The Next Generation

Blake & Ty

I thought all my long term clients would like a peek at our incredibly fabulous and fast growing next generation....Blake (Jens' son) and Ty (Yukos' son) came for a visit this week!

Here, Ty is showing Blake the proper care & handling of Gerbera daisies.

It just doesn't get cuter than these two little men....spitting images of their Moms & Dads. They are both crawling now and are keeping their Moms' busy these days.

I'm so happy they had time for a visit!

Property Crime - A Whole New Level of Craziness

Our Beautiful Bathtub

Well, we all know property crime is up in Vancouver... despite our high end location in Kits we were broken into a few months ago (what fresh new hell was that?), we have had flowers routinely stolen from our gated courtyard, and when we arrived at work on Wednesday, someone had actually stolen the flowers right out of our bathtub! I am hoping it was just a financially challenged romantic....

I guess it's time for "candid camera!"

I just hope that my bathtub display flowers did the job for the romantic thief.

By the way, I don't really recommend using the flowers we use in our display bathtub in your own tub....they have been there for a few days in a non-sterile environment. Yikes!

Hey Sweetpea....

If you could only smell these right now....

When my Sweet Pea Guy arrived this morning bearing several hundred stems of Sweet Peas, (including many Heirloom varieties) I had a little emotional moment where I realized this is why I do what I do....Pure. True. Joy.

Clayton is an organic farmer with a greenhouse in Boundary Bay. He will be providing us with his amazing Sweet Peas as often as possible, hopefully each Monday during their blooming period. These are extremely rare varieties and the scent is overwhelmingly beautiful. Take advantage while the season lasts - it's all up to Mother Nature now.
Put your orders in early - today we sold out in just a few hours!

(ps: this must be why "Sweet Pea" is my most common term of endearment...)

Happy Fathers Day!

My Dad circa 1965

This is my dad with my sister and brother, and a 2 and a half year old me, at our summer vacation cabin on Protection Island in the summer of 1965.

Gramps circa 1965

Gramps was my dads' dad. He loved all of his grandchildren, and put up with all sorts of antics during our early years.... I know that there were times that he would rather have been left in peace, but he always made time for us.

Happy Fathers Day!

Peonies & Product Placement

Martini, Anyone?

Finally, "Coral Charm" Peonies are available! Only for a few weeks though, until late November when they are available from New Zealand for about 2 weeks. A huge double petaled blossom that opens quickly and completely, this variety lasts about 4-5 days, but is worth every penny of the $5-7 per stem cost. Only about 500 stems are sold through our local auction each week during the 2-3 week availability period, and those numbers serve the entire lower mainland and most of Western Canada, so with demand high, and availability low, these are rather dear in many ways!

The installation pictured above was designed by me (in December of 2007) on the request of one of my favourite Set Decorators, in order to determine the signature style of the main character in a feature film who owned a "quirky"flower shop...although I did get the job, unfortunately a few weeks later the producers decided on "product placement" using a major wire service to supply their flowers....This was a first for both myself and for the set dec crew, and a big disappointment as well...We're all used to seeing Coca Cola, Mac, and other various symbols prominently displayed on TV and in Films....but Flowers? Yikes!!!!

Let Them Eat Cake, She Said...

Just like Marie Antionette...

A different take on our Daisy Cake...This cake is made with Yoko Ono chartreuse Mums & pearl head pins and displayed on a white ceramic Cake Tray with Server....$110.00

(See our Daisy Cake on our website!)

It's a Nice Day For a White Wedding

The Centrepiece

Our other Wedding this weekend was a beautiful garden mix of white, celery, and chartreuse. We used a mix of Hydrangea, Roses, Peonies, Cymbidium Orchids, Snowball Vibernum, Freesia, and Calla Lilies in full, lush arrangements....

Another View...

This wedding was a smaller affair, held at The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. My favourite kind of wedding, just a small gathering of friends and family. The ceremony was held in a suite in the hotel, and the flowers included solid masses of white Roses, small bowls with floating white Peonies, and mixed arrangements like those pictured above & below...

A Garden in a Vase
With the addition of Annabelle Hydranges and Mock Orange Blossoms, this arrangement was truly like bringing the garden indoors!