more winter containers

December 6th, 2017 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (0 Comments)

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Winter containers are actually some of my favorite to work on.  It is more about arranging greens and specialty items than planting.

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We like to have our clients remove the fall or summer plants and keep the container about 3/4 full of soil.  This helps us because this time of year the containers may freeze and then it’s very difficult to get the greens placed.

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I use a variety of winter branches from silver, noble, and fraser fir to incense and blue coned Cedar. I adore red huckleberry and German boxwood to help build the containers structure, then we have fun arranging around that.

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The fun begins when we add floral options that can work and last in the containers.  My favorites are berzelia, brunia, and leucadendron cones.  Like icing on a beautiful cake we add the toppers and accents… birch branches, curly willow, mossed branches, magnolia tips, pine cones, pomegranates, and other surprises such as artichokes and sleighs this year!   The idea is to have fun and make it fit your home’s style and your holiday whatever it may be!

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A beautiful winter container can last through the early spring and help enhance the entrance of your home.

 

 

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winter containers

November 9th, 2017 | Posted by admin in Outdoor - (0 Comments)

Some ideas for your containers this winter season.  I love to work with a variety of greens, interesting pods, birch, willow, and of course winter pine cones & berries.  Have fun, always remember to keep it full!!  Abundance is the key.

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hot colors in the summer

June 28th, 2016 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (0 Comments)

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I love hot colors in the summer and this year I planted a few.  The purple passion flower is stunning, a brilliant climber that surprises you with its blooms.  The Echinacea or Hybrid cone flower is such a beautiful melon color I had to add it to the garden.  Foxgloves are one of my favorite flowers, so were my gorgeous large hot pink Digitalis, but they don’t last in the summer heat.  So I added a new variety that blooms all season and has a hint of yellow with the hotter pink.  In the back there is also purple salvia and I planted a few annual star flowers to the mix.  Every year I continue to find a few more plants that make me smile.

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How wonderful to enjoy a summer window box of simple and sweet flowers that just keep getting better as the season progresses.  In this box I used white geraniums, Wedgewood Angelonia, a variegated potato vine, mini petunias, star flowers, and Alyssum.

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Shade containers never get boring.  Here is the front of a house I did using a large supported Fuchsia bush as the center and surrounding it with coleus, begonias, ivy, and more fuchsia.  It has a great deal of color for a shade container and will last well into the fall.

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This is a shade container set back in a secret garden and I decided to use these amazing begonia leaves, with caladeums to sneak in a bit of color.  A very simple container making a big statement.  I really love shade plants!

 

 

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wedding arrangement ideas

September 15th, 2015 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Indoor - (0 Comments)

I love to work with flowers!  Anticipating my son’s wedding next fall I went to the flower mart to pick up flowers I think will work for beautiful arrangements.  Just the first of many ideas. I picked up Bittersweet, a Premium Rose, Alchemilla, Allium, Spider Mums, Joe Pye Weed, Artichokes, Butterfly Weed Asclepia, Trachelium, Ranunculus, Scabiosa, Mums, Buxifolia, and Wild Grasses.  I used a large round clear vase filled with stones from my many trips to the beach at Lake Michigan and a smaller rectangular vase also filled with Lake Michigan stones. These arrangements are the first of several I will try for next year’s special day.

 

 

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summer containers

June 22nd, 2015 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (0 Comments)

I’m hoping summer is here and still wishing for consistent sunshine.  This is a sun container filled with hot pinks and purples.  The main flowers are a hybrid dahlia with the darker leaves that make a great contrast to the licorice vine, mini petunias, scaveola, and allisum.  I added a pop of additional interest with the hot pink cosmos… my favorite.  It’s feeling like summer!

This is a sun shade container best put in morning sun and afternoon shade.  I put in a Eugenia topiary with endless summer hydrangeas, added some variegated ivy keeping it simple but always bountiful!  A very easy planter to assemble… just remember that hydrangeas need a good watering every day!

 

 

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spring container

May 12th, 2015 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (0 Comments)

Left over flowers for a sweet container.  Bright colors of stock, double mini petunias, lobelia, nemesia, osteospermum, and zinnias included in this container.

 

 

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spring flowers finally!

April 14th, 2015 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (0 Comments)

Bright colors to enjoy!

 

 

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new winter pots

December 11th, 2014 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Outdoor - (1 Comments)

 

 

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indoor flowers

December 11th, 2014 | Posted by admin in FLOWERS | Indoor - (0 Comments)

 

 

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One of my favorite times is Thanksgiving… an easy menu, family, and how I love to set the tables and enjoy the fall flowers.  I am in the thick of planting winter containers and picking up outdoor greens, birch branches, magnolia leaves, and various fun additions to use… but I can never pass all those gorgeous indoor flowers!

Yes, I am in a bit of heaven surrounded by gorgeous colors and a wide variety of blooms in the cold flower case, so I had to purchase a few beautiful stems to play with.

I picked gorgeous Hydrangea, Cherry Brandy Roses, an amazing hot pink Peony (my favorite!), a soft purple Queen Anne’s lace, pink and orange Ranunculus, Allium spray (that is called pink but is more purple in color), and a variety of Berzelia, which I also like to use outdoors.

I opted to use three birch bark covered containers that I also purchased at LD Trading Co, in Northbrook, IL.  I have two tables to dress so I put a rectangular container on the smaller table and the two squares on the larger table of 12 with various votives and candles.

I always like to bring out all my good and also playful dishes, as a crowd of 20 requires me to use most all dishware.  I prefer to use placemats and runners rather than table cloths because I like the look.  I found these fun paper place mats at Gethsemene Garden Center in Andersonville called “kitchen papers”.  This design is “Archival Floral”.

You can have as much fun with the flowers at the grocery store, just make sure to mix them up and choose a color palette that works for your fall thanksgiving table.  You can use ball jars, old various sized vases, pitchers for your containers, get creative and enjoy the process!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

 

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