Photography Lynn Dunston / Styling Projecht Events / Calligraphy Lady G Paperie / Jewelry Susie Saltzman / Makeup Makeup By Kevan / Hair Jewel Hair Design / Drawings Kriss Keller / Florals Sophie + Co. / Gown Gossamer / Model Katarina Pavic from the Artist Agency / Film Lab PhotoVision Prints / Venue The Retreat at Cool Spring / Featured on Magnolia Rouge
Botanical Journal: Dogwood
Botanical Name: Cornus
Blooms Locally: Mid-Late April
"After all, I don’t see why I am always asking for private, individual, selfish miracles when every year there are miracles like white dogwood." – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Since we are situated on a tree farm in Montgomery County, we have the luxury of unabated access to dogwood branches when they bloom in the spring. We are very careful to harvest the branches sustainably so that we don't traumatize the tree. Here is how to properly cut tree branches:
- Make a small cut, several inches up from the "branch collar" on the underside of the branch approximately ¼ of the way through. "This prevents bark from tearing off along the underside of the branch during removal of the heavier outer portion."
- Then make a cut all of the way through the branch from the top down, removing the majority of the branch.
- Cut the remaining branch stub away from the main stem, just outside of the branch collar. Do not cut into the branch collar tissue (pictured below).
Source: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/smallfarms/proper-techniques-prune-trees-and-shrubs
We used dogwood blossoms in just about every wedding this spring. The delicate, 4 pronged flowers add beautiful lines to any floral arrangement large or small. We used long, arching pink branches for statement pieces in one of our April weddings and complimented the large arrangements by featuring the flowers in satellite arrangements as well. We are already missing these gorgeous, fragrant blooms as blossoming branch season gives way to a summer full of flowers!
Photos by Becca Olcott
Why Flowers
What a flower, beauty and fun filled weekend this little family had in Hillsville, VA! We hung by the river...
I did some fun Mother's Day arrangements using flowers from my mother-in-laws garden and we all got to relax a little!
As the mom of 4 YOUNG kids, I sometimes (read several times a day), feel myself going nuts!! It is so easy to get bogged down in the tediousness of the bijillion diaper changes, tons of meals & snacks which turn into tons of food & crumbs everywhere, LAUNDRY, errands, etc. of each day. Often, when I look up and out of our little bubble, I find hurt and hardship and sadness going on in the world. Despair and a feeling of being simply overwhelmed can sometimes totally overtake me.
It was in one of these moments of feeling drained of hope, that I stumbled upon a picture (on Pinterest...of all the productive things I could have been doing during nap time!) of the most beautiful bouquet I had ever seen. It was wild and fresh and lush and made me smile. I found more and more beautiful flowers and smiled a bit more and more. By the time the babies woke up, I was magically feeling refreshed.
I don't want to ignore the hard parts of life but I do want to choose to see the beauty of life more. For me, flowers are a way of helping me see the simple beauty that DOES exist.
As I have started to pay more attention to flowers, I am finding them everywhere! I find myself smiling when I see them growing wild on the side of the road. I find myself loading the kids up to go search for them in the woods. I find myself giddy with excitement as the little seeds that we planted are popping up. Then, I look up and see my daughter giddy with excitement! She is outside in her bare feet, the babies are playing in the grass and we are all here, enjoying the beauty of the spring day. And I, gasp, am truly in the moment, enjoying the sweetness of getting to be the mother of these beautiful babies.
So, I have become flower wild! I have been reading flower books, taking flower classes, talking to flower farmers and designers. I have been planting and arranging and selling :) as many flowers as I can.
Yes, there have been late nights arranging, nap times filled with "work" and Saturdays spent begging my tired husband to hang with the kids while I till the beds. But, there have been many more family tromps through the woods gathering flowers, kids with muddy feet digging in the dirt and cold beers with my husband at the end of a productive day.
In the end, my hope is that this little business of mine will not be something that I do in addition to being a mother. It is my hope that it will become my style of mothering. I hope that it will help me live in the moment and to appreciate and see the beauty in these fleeting days of being a mom to 4 YOUNG kids. To focus on the good and to bring as many flowers into the lives of my little family and in turn, into the lives of as many people as possible!!
So, please follow along in our adventure. I hope this will be a place to find a little piece of beauty in a day that may need it :)
love love
Botanical Journal: Tulip
Botanical Name: Tulipa
Blooms Locally: Mid-Lat April
Flower Meaning: Depends on the color; red symbolizes true love, purple represents loyalty, white tulips say "I'm Sorry"
Last fall, we planted a few rare varieties of tulips with great anticipation for what we would harvest in the spring. With an early warm streak, we began to see green sprouts much earlier than anticipated, and we worried that we wouldn't get to use our precious tulips in our spring bouquets like we had planned. Luckily, Mother Nature found her balance and we harvested breathtaking Salmon Parrot Tulips (pictured below) in time to feature them in a few event arrangements last month. We also grew Professor Rontgen and Charming Beauty Tulips and completely fell in love. We were so impressed with the ease of growing these beauties that we are already stocking up on tulip bulbs for next year!
Have you ever heard of "Tulip Mania"? It was an economic crash that occurred in the 1600s, caused by a sudden surge in demand for...tulip bulbs. In 1593, Turkey introduced the Dutch to tulips. The Dutch went wild for tulips, and the bulbs were widely sought after for a premium price. A viral genetic alteration emerged, causing vibrant streaks of colors on tulip petals, which increased their value tenfold. Gardeners began seeking certain viral strains for their gardens, and the rarity of these strains coupled with bulb buyers scooping up as many bulbs as possible to capitalize on the bubble, initiated a twenty-fold increase in value! People were trading land, even their homes, for tulip bulbs. By 1636, tradesmen, were indulging in frantic trading of the bulbs - think wall street of tulip bulbs - with some bulbs changing hands up to 10 times during in a single day. Needless to say, this resulted in one of the largest market collapses in modern history. By 1637, speculators could no longer afford to buy the bulbs, demand plummeted along with the price of tulip bulbs, leaving many to suffer from the resulting economic depression upon realizing that they had traded their homes for garden fodder.
We love using tulips in our arrangements. Their symmetrical petals, bold colors and gorgeous shape uniquely enhance bouquets and arrangements. What are your favorite tulip varieties?
