The Big The Bold & The Beautiful

This bouquet was made for the current issue of New York Magazine Weddings. The features editor asked for bouquets made in primary colors, so here is my blue bouquet. Other spectrums will follow.

Delphinium, Monkshood, Passion vine and flowers, grasses, ferns and Scabbiossa pods.

Unbridled Rustic Bouquet

Left overs in the fridge don't stay there long. Today I rummaged through to make a nosegay with a nostalgic and rustic tone. Adding pale blue Scabbiossas, some dried barley from the studio and a few wild peas I had planted out back provided just the right notes that were missing to soften the Echeveria, Heather, Dusty Miller combination we visited in the last post. Copper, gold and gray satin ribbons were a nice counterpoint to the wild roses and magnolia leaves. Perhaps this could serve as the bouquet to the centerpiece whose parts we revisited or simply call it what it is, a well distilled reimagining. I quite like it and may suggest it to a bride I am working with. Hope she likes it as much as I do.

Bright As The Day

This weekend New Yorkers pretended Summer would never end. Skirts short and moods high. This sunny fall arrangement looks more like it wants to belong in the Spring pages. I'll just call it an "Indian Summer Fall Centerpiece". Who said Spring owned bright pinks? Our Dahlia begs to argue all luminescent in a melon pink that turns blue with the light.

Day For The Spirit

A delivery for a yearly luncheon took me out to the Hamptons Yesterday. I listened to stories about Steve Jobs for hours in traffic there and back and in between decided to drive to some of the local farms. There couldn't have been a brighter clearer day to wander aimlessly through the apple orchards and flower fields! It reminded me of how absolutely starved as a city dweller I am for nature. I can get completely lost in it for hours which I did delaying my visit to a dear friend further down the road in Amagansset.
I finally made it to her place where her perfect husband brought us the most delicious Chai lattes I've ever had. Then she drove me to the Hither Hills Sate Park. We trudged through a sage green smattering of lichen laden pines and made our way up to the top of the dunes. I felt like I was transposed to another part of the world. I imagined being in a desert except the perfect temperature immediately brought me back to an exquisite Montauk fall afternoon. Christine took funny hipstamatic portraits of us with her iphone as her ridiculously low maintenance baby napped in the Byorn sack and we mused on the patterns of the shadows cast by the grasses and exact colors of specific patches of green.
As I drove back into the hard wired city I was filled with gratitude for the healing beauty of nature and how much love it filled with me with. That may very well be why I make a living of working with it's perfect and imperfect products.

Another thing that really struck a chord in me as I drove back were these words,

"You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle."..........................................................Steve Jobs

RIP

Lil' Ol' Country Bukay

Here's a bouquet I arranged for Town and Country's latest Wedding's Issue on stands now :)
Always honored to be in their beautiful spreads!. This fine gal features the ever gratifying Juliette David Austin Garden roses surrounded by (this year's favored foliage) Dusty Miller, feathery dark Agonis leaves, Celosia Specata, Black Scabbiossa blossoms with their pods, Astilbe, Fuschias and Seeded Eucalyptus with foliage.

Cocktails Anyone?

A mass of Dinnerplate Dahlias in a crystal vase serve as a focal point in the Townhouse residence decorated by Mona Ross Berman.
Mona asked for some arrangements for the cocktail party she hosted at this lovely townhouse on the Upper West Side. She asked me for something lush but controlled. I opted for these flirty Dahlias. In the foyer we also kept it restrained but cheerful and seasonal with Crab Apple Branches and Lace cap hydrangea. There's a time and a place for different styles of flower decorations, the trick is knowing which is appropriate and when.

Power Dial

Flower arranging is an art unto itself with elements of painting, sculpture and collage. It fills the senses with color, shape, fragrance. If I had to rename it I'd call it sculptural collage and if it wasn't as ephemeral as it is we would surely visit exhibitions of Flower Artists with long articles written by critics over the success or failure of the displays.
Collage is the closest thing we have to a waking dream state. Have I ever mentioned my favorite medium? Photo collage. It invents it's own symbolic language. This collage snapped at 1st Dibs reflects the feeling I get with every job, every call, every proposal. All engines engaged! Let's make it happen! Only wish I looked as fair, pretty and seductive as the young gamine shown here. I want her hair too!

A Rainy Spring Afternoon.....Earlier this year

Photographs by Roey Yohai

These photos are from a wedding we produced at the Chelsea Mansion this past June. The setting was spectacular and the flowers that time of year were a celebration of color and delicacy. I was hoping to have this wedding chosen for an editorial spread and therefore hadn't posted the photos earlier. But as promised, here are a few. More can be viewed on Flickr. Our very talented team adorned the tent in swags of dense garland made of bush ivy and tree fern which were twirled around the the central poles and masses of Autumn Clematis, Lace cap Hydrangea and Mock Orange added which plumed out over the tables below. Antique cloche votive holders were suspended from the swags and illuminated the tables which were laden with various styles of arrangements ranging from towering candelabras cascading with Jasmine, Passion vine and Eucalyptus over an assortment of antique silver vessels all with the choicest of seasonal specimen (Garden roses, Lupine, Peonies) to groupings of mercury glass candle holders and tiered glass dishes or wrough iron urns. Over the top would be an appropriate description but over the top with an uninhibited and tasteful approach. The inspiration came from the old Dutch Masters paintings hanging in the parlors of the mansion. We aimed to honored those painters with our sumptuous tabletop displays and I certainly feel it was personally a Pièce de résistance in my floral decorating career. I hope you enjoy the beautiful photos taken by Roey Yohai.

Autumn Herbal Wedding

I apologize for my absenteeism toward my blogging duties. Actually, I'm not really sorry- I needed a break and it was a rather slow start to the week which accelerated from 0- 60 midweek and has landed me back into the familiar wedding flower frenzy!
I have to admit I was also a bit blue. But all that changed yesterday when I started playing with the fall goodies for a wedding this weekend which will be a play with herbs and garden roses amongst other berried friends.

Sentimentalia

Sometimes things just don't go the way you really want and it's hard to pick up your bootstraps, put on a bright face and march on, but that's all you can do if you want things to change. This little mush pot is my touchstone to all that is sweet and tender and every single day she reminds me that having a love connection is the most important aspect of living. I am so grateful for Boo's presence and the presence of all the loved ones in my life!
I know this is a bit sappy but it is important for me, especially on days when another's perspective is all you need to bring you 'round, even if it is a delicate feline licking your arm.