Here is the the first wreath of the season made this Thanksgiving weekend from a whole shelf full of leftover this and that from events done throughout the summer. The dried marigolds were bought from Serenity Farms, a small Northern CA Farm https://www.facebook.com/serenityflowerfarm/. They have been growing and drying a lot of flowers this year that one doesn't often see. It appears dried flowers and wreaths are making an appearance again. It's not that they ever completely went away, but they became very predictable and statice filled. With so many local flowers being grown now, I look forward to the growth of this little dried flower/ wreath niche.
I was hoping to use my vast mix to create this wreath, forgetting once again, how much material is required to make a wreath when you want to repeat your pattern. I could have started over making a smaller wreath, but I always like to play. So the addition of some fresh acacia darkened half of it and felt fitting of my mood around this Thanksgiving- which was a little bit dark and a little bit light.
It is a complicated stew of Thanksgivings past with loved ones gone, our one year old president vs wonderful relationships formed, the growth of 7petals and my beloved family and friends, including finally meeting the magical little Evelyn, my sister's granddaughter showing the rest of the family how to be the best butterfly.
This workshop focused on the use of metal pins frogs to hold weighty flowers and botanicals in place. It's just one of many flower support options and is particularly useful for home use as it reusable and works for a number of different needs.
It's amazing how unique and beautiful each piece is. Really beautiful work, everyone!
At long last, here is the work created at a workshop devoted to small, informal arrangements. We had an abundance of flowers as some people could not make the workshop. Those who came were like kids in a candy-shop of color and form. They were able to make a variety of arrangements from simple to complex. Some really lovely compositions came out of the day.
This arrangement was for a rehearsal dinner a few weeks back. Right on the cusp of the dahlia/amaryllis season. Amaryllis are being grown in a lot of colors now- not just Holiday Red and White. They begin to show up at the market in late fall. Large flowers evaporate from the market this time of year and amaryllis fills that need along with some really awesome mums that are starting to appear. Yeah, mums- the flower that my eyes tend to glaze over due to overexposure. The ubiquitous round disks in the usual brown, yellow, white and sometimes lime green. They are so tough and long lasting they have certainly earned their place. But let me tell you, there is a whole world of color and form to be explored and new flower growers are beginning to grow them.
Last fall Jon and I attended a Chrysanthemum Exhibition west of Sacramento in a hotel event room. We were greeted by rows of mums in tubes and hushed reverential tones. This was after all a juried exhibition. Judges seriously considered the attributes of each flower that may or may ot receive an award for very specific attributes. This flower jurying business takes place in different parts of the world in shrinking pockets. Below are some I saw that were pretty awesome.
