Lewis Miller Design

For more stunning designs from Lewis Miller please check out his website!

With the theme Jade: Eastern Obsessions, the 18th annual Newport Flower Show will take visitors on an exotic tour of Far Eastern traditions and beauty. Bartlett Tree Experts returns as Presenting Sponsor of the Newport Flower Show, which benefits The Preservation Society of Newport County. The Show will open on Friday, June 21, 2013 and run through Sunday, June 23 at Rosecliff, one of Newport’s most beautiful historic mansions.

“The support from Bartlett Tree Experts has been an important factor in the success of the Newport Flower Show over the years,” said Preservation Society CEO & Executive Director Trudy Coxe. “As one of our Partners in Preservation, Bartlett has been with us every step of the way as the Flower Show has blossomed into America’s premier summer flower show.”

The Newport Flower Show is also sponsored by National Trust Insurance Services, Northern Trust, Brooks Brothers Country Club, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Southern New England, Atria Senior Living, United Airlines, BankNewport, Porsche of Warwick and East Coast Wholesale Flowers.

Special guests at the show will include inspirational floral designer Hitomi Gilliam, who will showcase work inspired by Ikebana and the Zen appreciation of nature, and landscape architect Harriet Henderson, who will share the influences of the East in Western gardens.

The Opening Night Party on Friday, June 21, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., will launch Newport’s summer season, with a cocktail buffet, live music and dancing, a seaside supper, and other entertaining surprises. The show will continue through the weekend with Eastern-themed floral exhibits, horticultural entries, garden designs, photography, and children’s programs, all staged throughout the elegant reception rooms of Rosecliff, its oceanfront terrace and lawn.

The expansive front lawn of Rosecliff will once-again be filled with beautiful garden displays, offering inspiration for those looking to add color and charm to their own gardens. Guests will be able to browse the Gardeners’ Marketplace for specialty plants, flowers and garden accessories. The shopping experience will continue on the back lawn, in the Oceanside Boutiques featuring additional garden and lifestyle-related products and services.

The Newport Flower Show will be open to the public from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 21, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, June 22 & 23. Advance sale and Preservation Society member admission tickets are $18 per person. Tickets sold at the door will be $25 on Friday, $23 on Saturday or Sunday.
Also available by advance purchase through June 7 only is a special “Bring a Friend” ticket for Sunday, June 23, providing 2 adult admissions for $29.
One-day Show tickets for children between the ages of 13 and 17 are $6, and all children 12 and under are admitted free.
Admission to the Opening Night Party is $145 for Preservation Society members, and $170 for non-members, if purchased before June 7. After that date, cocktail party admission will be $160 for members and $190 for non-members.

Our special guests will headline Luncheon Lectures on Friday and Saturday of the Newport Flower Show. On Friday, June 21, internationally renowned floral artist Hitomi Gilliam will show us work inspired by the Zen appreciation of nature. Her presentation “will be explicit in sharing the authentic representation of nature and how the compositions created in this way have the ability to move the viewer.” Hitomi is the author of six books, and her latest, Fresh Look at Judging, will be available for signing. She is a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers and is one of only seven recipients of AIFD’s prestigious Design Influence Award.

On Saturday, June 22, landscape architect Harriet Henderson will share her expertise and experiences working in the East. Her studies in Kyoto, Japan immersed her in Japanese garden design, and her travels in Korea, China and Taiwan brought an understanding of Japanese design precedents and led to a Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Her work has included important public and private landscape projects, from a Governor’s mansion to college campuses, unique private homes and even a horse farm. For the past 20 years she has taught landscape architecture history at the Barnes Arboretum and contributed to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Japanese Garden Handbook as well as International Bonsai Magazine.

Tickets for each Luncheon and Lecture are $80 per person. Lecture-only tickets are available for $40.

Free lectures and demonstrations by noted plant experts, flower designers and gardeners will also be presented throughout the weekend. For more information and to purchase tickets for the Newport Flower Show, visit www.NewportFlowerShow.org, or call (401) 847-1000.

With Newport’s largest private ballroom, Rosecliff was constructed in 1902 as a party pavilion for one of the leading society hostesses of the Gilded Age. This snow-white terra-cotta mansion, modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles, was created for Theresa Fair Oelrichs, heir to the Comstock silver lode in Nevada. It hosted many of the most fabulous entertainments of the period, including a fairy-tale dinner and a party featuring magician Harry Houdini.

All proceeds from the Newport Flower Show benefit the ongoing landscape restoration efforts of The Preservation Society of Newport County, a private non-profit organization accredited by the American Association of Museums and dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area’s historic architecture, landscapes and decorative arts. Its 11 historic properties—seven of them National Historic Landmarks—span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.

Designed by Bella Fiori

Hi Flower Friends!
Well, I’m headed north for the next week .. the plan is to drive along the Oregon Coast and make our way to the beautiful state of Washington.
If any of you have suggestions for me about Flower Must-Sees I’d love to hear them!!
We’ll mostly be in the Everett/Seattle area..
Thank you in advance!
Alicia

Demonstration by Paula Pryke

An exciting Flower Gala is coming soon to Guildford, England! The Guildford Cathedral Flower Gala will take place June 6-8, 2013. A special preview evening to be held on Wednesday the 5th June.
The Cathedral Events team has been working on the production of this flower gala for the past two years, and without a doubt it will be quite the flower show!
Paula Pryke is the designer for this wonderful event and has been working on designs with florists and flower arrangers from the Parish churches, flower clubs, florists and floristry school to transform the Cathedral into a colourful garden of over 50 Floral Arrangements.

During the Gala there is exclusive opportunity to see three of the UK’s most exciting floral designers in action:

• Thursday 6 June 13:00 Robbie Honey

• Friday 7 June 13:00 Shane Connolly, who will also be signing his book

• Saturday 8 June 13:00 Joe Massie

Click here to read more about the flower demonstrations with Robbie, Shane and Joe.

Tickets for each demonstration are £30 which includes entry into the Flower Gala. 100 seats available only. Purchase tickets HERE.

A day at the Gala is priced at just £8.00 per person and is open from 10.00am to 5.00pm with last entry at 4.00pm. Purchase of a ticket to the event will give entry to:

• The Flower Gala to view the stunning floral arrangements within the beautiful Cathedral building

• The Marquee an exciting retail space where there are a variety of unique and special gifts on sale

• The Rose Cafe offering light refreshments and with wonderful views over the town of Guildford

• The Cathedral Refectory serving an array of different hot and cold refreshments throughout the day

• Guildford Cathedral gift shop

• Access to and from Guildford town centre using our free Arriva flower bus service

• A hospitality marquee on the front lawn offering a restaurant service for lunches

About Guildford Cathedral:
• Guildford is one of England’s youngest cathedrals, and the last to be built from scratch on a ‘green-field’ site

• Designed by Sir Edward Maufe, it was started in 1936, and finally consecrated in 1961

• The Cathedral is built of bricks made with clay dug from Stag Hill itself. To help fund the construction, people could buy individual bricks for half-a-crown: you can still see the bricks bought and signed by members of the Royal Family.

• The tower is 160 feet high and contains 12 bells from the same foundry that made Big Ben

Guildford Cathedral

GUILDFORD CATHEDRAL
Stag Hill
Surrey
GU2 7UP
Events Website: www.events.guildford-cathedral.org
Cathedral Website: www.guildford-cathedral.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GuildfordCathedral
Purchase tickets HERE.

A good portion of the designers we feature on Flirty Fleurs are ones who’s primary focus is wedding and special events. Today I wanted to share you a list of the retail floral designer’s we love!

Florali- Fine Flowers, California

Sprout- Worcester, MN

Tic-Tock Couture Flowers, Los Angeles

Bloom by Anuschka, Denver

Paula Pryke Floral Artist, London

What retail floral designers do you follow?

Recently there was a big flower show in Toronto called Canada Blooms. Luckily for us our flower friend, Tina of Living Fresh, attending Canada Blooms and shared all of her photographs with us.
I hope you all enjoy looking at her photographs as much as I did, fun to see the various floral designs, garden designs and floral vignettes.
Thank you, Tina!

Toronto Garden Club

Toronto Garden Club

Toronto Garden Club

Toronto Garden Club

Toronto Garden Club

San Remo Flower Shop

Mayflower Displays Flower Shop

Martin’s, The Flower People

Martin’s, The Flower People

The Gathering Ireland booth

Pink Frost Hellebores

Pink Frost Hellebores

Pick Ontario Growers

Pick Ontario Growers

Pick Ontario Growers

Pick Ontario Growers

Pick Ontario Growers

Designed by Sue Clarkson

Designed by Nusrat Saleem

Designed by Laura Haley

Designed by Kathleen Potton

Designed by Etwyn Humphrey

Designed by Dominque Gurret

Designed by Demi Wu

Hi flower friends!
I’m back from a very short trip to Washington State. Let’s just say that sometimes life happens and plans have to change… had to get back to California.
I wish I would have had more time in Washington, really wanted to meet more flower people and check out more shops and farms. I’ll definitely be heading up north again soon!!
Here are a few highlights .. will post more next week!!

We did get to visit the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and visit Tulip Town and Roozengaarde.

We went downtown to Pike Place Market. I haven’t been there in years, was fun to visit it again. Of course, I bought tulips and daffodils!

Many of you saw this bouquet on the Flirty Fleurs Facebook page, here’s a different angle. These were the tulips and daffodils from Pike Place Market. Pieris Japonica courtesy of my Uncle’s garden.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, see you back here next week!

I’m thrilled that I was able to visit the Skagit Tulip Festival last week in Mt. Vernon, Washington. Our first stop was to RoozenGaarde® and believe me, my mother and I were the first two in the gate. ha! We had a great time walking around the grounds and viewing all these beautiful tulips and daffodils. RoozenGaarde® starts with manicured gardens and after that visit we were able to go across the street to see the tulips fields.
I tried to narrow down how many tulip photos I’m posting here, but there are so many beauties to share!!
enjoy…

yes, those really are tulips growing on the tree.

The farm workers clear the older tulips and leave the petals in between the rows.

Farm worker whistling while he works…

Daffodil Field

We also visited Tulip Town in Skagit Valley, just a few blocks away from RoozenGaarde® farm. Their tulip fields were quite impressive, rows and rows of tulips to view.

Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle is such a fun place to visit, I haven’t been in years and it was fun to go back. On this visit the stalls were filled with flowers, it was just dreamy! So many tulips and daffodils on display!

Here are the flowers I purchased at Pike Place Market:

The bouquet I designed with the flowers I purchased (with Pieris Japonica from the garden):

While we were in downtown Seattle I thought to visit Fiori Flower Shop. I’ve communicated over email and social media with the owner, Miles, for some time and thought it would be fun to find his shop. I was thrilled when I got to step inside his huge walk-in cooler, so many flower treasures were inside. (I apologize for the poor photos, I only had my iPhone at that point and the photos are a bit fuzzy. My photos don’t do the flowers justice, he truly had the best variety of flowers — I was in love with the hellebores, bleeding hearts, fritillaria and anemones!!)
To learn more about Fiori, read our interview here.

Syringa (Lilac) is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family (Oleaceae), native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and widely and commonly cultivated in temperate areas elsewhere.^[1][2][3][4]

The genus is most closely related to Ligustrum (privet), classified with it in Oleaceae tribus Oleeae subtribus Ligustrinae.

Lilacs are often considered to symbolize love (see language of flowers). In Greece, Lebanon, and Cyprus, the lilac is strongly associated with Easter time because it flowers around that time; it is consequently called paschalia.

Syringa vulgaris is the state flower of New Hampshire, because it “is symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State” (New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated (RSA) 3:5)

(From Wikipedia)

 

Designed by Fiori, Seattle.

Last week while I was in Seattle I stopped by Fiori to visit with shop owner, Miles. We were chatting about what elements can be added to a work space to make it more conducive to designing efficiently. That got me to thinking, how cool would it be to write a blog post where we show off these efficiency elements?!
Send me photos of modifications you’ve made to your work space, storage room, washing area, loading/unloading area, vase displays, etc. – info@flirtyfleurs.com
Please be sure to include your name, shop name and website in the email.
We can’t wait to see what you’ve created!

Hi Flower Friends,
I received the following email from one of our readers and I think she raises a very good concern. Let’s face it, not every bride can spend thousands of dollars on flowers and decorations. I realize many of you have minimums for clients, but someone out there must be taking care of the smaller budget brides. To those designers, what advice do you have for our reader? (and all the other readers wondering the same thing). Please leave a comment below, or if you have photos of pieces you’ve designed for budget brides, please email those to: info@flirtyfleurs.com.

“I’m working as a new designer in a medium-sized, quite financially-conservative (and overall conservative) town.
I have been able to find tons of articles online and in print from high-profile designers about making sure you charge for the full value of your work, educating your customers on the value of what you do, explaining the pricing behind their pinterest and bridal magazine finds– but the average wedding budget here is probably $10,000-$12,000, with the DIYers obviously clocking in as low as they possibly can.
At the small local flower shop where I used to work, the average budget for wedding flowers was $500-$1200. They wanted roses in a little posy. They wanted gerberas, they wanted daisies. To put it bluntly, it wasn’t a matter of educating the customer or upselling them, this was their budget, and they weren’t willing or able to spend more.
Some of my workarounds so far have been monotbotanic/ monochrome arrangements so I can order in bulk, loading up on greenery and garlands vs. spending on flowers, selling market bunches for the diy crowd, but I am always looking for new ideas.
Are there any websites, portfolios, thoughts or articles that you or your contributors could recommend for someone in a small town with small budgets? I would love advice on making a small budget look more thoughtfully-styled.”

TODAY’S BOUQUETS & FLOWERS TO WEAR is a new and exciting Wedding Workshop created exclusively for Mt. Eden Floral Company. In their first ever West Coast floral design workshop together (and first joint Bay Area appearance since their presentation at the 2011 San Francisco AIFD Symposium), Bill Schaffer AIFD, AAF, PCFI and Kristine Kratt AIFD, PFCI will take the floral designer on a journey into today’s freshest blooms, newest products, and the numerous options for their use.

Using the latest in Trends and Techniques, the multiple, award-winning (and 2013 & 2014 Trend Forecasters for the International Floral Distributors Group) duo will share their combined years of experience in the floral event industry with you. During this 2-day class, Bill and Kris will demonstrate and work with you on fresh, new ideas and show you how to make some of the most intricate designs we see in today’s social media.

This 2-day workshop is designed for the floral designer with some experience to the advanced designer who is looking to broaden and enhance his or her design artistry. All fresh flowers, foliage and supplies will be provided. Continental breakfast and light lunches will be served on each of the 2 days. Please bring any additional snacks and beverages you may require, as well as your own design tools (design tools may be purchased on-site if needed).

TODAY’S BOUQUETS & FLOWERS TO WEAR
Designs from Concept to Completion
With Bill Schaffer AIFD, AAF, PFCI and Kristine Kratt AIFD, PFCI
• June 11-12, 2013 from 8:00-4:00pm both days
• at Mt. Eden Floral Co., 2124 Bering Drive, San Jose CA
• Registration Fee: $550 per person by May 26, 2013
• A $50 late fee will be charged for registrations received 5/27/13 and after.
• To register, print and return the floral workshop registration form. Space is limited.
For questions related to the workshop, please call Mt. Eden’s event line at: 408-213-6064 or email: info@mteden.com. For regular store inquiries, please call 408-213-5777.

Want to know more about Bill and Kris? Head over here to meet the designers, and check out videos of their work over at Bill and Kris’ website for Schaffer Designs.

(sponsored post)

Michael George Flowers

Spring is here and the market is over flowing with gorgeous tulips of all types! I love this time year and the amazing selection of colors, textures and varieties tulips available. Here are a few tips and tricks to help with the care and handling of your tulips!

From the Sun Valley Group Website

The Floral Design Institute

Florisity, NYC

I recently purchased a bunch of Solomon’s Seal from my local market and I am now officially obsessed!

This beauty has rich green leaves with a soft matte look!

Lillie’s Flower Journal

They grow in shady borders or woodland gardens among trees and shrubs.

Françoise Weeks

Gracefully arching, unbranched stems are crowned with a plume of small flowers similar to astilbe.

Icing on the cake is the fresh, sweet, clean fragrance!

Real Simple

Have you worked with Solomon’s Seal? We would love to hear your thoughts!

Jeff Leatham

Have a wonderful weekend!

Have you seen the beautiful, glamorous, and captivating floral designs created by Karen Tran? Both Chuck and I have gushed over her work for a while now–it is all so perfect and gorgeous. So I have a real treat for you today! We’re featuring Karen’s lovely designs and announcing a 3-day master class she’ll be teaching this June in San Diego, California. For any of you who would like to learn large-scale design, I would highly recommend taking this class with Karen! The opportunity to learn how to create a large-scale ceremony canopy or Chuppah, not to mention the extravagant tablescapes she creates, is rare. I had the chance to meet Karen while attending the Chapel Designers Conference in NYC and watching her teach & design a large-scale piece was quite impressive. Here is the information about her master class; to register or for more information, contact Karen at Karen@KarenTran.com

(sponsored post)

Awhile back I emailed Laurie of Fleurie Flowers, Reedley, California to ask if she’d like to join me for a lecture at Ron Morgan’s Antique Store, LOOT, in Oakland, California. What started out as one lecture soon evolved into a two day flower excursion in the Bay Area which we dubbed “The Excellent Flower Adventures of Alicia and Laurie”. We thought of all the places we’d like to visit and wrote them down, knowing we’d never make it to all of them, but prepared to hit as many as possible. Well, I’ll tell ya, we sure did have a great time and had plenty of adventures! We met on Sunday morning at our hotel in Berkeley and drove to Filoli Gardens in Woodside where we spent most of the day exploring the beautiful gardens. How is it that I’ve lived in San Mateo most of my life and never made it too Filoli in Woodside, I’m ashamed of myself! Next we drove to Flora Grubb in San Francisco which was on Laurie’s list of must visit locations. It truly is an amazing place, we were the last to leave Flora Grubb when it closed – surprised they did not have to physically push us out! Next we headed back to Berkeley, however neither of us were done with our flower hunting – we heard of the Berkeley Rose Garden and headed out to see it, so glad we did! Next was the huge adventure, where sometime around 11pm I developed severe pains in my right side and we ended up in the Emergency Room in Oakland at midnight! If you know Laurie, ask her about her adventure in the waiting room (yikes!) … I’ll tell you, I knew Laurie and I would be fast friends when I first met her in Santa Barbara at Florabundance Design Days last January – we definitely bonded after 7+ hours in the Emergency Room! (Doctors never did pinpoint why I was in severe pain. Even a subsequent visit to my Doctor did not answer my WHY questions. It was actually my first visit ever to an ER for myself .. and hopefully the last!!). I was released around 7am, Laurie and I went back to our hotel and took hour long naps. We did miss our trip to the San Francisco Flower Mart, I’m sad about that. However, we did rally and made it to the Lecture at LOOT Antiques at 10am, where Marian of Savage Rose Flowers joined in on our Excellent Flower Adventures. After the lecture was over Laurie and I headed over to Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden where Laura of Laura Miller Design joined us for a walk and a relaxing afternoon of visiting and chatting about the flower industry.
ER visit aside, it really was a fantastic trip, I love surrounding myself with floral designers who are equally as passionate about flowers and the floral industry as I am!

Now grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit back, because I’m about to fill this blog with a lot of photographs of pretty flowers – it’ll take awhile to look at all of them! Most of the Filoli, Flora Grubb and Berkeley Rose Garden photos were taken by me. Laurie took the majority of the photographs from the Ron Morgan lecture and the Oakland Rose Garden.

Today I will start with Filoli ….

When we turned the corner into the gardens this was our first sight, I cried out with delight. Laurie says – yes, we are definitely going to be friends .. ha ha!

Beds of Ranunculus

This photo is for Laurie, she loved this moss covered tree

Just Joey Rose

One of the floral displays inside the Mansion

They had a few floral displays in the Mansion, all designed by volunteers.

That’s a clematis, just in case you were wondering. I was quite pleased to just stand and stare at it for awhile.

What do you think of the beautiful flowers and gardens of Filoli?
I’d love to visit there throughout the year to see how the gardens change with the seasons!

Tomorrow I will post the photos from Flora Grubb