Fresh from the Market

Last week's purchases were heavy on the purples and blacks, so this week I went in the other direction! Orange psiticorum are fine all year round, but are particularly nice at this time of the year. They are a type of heliconia, in the bird of paradise family which many of you are familiar with.

Lovely, fruity, fragrant freesia!

And chunky stems of hot peppers from Holland.

In addition, we also have this week:

bird of paradise
stems of white phalaenopsis
orange mokara orchids
orange kangaroo paws
tuberoses
red ginger - Costa Rica
butterscotch poms
'Athos' poms
white hydrangea (the local blue/green/plum tones have gone out of season finally)
'Ivanhoe' grevillea
yellow kangaroo paw
novelty salvia, fuzzy flowers - Holland
broom corn
pampas grass
black twig dogwood
light pink hydrangea
berzelia - Africa
magenta gerbera - Canada
green trachellium
blue iris - California
yellow alstroemeria
asters in cherry red and hot pink
beauty asters - purple and lavender
campanula - pink and purple
kale in purple and white with purple center
burgundy mokara orchids - two types
roses - hot pink
spray roses - light pink
oncidum orchids
purple dendrobium orchids
snapdragon - purple, local
'Blue bell' thistle
godetia - coral
bells of Ireland
delphinium 'Volkerfrieden'
'Anastasia' mums
'Yelloween' lily

Cirque du Noir!

Those of you who couldn't attend last night's Cirque du Noir fundraiser for the Worcester County Food Bank at Bocado, missed out on a great evening of art, music, and fun!

Sprout was honored to help with some of the amazing attire - a fanciful black ti leaf, flower, and feather collar shown above...

...an arm sensuously wrapped in flowers and wire...

...sexy back of the neck floral "tattoo"...

...and a cocktail ring of salvia leaves and a "Black Beauty" rose!

We can't wait to se what the Cirque du Noir crew will bring to Worcester next!

Cirque du Noir Preview

Just a small taste of one of our Cirque du Noir orders! An elegant corsage made by Francoise, of "black" dendrobium orchids, scabiosa, willow and bear grass tinted black, a touch of black organza ribbon, and finished with a black wire stem wrap. One of a kind!

Fresh from the Market

We have the Cirque du Noir fundraiser for the Worcester County Food Bank this weekend, and I got a little excited and bought every variation on black flowers in the market that I could find!

The various tones and shades of "black" in flowers are so interesting - from deep eggplant-y colors seen in these black mini callas and dendrobium orchids...

...to the burgundy tones as in the cotinus foliage here. Don't you just love our black ostrich plumes?! OK, not a flower, but fun to work with just the same.

I also couldn't resist these black peppers called "Orna-mental"!

We have a couple orders for floral accouterments to go with clients' Cirque du Noir costumes. Can't wait to show you all how those come out! And we're happy to accessorize anyone else who plans on going to the shindig. :-)

We do have flowers in other colors besides black!
In addition, we also have this week:

'Charlotte' roses - classic red
'Gorgeous purple' dendrobium orchids
oncidium orchids
bells of Ireland
white mini callas
'Mango' mini callas
snapdragon - local
stock
cymbidium orchids - burgundy tomes
blue iris
purple waxflower
amaranthus - amber color
hybrid delphinium
white and blue hydrangea
red ginger
'Black Beauty' roses - beep velvety burgundy black color
eryngium - black, Dutch
bird of paradise
'Athos' poms
'Yelloween' lily - California
hanging amaranthus - burgundy, California
ruby silk grass
kale- purple and white w/purple center, California
baby green hydrangea
kochia - Israel
local hydrangea - fall tones
ligustrum berries - black, Holland
Coral godetia - California
'Pink mink' protea - California
berzelia galpinii - Africa
phaenocoma
yarrow - California
hypericum 'Funky caramel'
freesia 'Orange priscilla' - Holland - smells fab!
salvia - novelty, leaves have black undersides, Holland
sunflowers
pained eucalyptus - orange and purple
scabiosa
silver brunia
orange pincushion protea
chocolate oncidium
monstera leaves - 2 sizes
croton leaf tips
gerbera - raspberry and yellow-orange, Canada
safflower - looks like an orange thistle
velvet sage
Chinese lanterns
psiticorum
kangaroo paws - rust
bronze football mums
'Jade' trachellium

Flowers at Home - Manzanita

Not every "flower" is a flower - some times a branch will do! This is a manzanita branch that I painted in a striking shade of red to give the impression of branch coral.

Artist's Birthday Party

Today we were asked to create a display for a surprise birthday party for an artist. We were given her easel, artwork, painting supplies, and free reign to create something as expressive as her work.

We did our best "Jackson Pollock" on some canvas to make a table runner. Good thing I never throw things out, as we had lots of colors of paint to work with from all the previous times we've painted the shop.

Does it get any blatantly sexier than anthurium and orchids?!

Worked some of the painting equipment right into the arrangement.

Happy Birthday!

Fresh from the Market

We haven't had a frost yet, so dahlias are still available! Makes me pretty happy. :-)

Monster red anthurium...

...and some gray/silver foliages - two types of dusty miller and kochia.

In addition, we also have this week:

purple kale
white kale
amaryllis - red and burgundy
dracena stalks
monstera leaves
ginger in red
large oncidium
curly willow
'Cobra' lily
'Athos' poms
New England hydrangea
local sunflowers
leucadendron - 'Gem Spray' - California
orange alstroemeria
yellow kangaroo paws
corylus foliage - Holland
blue iris - California
kochia - Israel
agapanthus - Holland
asters
broom corn
orange freesia
godetia- two toned pink
psiticorum
hypericum - brown
'Jester' leucodendron
white phlox
butterscotch football mums
'Jade' trachellium

Succulents

Put together a couple cool succulent gardens - a funky assortment in black zinc oval containers.

Succulents are easy care - bright light, minimal water (even less in winter when they're dormant). Minimal water doesn't mean no water though - let the plants dry out before watering again. Water more when it's hot and dry and much less when it's cold and/or damp.

Flowers at Home

Took home some random flowers this week which all worked well together - 2 1/2 week old kale, 'Chess' spray roses, 'Amnesia' roses left over from a wedding over a week ago, and some local hydrangeas. Look how those hydrangeas almost look aqua in places, a color not seen in flowers.

In this close up, you can really see all the various hues in the hydrangea - periwinkle blue, sage green, burgundy, plum. If you painted a picture of a flower in those colors, folks would figure you just made it up!

How to Cope with Your Wedding Flowers!

As the wedding day approaches, brides often find the smallest things to get stressed over. :-)

I recently had a bride ask in a panic the week of her wedding, "What do I do with the flowers?!" Without a bridesmaid to hand them to, she didn't know what to do with them during the ceremony. I told her to just hand them to the friend standing closest, and if she could clue that person in before the ceremony so they don't look surprised, even better.

Here are a couple more tips on how to deal with the wedding party's flowers:

Bridal Bouquet – Hold by your belly button, not up by your boobs! Beware of upward creeping. :-)

Boutonnieres – Should be pinned with flower pointing up and stem pointing down (like the way they grow), on the left lapel (closest to your heart).

Pin On Corsages – Should be pinned with flowers pointing up and stems pointing down (like the way they grow), on the left shoulder if possible. If pinning through delicate fabric, try to pin through the bra strap as well.

Wrist Corsages – Wear on which ever wrist is most comfortable for you!

Breathe, smile, try to relax, and enjoy the moment!

Orchid Plants

 

We got some really pretty, different orchid plants recently!

 

A golden yellow oncidium hybrid...

 

...a plum colored odontoglossum hybrid above and a gold freckled version below. For care instructions check out Carter and Holmes Orchids.

 

Fresh from the Market

 

A few flowers with fun textures in seasonal creams and pale yellows. The above is a type of leucodendron.

 

Great gold amaranthus in gold; more upright than hanging this week.

 

And cream colored kale, yes, like the vegetable, from Holland.

In addition, we also have this week:

tiger oncidium orchids
mokara orchids
ornithagalum arabicum
ginger in red and pink
mini callas in eggplant & orange - Holland
'Viking' poms
local hydrangeas in greeny plums
astilbe - 'Pink Ericka', Holland
godetia - coral
matsumoto aster - pink
pink lisianthus - Israel
kochia - Israel
blue iris - California
waxflower
stock - California
pale yellow freesia - Holland
dusty miller - Holland
aster - 'Paul Gerber', pink
pink nerine - Holland
kangaroo paw in red and yellow
white alstroemeria
bird of paradise
campanula - lavender
oncidium orchids
gerbera - pink and orange
psiticorum
'Hot Eskimo' rose - pink
'Cherry Brandy' rose - golden yellow with reddish outer petals
white snow berries
spray roses - 'Chess' - cranberry color, 'Giselle' - coral color
bells of Ireland
white oriental lily

Fresh from the Market

October is breast cancer awareness month and today we have a lot of pink flowers to share. The funky bromeliad flowers above being the coolest of the lot!

The pinkest of pineapples....

....Hawaiian ginger in pink...

....and a pink rose that's new to me called 'Hot Eskimo'. I guess this is what you get when you cross 'Eskimo' (a white) with 'Hot Princess' (bright pink)?

In addition we also have this week:

red ginger
bird of paradise
'Athos' poms
mini callas in orange and white
nerine in pink and red
deep rose ranunculus
godetia - 3 colors
iris in blue and royal purple
ornamental peppers
orange alstroemeria
papyrus
bells of Ireland
'Sumatra' lilies - cranberry color
kunzea
'Jester' leucodendron
sedum - getting redder and redder
scabiosa atropurpurea
ornithagalum arabicum
tiger orchids
celosia - magenta and orange
crocosmia
dendrobium orchids
oncidium orchids
lisianthus
snow berries - pink
oregano flowers
stock
spray roses
'Voodoo' rose - yellow towards orange
calcynia
blue hydrangea
white hydrangea