The flowers I’ve used:

Longiflorum/Asiatic lily Royal sunset: 10 stems

Baptisia Australis: 10 stems

Aquilegea, (columbine,):  9-11 stems

 Deciduous Azalea:  3-5 stems

The supplies you’ll need                

Large trumpet vase                   

Sharp knife or clippers

Bulb flower food packet

1. Start by stripping the bottom leaves off the lilies, columbine and baptisia.  Take most of the leaves off the azalea.
2. Fill the vase 7/8 of the way with cold water, add the bulb flower food. 
3. Cut lilies to desired height.  They should be two different heights to give your arrangement depth.  Place five tall lilies in the vase and allow to fan out evenly around the vase. 
4. Cut five stems of baptisia slightly taller than the lilies and insert into the center of the vase.
5. Cut 3 or 4 stems of  columbine slightly shorter than the baptisia and insert around the  lilies.
6. Cut 5-6 stems of baptisia shorter than the lilies and insert between the lilies around the rim of the vase.
7. Cut 5 or 6 stems of columbine shorter than the lilies and insert around the rim of the vase between the stems of baptisia.  The stems should be varied heights.
8. Cut the remaining lilies to a length that is slightly taller than the vase, insert the stems in front of the taller lilies.
9. Cut the azalea  just long enough to rest at the rim of the vase and place between the shorter lilies.  It’s ok if the stems extend out from the vase a bit.
10. Voila, you’re done! 

  Cut lilies and allow to fan out evenly.         

 Add stems of purple baptisia to the center 

   Add Columbine to the vase                      

   Close up of yellow Columbine                  

       

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For my second week of beyond the mason jar I’ve made a simple but very beautiful bridal bouquet. The wired nest makes it possible to use small, shorter stems of flowers.    The nest is a bright spring green which compliments the flowers nicely.  The flowers in this bouquet are available locally in Mid April.  The short season means only a few special brides will have this unique bouquet!

The flowers I’ve used: 

Green Hellebore: 8 -10 stems

Burgundy Fritillaria Meleagris: 6 -10 stems

Purple Muscari: 6 -10 stems

White ornithagalum: 6 -10 stems

White Deutzia: 3 stems

The supplies you’ll need:

Green, wired fiber nest 

floral sheers or small sharp knife

light weight green stub wire

green chenille or pipe cleaner

floral tape

natural fiber or satin ribbon

small, pearl headed corsage pins

vase for the finished bouquet

Step 1.  Strip the bottom leaves off the hellebore and deutzia.  Strip all but the top 1 or two leaves from the fritillaria. 

Step 2.   Holding the nest in your non-dominant hand insert most of the hellebore into the center of the nest.  The flowers should be visible at the top of the nest.  Have some of the stems peeking over the sides. 

Step 3.  Without putting the nest down, insert stems of fritillaria around the outside of the hellebore.  It’s not important they be evenly spaced.  This is a casual garden style bouquet. Place the stems where you think they look nice.  No worries, you can’t make a mistake. 

Step 4.  Add accents of purple muscari and white ornithagalum between the hellebore and fritillaria.  They should peek above the other flowers.  Take a good look at your bouquet and add stems of hellebore to any holes. You want the bouquet to look full but loose. 

Step 5.  Add the deutzia around the outside of the nest.  Your stems should be long enough to insert into the the bouquet and wind around the wired edge of the nest.  Be sure you are holding the end of the stem with the other flowers.  Cut a  very small piece of wire and wire the deutzia to the outside rim of the nest just at the end of the stem.  Hide the wire in the fiber of the nest.

Step 6. Once all your flowers are where you want them you can add more as needed.  Keep the bouquet nice and loose.  Remember, garden style, casual and romantic.  Not uptight.  Wrap and twist the chenille just above where you are holding the stems of flowers. You may need an assistant to do this.  Twist to secure the chenille then cut off the excess.  Cut a long length of stretchy floral tape and tape the stems to the holder of the nest.  Stretch and overlap the tape as you wind it around the stems. It isn’t necessary to tape the entire length of stems.  The tape should extend about two inches down the length of the stems.

Step 7.  Cut the stems just below the wires of the nest.  Stems which are too long look awkward.  You should be able to tilt your bouquet away from you without having the stems touch your wedding gown.  Tilting the bouquet forward will also look best in your wedding photos.

Step 8.  Affix the ribbon to the stems with a corsage pin, beginning at the base of the blossoms. Slide the pin into the stems, thrusting the point downward to keep the ribbon from moving.  Bind the ribbon around the stems tightly, keeping the fabric smooth and preventing gaps between the wrap. When you reach the bottom of the arrangement, rewrap the ribbon back up to the top of the bouquet.  Cut the ribbon and fold the end under.  Finish with two or three pearl headed pins.  Be careful to angle the pins downward so they don’t stick through the other side of your bouquet.

This week I will be using:

Green Hellebore, Purple Muscari, White ranunculus

They are all early spring flowers which are available in April and May.

I’m using a small, dark green vase I bought at a local auction.  6 vases for $3.00. Such a deal!

Make sure your vase is super clean.  A dirty vase has bacteria that will kill your flowers.  Since ranunculus are bulbs I use a special bulb flower food.  Mix the flower food with cool water. 

First I put in three white ranunculus.  Next I add a few green hellebore.   As an accent I use purple muscari.  Cut them at different lengths to give depth to your arrangement, have some curving down the side of the vase.

 Three steps and your done.  Very pretty , very simple.

 This arrangement would be great for a cocktail table since it’s fairly low.  It would also look nice on the bar or on your sweetheart table. 

I love these colors together.  If you want something brighter yellow or pink ranunculus would also work. 

For a consult please call or email Kate

kate@liliesandlavender.com

215-345-7282

For more information please visit their website: http://www.philadelphiabridalexpo.com

The market is located at 18 and Walnut st. in Philadelphia, right in front of Rittenhouse park, begins at 10:00 and ends at 2:00.

The photos by Lauren Fair photography are gorgeous and I think the flowers are too. I spent three days filling 350 jars and bottles with fresh ranunculus, viburnum, lilies, hydrangea, baby's breath, godetia and whatever else was blooming in the bride's colors.  Megan, the wonderful, very artistic bride wanted a bouquet that reflected the season, in colors of coral, tangerine, buttercream and soft white. Since she came to me six months before the wedding I was able to grow lots of flowers in several shades of coral, peach and  soft yellow. Which also proved very popular with all my spring weddings.   Megan and Jeff came to the farm a week before the wedding to make their final choice of flowers. The final selection of flowers, where I get to show off all the beauties, and point out some creative uses for more unusual specimens,  is one of my favorite parts of wedding work.  Megan loved the silvery grey cardoon leaves which I think soften the bouquet and make it unique.  Since I only had white and pink peonies I traded  another local grower a bunch of  lilies for coral peonies Voila! The result is a bouquet which is vibrant but also soft, loose and natural.  

Be sure to pick up the magazine when it comes out on the news stands. I especially love  Megan's designs for the chandeliers, which add a wonderful, soft romantic touch to the big loft space at the Reading Art Works.