First Come Flowers

Would You Like Some Ornamental Kale With That?

I have fallen in love with ornamental kale this year. I've actually known about it and used it for years. But somehow this year, it has become one of my favorites.

Image: Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

I'm talking about ornamental kale used in flower arrangements here folks. Not to be confused with the trendy roasted kale chips or kale salad.

 

via Canadian Gardening

Brassica, the actual name for this floral element, is really not a flower at all. But it does plays one on tv, in floral arrangements.

 

Roundtree Flowers

It's really a vegetable selected to grow tall with either flat or curly leaves at the top resembling a rose. 

 

Design Sponge

It comes in lovely shades of green, creamy white and lavender.

 

 Design Sponge

Learn more about ornamental kale and how to make a lovely mixed brassica floral arrangement in a post called, " Flowers A - Z: B is for Brassica"  over at Design Sponge.

 

What do you think about ornamental kale?

Mimi

3 Lovely Floral Design Blogs You Probably Haven't Seen

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 "Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower."  Hans Christian Andersen

It's a new year. Time to be inspired by flowers all over again. Why wait until the spring?

 

 3 Lovely Floral Design Blogs

1.  The Full Bouquet

 

 

2.  Flower School New York Blog

 

3.  Hana Floral Design

 

Which blog do you find most inspiring?

Mimi

 

 

 

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 5: Elegant & Affordable Arrangement Ideas

This is the 5th and final post of the "Floral Centerpiece Secrets" series.  You can read Part 1,  Part 2,  Part 3,  and Part 4  here.

Below you'll find ideas for affordable centerpieces. Make them yourself or invite some friends over to help.

Remember, just because they're simple doesn't mean they can't be striking.

 

Elegant & Affordable Floral Arrangement Ideas

Martha Stewart

 

Pick A Color and Run with It

Buy a bunch of flowers to match your decor. Get small vases, bottles or glasses. Cut the flowers so the bloom is sitting just above the rim of the vessel. Make lots of them. Put one at each place setting. Or place them on a DIY cake stand in the center of your tables. The sky's the limit.

 

For more centerpiece idea :

"7 Ways to Save On Flower Centerpieces"

"How to Make Stem Glass Flower Arrangements"

"Simple Floral Centerpieces" 

"The 4 Lessons Walt Disney Can Teach You About Success and Carnations" 

 

I hope you've learned something useful about centerpieces from this series. Perhaps you'ii try making one for your next dinner party or special event.

Did I forget to include something about centerpieces?

Mimi

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 4: 9 Tips On Picking Your Colors

This is part 4 of the series, "Floral Centerpiece Secrets. You can read  Part 1,  Part 2 and Part 3 here.

I don't have any hard and fast rules about flower colors. You can do whatever you want. But I'd like to share some basic floral design color principles that I find helpful in my work. Please let me know what you think.

 

Bloom Anuschka

 

9 Tips On Selecting Flower Colors for Your Centerpieces

 

 

Stoneblossom

1. Stick to the natural colors of flowers. There are plenty of them. If you're having an over-the-top birthday party and your name is Sapphire, go ahead and have all your flowers dyed royal blue. Otherwise, choose your colors from nature. Or at least the engineered colors floral laboratories can now get flowers to grow in.  I mean, or the new colors now available from cut flower growers.

 

Dolce Design Studio

2. Choose your flower colors first and build your event around them. I'm always amused when my brides come in asking for flower colors like winsome green. These colors don't exist outside of a bridesmaid dress catalog. Not by that name anyway. Once I see the swatch,I can guide them to colors that will complement their floral arrangements.

 

via Little White Blog

3. Use only 2 or 3 flower colors.  A limited color palette will give your centerpieces a more sophisticated look. If there's a pink rose, for example, that has a bit of green and white in it, I'd use those colors. Mostly pink and white flowers with green foliage.

 

Colin Cowie

4. Go monochromatic.  If red is the color you want, then shoot for an all red centerpiece. Use flowers of different types and textures to give your floral arrangements more pizazz.

 

 

White Lilac

5. Stay in the same tone. Some colors are bright and others dusty. Use either one tone or the other. The dusty colors look like they have a little gray in them. If you're using a dusty rose color, then a watermelon pink flower wouldn't go. One would look a little dirty next to the other. Do you know what I mean? I'd choose either a bright or dusty color palette.

 

 

Beautiful Blooms

6. Use paint chips to help you pull your colors together. Once you select your colors, go to a paint store and pick up free paint chips that match your flowers. Then when you begin choosing your tablecloths, napkins, etc. you have your colors handy.

 

Bliss Flower Studio Image: Julia Bailey

7. Go ahead and play with color. It's your party. Who says you can't use hot pink and bright yellow. Orange and purple. Red and lime green. You don't have to use harvest reds, oranges and golds just because your event is in September. But, remember that using seasonal flowers may be cheaper. Florists are more likely to carry seasonal colors than others. But, if you order your flowers in advance, there shouldn't be a problem. 

 

Beautiful Blooms

8. Be open to suggestions from your floral designer if you're using one. It should be someone whose style you like. And whose judgement you trust. When we first opened our shop, we used to get many brides whose styles didn't match ours. They wanted very traditional and sometimes tacky floral design. So I began praying that God would send us customers seeking the kind of floral design we do. And voila, our kind of clients began coming out of the woodwork.

 

Lauryl Lane

9. Consider the event and your guests. If you're doing a 90th birthday party for Aunt Tillie the neon yellow and green minimalist floral centerpieces you were thinking about might not be the way to go. Unless that's just how she rolls. If yellow and green are her favorite colors opt for something a bit more traditional. It doesn't have to be boring though.

So those are my tips about how to choose flower colors for your centerpieces. Any questions? 

Mimi

 

 

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 3: 10 Tips for Choosing Flowers

This is Part 3 of a series called."Floral Centerpiece Secrets." You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here.

Flowers by Connie Riemer

 

10 Tips for Choosing Flowers for Your Centerpieces

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

1. Select flowers that are in season. Many flowers are available all year long. But if they have to be special ordered they may cost more. Flowers in season are generally healthier, prettier and more cost-effective.

 

Blush Floral Design

 2. Select less  expensive flowers and use a whole lot of them. People love to hate carnations, but you can achieve a big look for less money if you choose a simple design. Gladiola is another great candidate for this look when placed in a modern vase.

 

Arome

 

3. Select a few striking flowers and go for a modern look. Tropical or exotic flowers in a simple vase look great.Try a few stems of amaryllis in full bloom.

 

Sandra P. Photography

 

4. Choose a mix of inexpensive, multi-stemmed flowers and make them into lots of small arrangements. Use flowers like lisianthus, pom poms, spray roses and carnations.

 

Posy Floral Design

 5. Use a few different flowers in a single color. It's a modern look that is quite elegant.

Verbena Floral Design

 

6. Choose big-headed flowers. They take up a lot of space, can be mixed with other flowers and can give you a great bang for your buck. Consider football mums, hydrangea and gerbera daisies. Three stems of hydrangea and you've got a centerpiece. The loveliest come from Holland and cost a bit, but the look is sheer glam.

 

Charlotte Geary

 

7. Don't use flowers. Instead use interesting branches like willow alone in a nice vase. They can be spray painted to match your decor. Don't go crazy with your colors here though. Cymbidium orchids can be wired to the willow branches as well.

 

via The French Tangerine

 

8. Choose unscented flowers for your centerpieces. Some people are highly allergic to them. Most people don't want to be overwhelmed with the fragrance of flowers while they eat. Select unscented varieties of lilies for your centerpieces if that's your flower of choice.

 

Amy Merrick

 

9. Use lots of foliage. Though the style of flower arranging we do at Fly Me To The Moon Florists uses lots of flowers, you don't have to. Think about a rose or hydrangea bush. They have flowers, but there's space between them. My current favorite foliage is Italian ruscus, but salal (lemon leaf) , pittosporum plain and variegated are lovely in floral centerpieces.

 

 White Lilac

 

10. Take it easy with the filler flowers. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you've heard me say it before. Don't go crazy with baby's breath. Unless of course it's the only flower you're using. It won't make your floral centerpieces look bigger. It will make them look tacky. See tip #9 again. You can read more on this subject here.

 

 

 

Preston Bailey

I encourage you to think outside your usual flower box when thinking about centerpieces. Try something new. Play with the traditional. I think you'll be glad you did. 

Part 4 of the "Floral Centerpiece Secrets" series will discuss color. Hope you're enjoying these posts and finding them helpful.

What kind of flowers do you dream about using in a centerpiece?

Mimi

 

Linking to:

At the Picket Fence

French Country Cottage

Savvy Southern Style

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 2: Selecting The Right Height

 

Fly Me To The Moon Florists

This is part 2 of a series of posts called, "Floral Centerpiece Secrets." You can read Part 1: How to Match Your Flowers To Your Table here.

 

Designs by Hemingway

Floral centerpieces are meant to beautify and enhance the decor of your special event. To make your guests feel special. 

 

Martha Stewart 

 

They help make your special events memorable.

 

Fineflowers

The Problem With Most Centerpieces 

They're too tall. They were never meant to keep people at the same table from seeing each other.

Ever been at an event where you moved the centerpiece so you could have a conversation with the person sitting across the table from you?

The person who made the arangement was probably more focused on design than function. This happens a lot.

 

Preston Bailey

How to Avoid this Problem

 

 

Deeproots.net

Use Short Centerpieces - Make sure your centerpieces are not more than 12 inches tall.This will be well below the line of vision.

At our shop, I usually go no higher than 14 inches. I like centerpieces with presence. I think height is an important component of that. But we actually measure our floral arrangements periodically to make sure we don't go above that height.

 

Greg Bumatay

Use Tall Centerpieces - Use a tall clear glass vase with the actual flowers beginning at 20 inches above the table. A tall narrow vase with a dish holding the flowers at the top works well too. 

Martha Stewart

Mix Short and Tall Centerpieces - Love this combination of floral arrangements.  It can be quite stunning. Just keep your budget in mind as you consider this option. I'll show you a few DIY centerpieces in Part 5 that will keep you within your budget.

Further Reading

• Centerpiece Basics

 

So now that you know the rules about centerpiece height. Feel free to break them. Just remember design and function, design and function, design and function...

Do you have any funny centerpiece stories?

Mimi

 

 

Floral Centerpiece Secrets Part 1: Matching The Arrangement To The Table

Fly Me to The Moon Florists

 

Customers come in Fly Me To The Moon Florists with questions about floral centerpieces all the time.

Some know exactly what they want and just order them.

Others want to make their own, but have questions.

And still others just don't know where to begin.

 

Fleur

Floral Centerpiece Secrets is a 5 part series that I hope will answer basic questions you have about making or ordering floral arrangements. 

I might not cover every single thing you'd like to know about floral centerpieces. But if I leave out something you've been dying to know, just leave a comment and I'll address it in a future post. 

 

May Wedding Flowers

Here's what the "Floral Centerpiece Secrets"  Series will cover:

Part 1:     Matching The Arrangement to the Table  

Part 2:    Selecting The Right Height e

Part 3:    How To Choose Your Flowers 

Part 4:    How To Pick Your Colors 

Part 5:    Elegant and Affordable Arrangement Ideas 

 

Martha Stewart

 

Part 1:   Matching The Flower Arrangement To The Table

Centerpieces look great when they're the right size and shape for the table. Too small and you'll look like you ran out of money for flowers. 

Way too big and you'll look like you're trying too hard to impress. Unless of course you're having a mega special event.

Rather than give you specific proportions, I'd like to help you train your eye to see.the size the flower centerpiece must be to give the table a balanced look.

Martha Stewart 

Choosing the right size floral centerpiece is all about presence. Does the flower arrangement make a statement on the table? Or is it just a dinky bunch of flowers that look like an afterthought.

Please note that my suggestions, in this series, assume that the centerpieces are being used on tables where people will be sitting:

Tips for Round and Square Tables

Carolyne Roehm

• Choose a centerpiece that looks great from all sides. The flower arrangement must be round. Not flat with nothing but foliage on one side.. 
• Use a round or cube shaped vase so that the flowers mimick the shape of the table. Both of these shapes work with both kinds of tables.

 

Tips for Oval or Rectangular Tables

 

Carolyne Roehm

• Oval and rectangular tables look best when they have long arrangements. It can be a series of smaller ones or one long one. 
• The floral centerpiece doesn't have to be as long as the table. But people at either ends of the table should be able to see it.
• Long table arangements should be at least 12" or more inches in length.

 

Further Reading

Wedding Centerpieces for Every Kind of Table

Tabletop Tips and Tricks

 

 So those are the basics for matching your floral arrangements with your tables. 

Part 2 of this series will cover how to choose the correct height for your centerpieces.

 What else would you like to know about floral centerpiece shapes and tables?

Mimi

 

 

 

 

Looking For That Perfect Orange Rose?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image:  correntewire

I was reading one of my favorite floral design blogs, Flirty Fleurs, the other day. I came across this cool post about the different orange roses available commercially as cut flowers.

You can read the post here, "The Orange Rose Study."  

What's your favorite orange flower?

Mimi

 

How to Make 8 Unusual Place Settings For A Fantasy Tablescape

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, our boutique flower shop, Fly Me To The Moon Florists, has set up a mini shop in the new Republic of Couture store at Ridge Hill in Yonkers. You can read more about that here.

Anyway, we created the above tablescape for a special event they were hosting. I promised that I would share individual pictures of the flowers we created for it.

Image:  Fly Me to The Moon Florists

The theme of our fantasy tablescape was, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?"

We created individual place settings for various "personalities" both fictional and real. Most of the items we already had or purchased from a thrift shop. I created a different floral arrangement for each one.

Here are the 8 place settings my sister,Susan and I created.I hope they inspire you to make something fanciful for your next event.                  

 

8 Unusual Place Settings   

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

1.  Usain Bolt  -  Olympic gold medalist in track and field. We used gold chargers, a green glass plate under a matching green and yellow leaf to accentuate the color theme. We attached bolts to the flatware and spray painted them gold.  A grey "loving cup looking" bowl was also spray painted to hold the flower arrangement.Yellow roses, yarrow, and green trick carnations were some of the flowers used for the "appetizer". An emerald green glass topped off the look.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 2. Audrey Hepburn -  Actress We used "Breakfast At Tiffany's" as the inspiration for this place seting. Tiffany box colored bowl and charger held golden pompoms which mimicked the look of cornflakes. We added bling to the sppon, poured pearls into her creamer, a vintage deviled egg plate and napkin pulled this elegant look together.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 3. Jackie Chan  - Actor, singer acrobat and martial artist A brilliant copper and red plate, purple cloth napkin and miniature black vase holding a single green cymbidium orchid was the centerpiece of this place setting. A ceramic green dog held a pair of copper chopsticks made to look like nunchuks. 

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 4. The Invisible Man - Clearly from the movie of the same name. Transparent glass dishes, flatware and a mirrored placemat highlight this see-through place setting. it's plain to see that a simple croton leaf topped with a green succulent and cymbidium orchid complete this look clearly.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 5. Leonardo Da Vinci - Painter, scientist and inventor who loved puzzles and secret codes. A rough-hewn napkin, tin plate, and chalice sat amongst his artifacts - a notebook,a mysterious blue stone and a drawing of a hand finished the look. The planned rustic steak knife wasn't used.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

6. Ella Fitzgerald -Jazz singer  I filled this lady-like leopard handbag with a colorful victorian flower arrangement. It's resting on a purple glass plate atop a golden charger. Bakelite style flatware with an ivory napkin topped with a golden embellishment and an antique lace runner are perfect for this First Lady of Jazz.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

 7. Amy Winehouse - Singer  Her place setting was a curious mix of edgy with a nod to a 60's sensibility. Her placemat was made of two old records. One was cut into quarters to create the four corners of the placemat. Her flatware was wrapped in barbed wire a top a zebra cloth napkin.  A dusty pink dinner plate held an old-school corsage of calla lilies, heather, thistle and mini-carnations.

 

 

 Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

8. Bruce Wayne (Batman) - Sleek and dark objects were chosen for this place setting. A black plate was placed on a chrome charge that was lit underneath with LED lights.  A grey tweed menswear napkin accompanied the black"leather" handled  flatware made from electrical tape. An elegant black glass goblet with a matching cube vase full of salmon roses made this manly place setting just right.

 

Hope you enjoyed these unusual place settings. We could have used more items that had a stronger link to each guest, but we really wanted the table to be elegant and wanted people to have to ponder a bit..

In many instances, the pictures don't do the settings justice. But what's a girl to do, but try harder the next time.

Which one did you like best?

 

Mimi

 

 

Flowers To Consider Instead Of Roses

I love roses. But every once in a while, I have a client,at Fly Me To The Moon Florists, who wants no part of roses in a mixed arrangement.That's fine with me. I'm no rose peddler, well actually that's at least part of whoI am.

 

Image:  Fly Me To The Moon Florists

But, what I meant is that I'm not a rose pusher. I am a carnation pusher though. You can read all about that here, 

But, when it comes to suggesting flowers other than roses in a floral arrangement my absolute favorite is lisianthus.  

It's the dark purple flower in the above arrangement next to the white chrysanthemum on the left.

 

Image: Bloom Japan

 

In one of my favorite floral reference books, Garden to Vase: Growing and Using Your Own Cut Flowers, the author, Linda Beutler, says of the lisanthus:

"This is an exemplary cut flower; beautiful, long lasting, readily available year-round. If it had a lovely fragrance, we would not need to grow anything else."

 

It comes in a variety of colors from white, pale green, pinks, lavender, variegated white with a purple edge and several shades of purple. And best of all, it lasts up to 2 weeks in water.

Image: Bloom Japan

There's an article on Colin Cowie Weddings website called,  "Luxe for Less: Better Than Roses," where he  highlights his favorite rose alternatives. You guessed it. Lisianthus is at the top of his list.

Don't miss the 4 other flowers he thinks are good rose substitutes. 

 So  what's your favorite flower?

 

Mimi