passion: floral and plant design

Playing with flowers and plants brings me endless amounts of joy.  My home is always full of floral arrangements and plants of all sizes.  In the past 7 years, I have helped out at a floral boutique in Chicago, did a couple of weddings on my own, and am known by my friends as someone who can whip up an arrangement when they need one.  Here are a few of my faves that I've made...

plant photo: 009

plectranthus: cerveza n' lime.  soft, fuzzy foliage with fresh citrus aroma.  what's not to love?  perfect in pots and box planters all summer long.  a few plants come inside during the winter months for clippings when my floral arrangements need some green.  a must have plant.

radio playing songs by Bedhead... was feeling the 90's this morning.

plant photo: 007

senecio kilimanjaro.  this plant is a summer fave in my backyard.  it's perfect in potted arrangements and hanging baskets and there's usually a good sized solo pot of kilimanjaro somewhere by the pool.  in the fall, i make tons of cut-offs and get them rooting in water.  today they were used in a cute, floral arrangement.

Architectural Pottery

What a dream come true. My friend brought his vintage Architectural Pottery planter over to our house and asked me to plant it. It's got a chip on the rim but hey, it's been around for over 50 years! I did my best to hide it with the right shaped succulent. The owners did not want dirt touching the interior so I created a coconut shell to hold the plants that is removable for watering and sufficient drying. This planter looks pretty awesome out next to my Bend furniture and I know it is going to look perfect in their amazing home!

colors of summer

Larkspur Chicago

I've spent the last few weekends working at Larkspur in Chicago and have learned so much from two super ladies, owner Beth Barnett and floral designer Susannah Donne.  It has been an amazing opportunity.  FYI...working at a boutique flower shop means you are going to work very hard every minute of your shift.  They've got me assembling floral arrangements for commercial accounts, driving around Wicker Park and nearby neighborhoods with deliveries, setting up arrangements on site for weddings and parties, and helping customers select just the right flowers and gifts for their loved ones. I've even made some hand tied bouquets for some very lucky gals - there are some sweet and thoughtful husbands and boyfriends visiting Larkspur regularly.  (Keep it up guys... that's the way to keep us happy!)  Let's not forget all the bucket and vase washing, cleaning, and water changing.  I'm absolutely exhausted when I get home!  Beth and Susannah are two of the most talented and hardest working ladies I've ever met.

Larkspur is more than a boutique full of beautiful and unusual cut flowers.  Beth selects unique succulents and plants as well as artisan made candles, soaps, greeting cards, and jewelry for her shop.  She also has a fantastic eye for vintage vases and containers including milk glass, mercury glass, and Shawnee style pottery.  Some of the flowers and plants sold at Larkspur are grown at Beth's farm in Michigan. It doesn't get any more hand selected than that!

I've got one more weekend left to work in the shop.  What an amazing (and exhausting) experience this has been.  A big thanks goes out to Beth and Susannah for showing me the ropes!  I'm glad I was able to take some photos during this experience too.


Beth Barnett created Larkspur in 1994 out of a desire to create personalized floral designs for Chicago's discerning clientele.   After specializing in weddings and commercial accounts for ten years, Beth expanded the business into its current location, 2123 Damen Ave., in the fall of 2004.

Flowers, dogs, a road trip, and two wonderful friends tie the knot. A pretty nice weekend. I made so many floral arrangements, bouquets, and boutonnieres!  Time to rest.

Christmas 2011

I finally got around to some holiday decorating over here. Cranked up the Christmas music and got the ornaments up on the tree and made a few floral arrangements. Perhaps you have seen those Eva Zeisel looking ceramic serving bowls at TJ MAxx and perhaps you picked up a few like I did. They make for some fun floral centerpieces. When we bought our tree, there was a pile of free branches and little tree trunk cut offs...and I never pass up anything for free! One of those tiny stumps worked so nicely with an combo of pine cones and tillandsia. Out of the four centerpieces I made yesterday, it is definitely my fave.

...and yes that plaid table runner is a wool scarf from Target. $14.99 - YAY!

fairmeadow

For the last 10 years, I have been smitten with growing flowers and succulents and creating arrangements. Taking inspiration from MCM modern design and architecture, I proudly introduce a new blog about my floral design work, fairmeadow.

I want to create interesting floral designs for your home or business... those of you in NW Indiana. I have so many ideas and I cannot wait to share them! This is the beginning of what I hope can become a successful and personally rewarding career. I'm ready for the challenge!

Honored to be able to contribute to their big day, my first fairmeadow project was my good friends' wedding. I loved every moment of creating the bouquets, boutonnieres, and table arrangements for them. This was the wedding I had been growing the succulents for and I was thrilled with the way everything turned out, especially the small arrangements I put together using vintage wooden bowls.

About the name, fairmeadow...
The subdivision I live in is called the Fairmeadows although there is only one sign designating it and the lettering on this brick wall is often hidden by overgrown shrubs. I think it was widely known as the Fairmeadows back in the 60s, 70s, and 80s but I doubt that anyone new to the neighborhood has a clue.

One of my favorite Eichler subdivisions in Palo Alto, CA is called Fairmeadow. Built in the 1950s with a maze of circular streets, it's a treat to look at from an aerial view and I can only imagine the excitement of seeing one Eichler after another back in the day as you drove around in circles. The adjacent Eichler neighborhood, Greenmeadow, has a less interesting street plan however the homes there are truly amazing.



I'm excited to share my new blog and I hope you will take a peek and see what I've been up to... and continue to look and see what happens next!