Wicked Cool Bromeliad!

OK, I picked up this awesome bromeliad specimen a couple weeks ago. It has beautiful, finely marked foliage with smooth edges, not the jagged teeth you often see on wide leaved varieties. Pretty neat.

Pretty neat...and then there's the flower spike! It's massive, coming out about four feet from the plant. When I brought the plant back from the market, it was wrapped in a brown paper sleeve and was on the floor for a couple days till I figured out what I was going to do with it.

Well, let me tell you, more than one person did a double take because without the context of a whole plant, the flower more than a little resembled a snake poised to strike! Even I had to double check what was at the corner of my eye a couple times - just not what you expect to see in your peripheral vision I guess.

Since I purchased the plant, the bloom has elongated somewhat and what will be a flower cluster at some point is now twice as big. I can't imagine how large it will get, or how long it will take, and I hope it doesn't topple over under its own weight!

The bromeliad family is very interesting and includes several familiar plants from Spanish moss to pineapples. Some good information about growing bromeliads can be found here.

An hour of searching on the web has lead me to believe that what we have here is a Vriesea fosteriana X gigantea. It's native to Brazil. There seems to be a lot of hybrids so I'm not 100% sure what mine is, so if you can enlighten me, I'd appreciate it. And I couldn't find a picture of the bloom, so that will remain a mystery! I'll update you - unless someone buys it first. :-)

Red, White, and Blue - a Patriotic Event

Thought I'd throw up a quick look at a recent corporate event which used a patriotic red, white, and blue theme as we head into Memorial Day weekend.

These shots were taken mid-set up - the room had a really fast turnover from one event to the next, so I did not get to linger to see the whole room done over. What with two catering teams, one moving out, the other moving in, Mechanics Hall's crew moving tables and hundreds of chairs, sound and light guys making their adjustments....sometimes the little ole florist is just in the way and it's best to skedaddle and free up the parking space for the waiting box truck of food!

Corporate Event, Black and Raspberry Pink - or - Any Excuse to Use Peonies!

Quick snaps from a recent corporate event. When is a podium arrangement not just another boring podium arrangement? When you can use hot pink peonies, celosia, boronia, and black agonis foliage! When does that ever get to happen?

Cocktail tables in two looks - low tables with raspberry linens and vases of more peonies, dusty miller, and agonis...

...and tall tables in a black and white swirl linen with a little floating rose arrangement. I was asked for my opinion on the linen choice...can I help it if I steered then in the direction of something that wold look fab with peonies? It is May, after all!

One more last look at those peonies! Sorry, but there's really nothing like them. The person who can cultivate lush and gorgeous peonies all year round will make a fortune! :-)

'Amnesia' Roses - or - Why a Picture Might Be Worth 1000 Words But Not Worth as Much as a Swatch

Had a nice on line chat with some florists about how difficult color matching can be. You can fall in love with a new flower (or at least new to you flower) in a nice glossy mag or on someone's web site, but until you see it in person you can't be 100% sure about the color accuracy in a photo.

Case in point - the 'Amnesia' rose. It may be the rose that forgets what color it is LOL!

This is a funky antique-y colored rose that can definitely vary a bit from grower to grower - a little more green on the guard/ outer petals, a touch more lavender in the center or maybe it's beige, well, OK, a little more gray. It's a bit of a chameleon color-wise, which is one of the things that can make it so fun to play with.

But if you're trying to match it to a dress or a piece of stationary and all you have to go on is a photo, well, we all know monitors and printers can vary.

This is where the expert and experienced eye of your florist can come in handy.

Here are three pictures that feature 'Amnesia' roses. They were all taken of the same arrangement, with the same camera, but under three different light conditions. Do they look the same to you?

Example 1.

Example 2.

Example 3.

Does it look different to you in each example? It sure does on my monitor.

Since these are my pictures, I can tell you (based on what I see on my monitor) that the color of these roses was not as gray as Ex. 1, less pink than #2, and nothing at all like Ex. 3. If I had to narrow it down I'd say halfway between numbers 1 and 2, but that's on my monitor. It might look very different on your monitor.

So what to do? Well, a florist who is familiar with the flower could tell you after seeing say a fabric swatch of your bridesmaids dresses (I'm saying swatch because I think we just learned how unreliable a tool the computer can be for color matching, so I know you're going to have a fabric swatch) whether this will complement them.

If your florist is unfamiliar with a particular flower you've spyed in a photo, and lord knows new varieties come out every day faster than I can keep up, then it's really helpful if there's a familiar flower or object in the picture to use as a reference point. I can look at the flower in context next to that baby green hydrangea or Campbell's soup can, and since I am intimate with their colors, I can tell if the photo is running towards unnatural shades.

So a long post to tell you -

A. Identical flowers can vary in nature, never mind in photos.
B. Printers and monitors may vary and are not great for color matching.
C. A fabric swatch in the hand is worth a 1000 words, or something like that.
D. You need an experienced eye, AKA color whisperer, to spot the unnatural colors.

Have you ever had any color matching disasters?!

Another Wrist Corsage!

Simple and sweet - white orchids and roses on a pearl wrist corsage bracelet, with ice blue ribbon and a few swirls of matching pearl shot wire. Cool and girly!

Have I told you that you can cut the flowers off the bracelet after the prom, and have the bracelet as a jewelry keepsake? Nice!

Prom - Even MORE Wrist Corsages!

Prom season is getting closer to the end, but I found a few more pics to share. The wrist corsage above is a classic with red roses and the rhinestone bracelet, but with an asymmetrical spray of sparkly ribbon giving it a little flair.

The next 3 wrist corsages are variations on a theme. We find many, many of our clients want white flowers, feeling that they are the safest choice, particularly when they may be a little unsure of the dress's exact color. No one wants clashing flowers. We then try to pull in some color with the ribbon choice.

This black and white boutonniere and wrist corsage combo was brightened up with a small hit of trendy zebra ribbon. We definitely saw some animal prints showing up this season!

Here we have swirly loops of purple ribbon and white orchids to go with a purple dress. Many folks like to see a pale flower contrasted against the darker dress color, to really make the flowers pop out.

If you have any prom pics of yourself with your Sprout flowers, we'd love to see them posted to our Sprout Facebook page! We love seeing the flowers in action!

Woodland Wedding - Harrington Farm, Princeton MA

I don't think there wasn't a person in the shop who didn't love the look of this wedding! I heard more people say - "When I get married I'd like flowers like these..." and "If I were getting married again..." Not sure if it was the color scheme or the woodland look that did it for everyone. It could well be the unusually fabulous weather we were having that week put everyone in a glorious and wedding-y mood!

The bride and groom wanted a woodsy, magical, almost elven look to their wedding in the cool hues of of purple, blue, and green.

The bride's bouquet had a fabulous mix of spring bulb flowers like hyacinths, checkered fritillary, and scilla, wedding classics like hydrangea and roses, and rustic textures with thistles and Australian ferns.

Here's a better look at the checkered fritillary. They look like some kind of hat for Tinkerbell. Such a dainty and unusual bulb flower with a very short season only a couple weeks long!

The centerpieces continued the theme with an extra touch of birch bark wrapped around the vases.

Even the grounds at Harrington Farm cooperated with the color scheme and theme!

The cake, which needed no help from me, is the finishing touch on this woodland whimsy wedding!

Berry Beautiful!

One morning recently, the women of Berry's Greenhouses in the Boston Flower Exchange, matched the plants! Krista all in pink...

...and Helaine rocking the royal purple!

Not sure if this was a calculated sales technique, but you can be sure I didn't leave without buying some hydrangeas. ;-)

Pantone Wedding Color Fan Guide

This is the newest tool in my wedding planning kit - the Pantone Wedding Color Fan Guide. Very cool deck of color swatches that match with Dessy dress fabrics. They actually match a lot of other dress company fabrics, but just go by different names.

I'm having great fun pulling out the bridesmaids dress color and then fanning out tons of color palette options that go with it.

Pulling a color scheme together can sometimes be a bit overwhelming - just ask the bride who apologized to me for not having an accent color. Seriously! Don't let magazines and TV shows make you feel guilty or substandard some how, especially for something as trivial as an accent color.

You want blue, you can have blue. It's called monochromatic and there's nothing wrong with that.

But for those of you who need to see a color combo in order for it to strike your fancy, let's play with the color deck on your visit and see the world of colors that can work for you!

Best of Worcester 2010!

Did I mention that Sprout was voted Best Florist for the Worcester Magazine Best of Worcester awards?!!!

There was a little party the week of Mother's Day, which is why I'm just getting around to telling you about it now, at Central Rock Gym, right here in the Woo.

My friend and huge Worcester supporter, Claudia, made this video. Try not to laugh too hard! Many, many thanks to all who voted - we love you too!

More Prom Flowers!

The 2010 prom season continues, and while it's too busy right now to photograph every wrist corsage and boutonniere, I did manage to snap a shot of this eye catching pair.

The wrist corsage is on an ivory pearl bracelet with zebra ribbon and feathers giving it a bit of exotic flair. The flowers are deconstructed gloriosa lilies and tiny red orchids, with agonis foliage. And of course, a little red bling to bring it all home! The guy's boutonniere coordinates with more gloriosa petals, feathers, black foliage, and a red wire wrap on the stem.

Probably our most outrageous prom flowers of the season and I love it!

Mother's Day Flowers 2010

A Walk in the Woods
A rustic arrangement in violets, blues, and greens, featuring woodsy ferns and twigs, a bark covered vase, delicate blooms, and a sweet little bird's nest.
As Shown - $70
This look in wrapped bouquet - $35

A Walk in the Garden
This arrangement showcases flowers in shades of pink from delicate shell pink to raspberry. The gardeny blooms include magnificent hydrangea, roses, and everyone's favorite - peonies.
As Shown - $110
This look in a wrapped bouquet - $55

A Walk in the City
A sophisticated urban arrangement for the modern mom! Tall birds of paradise are framed with dendrobium orchids, tropical foliage, and a centerpiece of sumptuous and long lasting phalaenopsis orchids.
As Shown - $160
This look as a wrapped bouquet - $80