Some weddings fall together effortlessly, and this was one of them. With every passing year, my business attracts lovelier and lovelier clientele and this gorgeous bride was no exception to this happy trend. She chose the Chicago Club in part due to the mega glorious new roof top they’ve unveiled with stunning, supervillain views …
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Los Poblanos Lavender Farm
Los Poblanos lavender farm in New Mexico is one of the very coolest wedding venues I’ve ever seen. The land was settled in 1920, and was originally inhabited by the Anasazi (ancient pueblo Indians) in the 14th century. Many of the original settlers in this area were thought to have come from Puebla, …
Eau de lime basil
Our farm’s theme this year is fragrance, we are growing lime basil, chocolate and pineapple mint, lavender and the like. I like to bring old fashions back in floral design whenever possible, and these days people rarely encounter scented flowers. There is no aromatic luxury quite like working out there after a heavy rain, …
Foxgloves and thistle
We are a bit late planting at Five Row Farm this year, but I say you are only late planting your first flower farm! And, we have the most fantastic PH balanced soil and meticulously tilled beds courtesy of our farmer friend John Tong. However, our seedlings are already bearing many blooms, see foxgloves, dahlias …
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose
Sometimes it seems that my true occupation is to listen to people describe their distaste for carnations, lilies and even roses. Now, with heavily petaled garden roses being all they rage, even the rose, a classic symbol of romantic perfection, has also been shunned. You probably can’t imagine my joy when I was asked to …
Scilla appear
There is no thrill of Spring quite like spotting blue Scilla flowers blanketing the earth, these minute beauties massing together to produce this trick of the eye, this message just for those with eyes to see! My mother always pointed them out to me in “Grandma’s garden” , the wilder garden across from the Lincoln Park …
Wintering over
Every year there comes a period of time when I actually can’t look at any more flowers. This past January, my eyes were actually weary of them, sumptuous seed catalogs would arrive and I had to toss them aside. It’s a natural part of the cyclical nature of this work, it’s all go go go, …
Winter Flowers
As lovely as the flowers are that we can get imported are, we sorely miss cutting product fresh from our farm- these cafe au lait dahlias were a huge element in most of our fall weddings, love their multi-hued petals! Planting for specific weddings and events is really thrilling, and we are expanding our farm …
Cake Flowers
Although we got the farm planted late this year, it’s really beginning to jump off now. Our cosmos got stem rot as usual but are still blooming prolifically. We planted 17 different varieties of dahlias alone for our fall weddings, but of course the Cafe au Lait steal the show every time! You can’t tell if …
Constance Spry
When working with red I always think of Constance Spry, the legendary English social reformer and society florist whose heyday was in the 1930’s and 40’s. Famously introducing vegetables, weeds and found objects as vases to the art form, she was essentially to flower arranging what the sex pistols were to rock-n-roll. When discussing …