Cattleya Orchids!

Cattleya orchids - absolutely stunning! You don't see them often anymore, but at one time the cattleya was the most elegant and romantic wedding flower. These were grown by Peterkort Roses and beautifully arranged by Lois at The Garden Path. Congratulations to Nicole the bride! Beautiful choice for your wedding bouquet.

I Love the Portland Flower Market

Early to rise on Flower Market day! I like to leave early enough to miss the traffic and be back to the shop in time for morning deliveries. The flower market always inspires me - and today the sales staff at Billingsley Wholesale gave me the (unofficial) award for prettiest selections of the day. I can't wait to start creating beautiful wedding arrangements out of them! Check in later this week to see what we do with the pretty red flowers I bought today.

Amazing Lace

Here's one more dried flower arrangement. This one, created by Dena, was inspired by the beautiful Queen Anne's Lace - perfectly dried along with the blue hydrangea in silica gel. This piece is being donated to the Give A Little Foundation, a local foundation supporting local people with small grants to help them get back on their feet. Their fundraiser "Amazing Lace" is September 18 and 19 at McMinnville's historic First Baptist Church.

I Love Dried Flowers

I love working with dried flowers! I love the smell; I love the textures and variety; I love the colors. They are definitely getting harder to find though. Some of these were dried by us and some were purchased from the wholesale market. I think they are not as in-fashion as they once were so fewer places are carrying them. And they really are not "everlasting". They deteriorate over time - especially when pawed through on market shelves!
This piece is on its way to a private dining nook at McMenamin's Hotel Oregon. The McMenamins establishments are always a bit quirky, so being "in-fashion" is not necessarily their cup of tea (or more precisely their glass of Terminator ale).
Just as a side note: my first flower shop was located in the Hotel Oregon in the pre-McMenamins days. I loved being downtown, but I also love my present busy site. And McMenamins has infused a whole new energy into downtown McMinnville. It's a win/win!

Wedding Networking Event

Here are a few more shots from an event at Youngberg Hill a few weeks ago.
This is the event where we went "all local" on the flowers. All flowers and greens came from within 15 miles of the venue and of the shop. It was fun! Many flowers came from 4-T Acres, commercial flower growers near Dayton. Others came from my gardens and - I confess - roadside ditches. (That would be the wild Queen Anne's Lace. It's having its best year ever thanks to the wet spring and summer.)
Thank you to the wonderful Continuum Photography for the beautiful photos.

Hot Summer Wedding

Carolyn's color palette was from the warm creams through peach and orangey shades and into a strong red. Good summer colors! For her bouquet she stayed in the creamy and peachy tones - a beautiful compliment to her hair and complexion. Carolyn and her mom Linda were wonderful to work with.

The centerpieces tended more toward the red shades, featuring some of the lovely garden roses Carolyn loves so much. The Romantik Antike rose above opens just like a peony. So beautiful!

Temperatures in the mid 90's and a strong breeze made it a tough day to be a flower. A few tricks of the trade helped them get through the day. The arch detail above features the beautiful Piano Frieland rose with red dahlias, white dendrobiums and a charming gloriosa lily.

My New Favorite Rose?

This just might be my new favorite rose - Piano grown by Peterkort Roses. It's a peony type garden rose with a delightful subtle fragrance. Sandra at Peterkort says that garden roses are very popular this year! You have to appreciate a rose with giant thorns all up the stem! Look for this and other garden roses in Dave and Carolyn's wedding at Youngberg Hill Vineyard and Inn this weekend. Hopefully the thorns are staying on the design room floor!