December 8, 2010
Come visit us!
Sunday, December 12 from 2-8pm
Holiday Sale at the Lily Pad
1353 Cambridge Street, Inman Square
Paperwhite Narcissus
Handmade Hats by Apryl
Beautiful little containers with fragrant paperwhites: $10-$30
Apryl’s Hats, Cozy Cowls, and Stylie Fingerless Gloves:* $15-$30
Items are affordable and perfect for gift giving!
Happy holidays and love,
Petalena
**Note: Apryl’s creations are also available on Etsy
November 2, 2009
We’re still resting our minds, hands, and feet after this weekend’s wedding with a fantastical woodland theme. The bride had a vision for flowers and design that would evoke stepping into the forest – lots of mosses, ferns, and orchids. We have soooo many photos from this wedding that I’m still going through them and struggling to pick our faves. Since I need a few more days, here is one lovely shot of the small posy bouquets we did for the six bridesmaids:
Bridesmaids' Posy Bouquets of Fantastical Orchids
It was so completely lovely. More soon….
September 8, 2009
Apryl & I are bit obsessed right now with teeny tiny phalenopsis orchids – they are divinely small but spectacular in bouquets. And on their own, they are such a precious treat:
Mini Phalenopsis Orchid in Urn
We’re doing something similar to this for one of our fall brides but we’ll be painting the urns an antique bronze for deeper palette and adding small bits of manzanita to hold flower stem up.
Lady's Slipper Orchids and Mini Phals in the Studio Window
And here, another one of my ‘studio still lifes’ of dramatic lady’s slipper orchids and the miniature phalenopsis orchids in one of our studio windows. Lovely, lovely.
August 31, 2009
Pomanders can be a fun choice for little flower girls walking down the aisle. And as any floral designer can attest, some flowers work better than others. Mini, mini roses are ideal – like these completely adorable ones we used this weekend. Teeny tiny with green and soft ivory at the edges, darkening to pink at the center. Isn’t this adorable? Makes me happy just looking at it!
Adorable Rose Pomander
When we meet with clients and suggest a pomander as one of the many options for a flower girl – we’re often asked, why is it called a pomander? So I’ve finally looked it up and it turns out pomander comes from the French word ‘pomme de ambre’ which translates literally to ‘apple of amber.’
Back in the Middle Ages when there was lots of unfortunate smells and disease, pomanders were used to ward off such things. They were a mixture of aromatic things like cloves, incense, etc. held in a perforated container that could be carried around one’s neck or waist – as seen in the portrait of a lady below by the painter Pourbus:
An Unknown Lady, Holding a Pomander on a Gold Chain.
Another kind of pomander that dates back to around the 15th century, is an orange embellished with cloves that are tucked into the orange’s peel. This kind of pomander is often part of seasonal Christmas display – but is also a natural air freshener for a home, closet, etc. I still have absolutely no idea how this phrase then became broadened to include flower balls like the one we made above, but it’s still interesting to know the word’s origin!
An orange and clove pomander
April 27, 2009
We are having the most gorgeous few days in Boston and it’s cause to celebrate! Today I put on one of my favorite spring dresses and met up with two of my friends to go to, guess what? “Art in Bloom” at the Museum of Fine Arts! On these days the flower ladies (young and old!) descend upon the MFA to ponder the connections between the floral arrangements and art work they are paired with. Some designs are fantastic, some just a bit too foo-foo for me, but the day is a fun one if you love flowers and art!
Here are few pictures I took:
Floral Design in the Egyptian Collection at the MFA, Boston
Floral Demonstration Class
Close up of gorgeous burgundy cymbidium orchids and miniature artichokes
Two of my friends in front of a design by Ilex
April 16, 2009
A Perfect Tulip
I love this photo Apryl snapped of an arrangement she did last weekend. When we talk about how our inspiration often comes from Dutch still life paintings – this is what I mean. This is sort of larger-than-life lushness is what we love about flowers, their impossible beauty. Sigh…
Still Life, 1669 by Maria Oosterwijck, Cincinnati Art Museum.
March 31, 2009
After our post yesterday featuring a bridal bouquet with beautiful hellebores, I took a peek at the ones I have planted at my house in Boston. Sure enough, such an early spring bloomer, the hellebores are out and in bloom!
Spring hellebores in the garden
It’s just amazing how sturdy these plants are – perfectly comfortable in 30 degree weather, I just adore them!
Another view of the hellebores in the garden
Hellebores are also referred to as the “Christmas Rose” or “Lenten Rose” since they really are the highlight of late winter or early spring gardens (depending on where you live). Without a lot of light needs, most gardens have a nice little spot for them with a mix of sun and shade.
We love using the flower in bouquets, they have such a gentle arching habit to their form and the flowers themselves are so lovely and simple.
Apryl and I are both taking a few days off before the busy season begins, but I hope to post a few photos from my travels in Philadelphia and D.C. – the Cherry Blossom Festival is this week. Somehow despite the fact that I visit D.C. 2-3 times year, I’ve never seen the trees in bloom so I am really looking forward to it!
February 18, 2009
A touch of spring…paperwhite bulbs (also called narcissus) on my dining room table on a bed of moss.
When blooming, they have wonderful tiny little white fragrant flowers like mini-daffodils!
Paperwhite Bulbs in Moss
Narcissus in Bouquets
Apryl and I recently created this wedding bouquet of spring blooms. The bouquet features little white narcissus, fluffy white ranunculas, purple-blue grape hyacinth, fresh lavender, and maidenhair fern. It was a light bouquet to hold and so evocative of spring!
Springtime Bouquet with Narcissus, Lavender, and Grape Hyacinth
February 6, 2009
Apryl and I both love hunting through antique shops and tag sales for beautiful old antique things we can use as vases for our arrangements. It amazes me, maybe just because I so love old things, why anyone would want to part with such lovely things?
I just adore the patina of old things, elegant but not fussy.
Antique Trophy as Vase
Tarnished Old Silver
I picked up this lovely three-handled trophy in Maine while I was up for Thanksgiving.
I adore it too much to part with it for a wedding or an event! It has the prettiest trumpet shape and my favorite flowers – tulips – look perfect in it!
Antique Champagne Glasses as Bud Vases
Antique Champagne Glasses
I love these antique champagne glasses, not the flute style but wider. Perfect for floating blossoms in! I do this a lot when I host dinner parties; it’s fun to have a mix of big lovely bunches of flowers in vases along with one beautiful flower floating simply in water.
Cool and funky container options abound when you think outside the box a bit. Interestingly shaped wine glasses, leftover tin tea containers, etc. all make interesting vases!
January 17, 2009
Orchids are probably our favorite variety of flower to work with.
The range of color, texture, and style within this one type of flower is just incredible; there are thousands of design expressions that can be done using these unique blooms.
Photo by Joyelle West Photography
Summertime Orchid Bouquet - Fuchsia and gold harmonize above, making for a perfect bold and bright summer bridal bouquet. Here, yellow-orange “Mokara” orchids are used along with tiny yellow oncidium orchids and magenta-red gloriosa lilies. Such a gorgeous photo of a bouquet we did taken by the lovely and talented Joyelle West.
For more photos of this wedding, you can visit the post from earlier in the year.
Photo by Channing Johnson
Winter Elegance Bouquet – a dramatic bouquet but in a very different color palette. Primarily made up of gorgeously huge ivory phalenopsis and cattleya orchids – this might be one of our favorite orchid bouquets of all time! We also added a few touches of red with lovely ‘James Storrie’ orchids – they are bit spindly and spidery looking, great for color and texture accents. Thanks to Channing Johnson for capturing it so beautifully.
Photo by Claire Folger
Raspberry Jardin Bouquet- When we show clients this bouquet many are surprised that orchids make up most of the arrangement. While it is unusual with the long trailing amaranthus, the flowers feel soft and delicate here. Buttery yellow cymbidium orchids with deep pink colored centers are surrounded by raspberry foliage for soft ‘fresh from the garden’ look.
Photo by Scott Metzger Photography
Summer Chic Posie – Orchids are really our favorites flowers to use as a showcase flower. Here we paired one large white phalenopsis orchid with blue clematis buds and foliage for a simple and stunning posie bouquet.
All floral designs by Petalena.
