweg Photography

Planet Flowers

Blush Floral Design

Gertie Mae’s and The Photography of Haley Sheffield

Ovando

Mondo Floral Design and Calli B Photography

Fleur and Pen Carlson Photography

Modern Day Floral

Primary Petals and Jose Villa Photography

The Arrangement Company

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

(inter)National Lonely Bouquet Day

After weeks of tragic news and sadness from Texas to Boston to Oklahoma, I’m feeling a need to find a way for us to use our flowers to show the world some love. I think I found a great opportunity to do just that…and I’m so excited to share it with you today. Meet Emily from Fleuropean…

She founded the Lonely Bouquet and has now dreamed up the first (inter)National Lonely Bouquet Day. I’m hoping some of you will be inspired to join me in participating on June 30th. Welcome Emily as she shares her vision with us…

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“Hi there fellow flower enthusiasts! I’m Emily, founder of Fleuropean and lover of flowers. I was incredibly honored when Amy approached me with the idea of dedicating a post to the tale of the Lonely Bouquets. After seeing the devastation left behind in the wake of the Oklahoma tornado, Amy saw the story of my floral adventures as a way to encourage members of the floral community to give in the way that we know best… through flowers. I’ve long been a lover of everything flowery and sweet but only recently became enthralled with tending to a garden of my own. Over the past two years I’ve added lots of interesting plants, tubers, and seeds… so much so that I quickly outgrew my initial idea of growing enough garden goodies to keep my interior looking fresh and full of flowers. Seeing bunches of blossoms certainly puts a smile on my face, so I pondered the idea of giving away little gifts from my garden. After all, what’s better than making someone else smile? I mulled over several options ranging from knocking on doors and running away to making arrangements for locals nominated by loved ones. Nothing totally tickled my fancy until I awoke suddenly one morning with a huge smile on my face. The Lonely Bouquet!

The very next day I set about cutting flowers from the garden, arranging them in recycled glass jars, printing out little “take me!” tags, and driving them to the local village. Admittedly, my first attempts were complete failures. Apparently a bus stop on a sunny Sunday afternoon didn’t quite get the high traffic I was hoping for! Over the past year I’ve fine-tuned my flower philanthropy skills and become a more seasoned spontaneous-flower-distributor. Sharing something you love with unsuspecting strangers is one of the most amazing experiences. Making someone smile with surprise at happening upon a bouquet seemingly meant for them… nothing beats that! A small and simple action can sometimes have far-reaching effects.

On Sunday the 30th of June, I’ll be over-seeing the very first (inter)National Lonely Bouquet Day. The basic idea is to encourage flower lovers and garden enthusiasts around the world to take part in a bit of flower philanthropy. I’ll host a gathering here in my garden before heading out to distribute all of our arrangements… maybe you’d like to host a small group in your hometown? If you’d prefer to work solo, that’s totally fine too! I’ll provide a bit of advice (although the concept is pretty simple), a template for the “take me!” tag, and a forum for sharing all of our pictures and stories. I think you’ll be thrilled to find that spreading a bit of flower love will fill you with great warmth and happiness... and of course make some lucky locals happy too!”

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I love following Emily’s blog. I can’t get enough of her photos of unsuspecting people finding the Lonely Bouquets. I want to cheer when someone actually smiles, picks up the bouquet and takes it home. Mission accomplished!