Flowers in the House

It is Flowers in the House Monday over at Jane's SmallbutCharming house.  The last Monday of the month we bring in flowers and make our homes' more lovely and charming.  In my case it was first removing all the dead arrangements that have been here far too long.  Most ran out of water but hey when you are really busy planting, picking and planning for next year, stuff gets missed. 

 

 Anyway here is a few arrangements around the house, they look and smell better than the others.

My first autumn colors arrangement. Does this mean that it is time for nesting.  Getting out all the cool autumn decor and getting cozy.  Enjoying the smell of baked apples, scented candles and getting snuggly under  fuzzy blankets. Seems early but I am starting to feel it.  Check out all the other wonderful arrangements over at Jane's house.

Quotable Sunday 08/26/2012

Market Day

I never have time to photograph our flowers at the market.  I still have a camera instead of a phone, so whipping out the camera  takes time and thought, of which I rarely have either when we first get to the market.  The setup is time consuming and the first customers are ready to buy way before the actual market is open.  The last several weeks, I have had bridal parties picking up their flowers for their big day and that keeps us hopping and running around like crazy.  So today I had a moment in  the market day when I remembered my camera and took a few shots.  This is a the midpoint of our market so many flowers are already gone. 

 

We offer our flowers by the stem to make your own, small little posies, our standard bouquet, various flowers bunched together for a set price.  There are many price points for our customers to buy a few or many flowers.

Our booth is open and inviting and large enough to accommodate strollers and families.

Today was a great day at the market, the weather was warm, not hot and there were a lot of folks out shopping.  Our market is a producers only market so people are supporting our local veggie farmers, the fruit and berry folks and a couple of local flower farmers.  We are very thankful for all who shop with us and support local agriculture.  Thanks so much!

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;
they are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Quotable Sunday 08/19/2012

Zinnias

I champion the lowly, the under appreciated, the non flashy things in the world.  I especially champion the simple flowers in the garden, the pansy( what a negative name), the petunia( some of the first flowers I grew as a little girl) and the zinnia.  The overlooked flowers in the world of cut flowers. The workhorse flowers of the hot part of the summer season.  Oh sure, we grow the beautiful lilies and dahlias, the breathtaking mini callas and some pretty nice sunflowers but the zinnias hangs in there when the summer gets a bit rough.  The lilies and callas need to sit in the shade(oh, I am so very warm), the dahlias want the hot winds to go away and the sunflowers can't seem to put up with the deer munching them(don't blame them) but the workhorse zinnia keeps plugging along.  Turn up the heat, I can take it.... plant me where the deer roam, I will turn them away....just keep my feet watered and I will bloom for you.

                                       You want big blooms...I can do that!

                                     You want lots of different colors...I got that for you!

                                     You want a smaller bloom for special vases.... We have those!

                      How about tiny little blooms, that sweet little girls go for.... We are here for you!

                                You need us to be more wild, more colorful... How about these blooms.

Just choose us, cut us for your vase, come back again and we will keep blooming for you.

Just put us in a vase of clean fresh water and enjoy us, no need to be fancy...we are not the fancy type.  But we will keep blooming for you the more you pick us.

So champion the under appreciated zinnia, the perfect little flower for a posy, a mason jar or something more grand.  They will perform....they just want to be picked.

                     Oh, put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
                           Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play today;
                                Look at me, I can be Centerfield.

                                                   -John Fogerty-

A Country Vintage Wedding

We provided wedding flowers for a lovely couple who were to be married in a historic barn here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Her style was simple, wild flower, country and vintage.  Her primary focus was on having a beautiful reception for her family and friends.  She loved flowers and wanted the tables to have lots of flowers on them.  The tables were set for 8 places, with a burlap runner and 3 mason jars on each table.  Her dishes were a collection of her grandmother's china and other vintage china collected by a favorite uncle who loved going to garage and antique sales.  The dishes on each table were different so we coordinated the flowers to go with each table.  We did 27 mason jars of flowers for her. She was also going to have a few very special little vases on the tables also with just a stem or two of tiny flowers.  We provided her with 100 stems of little tiny zinnias, feverfew, and grasses. Eight of the vases were wired so that they would hang on shepard's hooks along the aisle.

We also provided the personal wedding flowers for the happy couple.  She was to wear a simple ivory gown, her maid's dress was a blue dress, and there were three young girls dressed in white summer dresses with hot pink sandals.  The bouquets were designed accordingly.

The groom and best man wore simple boutonnieres and three special women wore three simple corsages.  All were wrapped with burlap, burlap ribbon and burlap twine.  Perfect for the country vintage theme.

We had a blast growing, cutting and designing for this wedding.  We look forward to actual ceremony photos, to see how it all came together.  We will keep you posted.

Quotable Sunday 08/12/2012

Wedding Flowers

Something about this weekend is special for weddings.  Maybe it is that here in Oregon it probably won't be raining this weekend.  Maybe it is the Perseid Meteor shower and it is magical to be wed under falling stars.  Something about this weekend was so special that many lovely couples promised to love and cherish each other forever.  Including us 29 years ago.  

A tease of the wedding flowers that we provided for the many happy couples this weekend.  More photos will be coming soon.  

So Happy Wedding Day and Congratulations to all the wonderful couples.  Happy Anniversary to my hubbie Tony,  thanks for the long days of cutting flowers for me and the many wonderful years.  No need to get me flowers for our anniversary, I am surrounded by beautiful flowers everyday!

                  Flowers are love's truest language ~Park Benjamin (1809-1864)

Quotable Sunday 08/05/2012

As Sweet As Honey

We have had our first 100 + degree day here this Saturday.  First time in about three years.  We Oregonians are use to the cloudy cool days but most of us wilt in the hot 100 degree days.  Just like some of my flowers were a bit limp after a long hot day at the market.  Into the cooler they went to cool down and when I decided to make a bouquet or two, they refused to come out of the cooler.  So what likes it hot?

Celosia likes it hot.  These flowers are growing in one of our hoop houses where it is REALLY warm.  They are loving it.  We have not been real successful growing celosia in the past because it needs so much heat but now we have it.  Grow babies grow!

Zinnias like the heat.  Here we have them growing in our no-till cereal rye vetch mulch where the moisture in the soil is more consistent and the soil temperature is maintained at 75 degrees. Perfect for these beauties to thrive.

In the heat, some of our callas got out of water and became as limp as spaghetti.  By chance we figured out a couple of years ago not to toss them, they can be revived.  Just recut the stems, place them in cool water and keep them out of the cooler.  Over night, they were straight and strong and perfect for the vase again.  Nothing is sweeter than bringing these lovely flowers back to life.  Oh, maybe a beautiful quart jar of honey from Aftonfieldfarm

                                         

                                            " No Bees, No Honey; No Work, No Money"

                                                               -Proverbs-