Planting a Flower Garden

04/27/2020

Ran across these images from a few years ago, taken while planting the garden in the Spring.  I never shared them in a post. Now seems like a good time, since I am at the same stage of planting! Our property use to be a dairy farm, which shut down in the 50’s. My gardens sits on the land where the main barn was. We still find bits of china, colored glass, rusty hinges, etc. when digging in the soil! Kind of like a treasure hunt, especially to my daughters. You can see a few bits in one of the pictures. The gardens are composed of annual and perennial beds.  The annuals last only one year, while the perennials come back each year.  Some annuals shown are sweet peas, which you will see as bright green seedlings all in a row. Some perennials are heuchera or coral bells, the littleRead More

Private Stanwood Residence Wedding | Emily + Matt

04/23/2020

The bride and her family have been friends of ours since she was young. She grew up across the street from my parents. I remember her when she was little, with braces and skinned knees. She visited us in the hospital when our first daughter was born. Then she grew up to be the most beautiful person, so smart and a loyal friend. Not sure I ever told her, but she reminds me of Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter books! When she asked me to help with her wedding flowers, I was thrilled! She wanted locally grown garden flowers in shades of blush, white and sage. They fit beautifully with their wedding location, at the grooms parents house in Stanwood, WA. My favorite part was the path they mowed through the grass field, to the ceremony location.  Theirs is a wedding I will always remember! Photographer | Ryan FlynnRead More

Villa Catalana Wedding

02/26/2020

Can you believe this villa is actually in Oregon? I know, I was shocked when I first laid eyes on Villa Catalana.  I felt like I was in sun-drenched countryside of Italy. What a treat it was to spend the day here, styling a 1:1 photography mentorship photo shoot. Our goal was to capture the old-world charm the venue offers, transporting you to Italy. Warm tones of peach and butter worked beautifully with the natural stone walls and buildings. Abundance of seasonal, locally grown flowers for the bouquet and table. And a long veil to pair with the gorgeous lace overlay gown. Just enough details to let the romance shine through. Some of my favorite late Spring blooms were used in the floral designs: poppies, ranunculus, lilacs and tulips. One flower that stood out for me was the Tulip ‘La Belle Epoche’, with colors of caramel and apricot in aRead More

Flower Workshop at Christianson’s Nursery

08/26/2019

Flower workshops are one of my favorite activities. And you can’t find a more inspiring location to host a workshop than at Christianson’s Nursery in Mount Vernon, WA.  When I want to feel transported to another world for awhile, I go here. Held in their 100+ year-old school house that sits amongst their English rose garden, we were surrounded by beauty and charm. This workshop was held in the summer, when the bounty of my gardens was at it fullest.  I chose the color peach as my starting point. Flowers included dahlias, garden roses, zinnias, phlox, snapdragons, foxglove, and cosmos. Greenery included hydrangea leaves, asparagus, mint, sweet pea vines, oregano and cherry tomatoes. Though garden roses are my favorite flowers, I think the cherry tomatoes were the star of this design! Check out our Workshops for upcoming group events. Or schedule a private lesson with me, to focus on theRead More

Spa Day Birthday Party

02/10/2017

Birthday parties are some of my favorite celebrations to design for.  Our recent spa day party, created with Jenny Cookies, topped the charts! Celebrating Jenny’s daughters 11th birthday, the styling started with the Minted birthday announcement Ally chose featuring a swan.  The color palette fell into place from there: white, blush and black. Creating a focal point with the dessert table really sets the tone for the party.  Trying something new, Jenny purchased a pin board from Minted to use as the backdrop.  The beauty of this idea is that the board can be used after the party in Ally’s room.  Attaching flowers and vines directly to the board, I created a soft and flowing floral design to accent the gorgeous desserts provided by Jenny Cookies Bake Shop. The cake was the show stopper.  A naked cake with dripping frosting, I topped it with roses, anemone and eucalyptus. Such a softRead More