Sweet Pea Saturday

I dearly love sweet peas. These are the "permanent botanical" type, from Jo-Ann Fabrics--and when I saw them I just had to have them. And then there were fresh ones at the florist this week. Same thing--I'll take every stem you have.

Thank You

These went to the folks who were so generous to host our social work gathering this year.

Happy Birthday to Christine!

Sunday Bud Vase

These hellebores were bred at a place called Pine Knot Farms in Virginia.

Pasque Flower

These fuzzy buds will turn into big purple flowers really soon. For the last week, it's doubled in size every day.

Pine Knot Hellebores

Do you suppose these have anything to do with Pine Knot, Kentucky? How many Pine Knots can there be? I'll have to do some research on this . . .

This Thing is Perennial!

I have watched it all winter long. Little grey-green fuzzy leaves made it through the coldest spells and now it's really growing. I bought some seeds to get a few starts for containers, but this one I'm going to leave in the bed to see how it does. It was my favorite new plant last year, so it's great to see it come through the winter.

Gift Certificates!

Thank you, Mama and PJ, for the birthday gift certificates! I can't wait to order this great hybrid lamb's ear from Bluestone. And I love the stoneware from Pampered Chef. I need to be starting seeds this weekend, but I've got shopping to do . . .

More from the Florist Convention

I didn't go to the prom flowers workshop, but I did sneak in and take a couple of shots of their work.

Also from the Class

Here's my best in show.

Class

I took one of their classes called "The Bud Vase. . . In Style". It turned out to be a lot of fun.

More from the Florist Convention

Bridal Bouquets

A Couple of Entries

in the master designer contest. I have no idea who was competing or who won. I'll try to find out.

Look What Mark Found

He did sooo much work in the yard today! And I went to the florist convention . . .

Illinois State Florists Convention

This was a student entry. Really cool. . . Nan called last night and it was so nice to hear from her. She asked me what is my favorite flower to use in arrangements. And the answer is so clear--any flower that grows in my yard. This morning I saw that Amy Stewart says the same thing. Her San Francisco Chronical article is at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/07/HOG58OEFLH1.DTL&hw=flowers&sn=003&sc=734. Of course, she lives in California and can have sweetpeas year-round. But I am going to try to have a second crop in the fall this year. That would be pretty cool too.

My Pick for Best in Show

Dress, Plains Indians; Bob Hauck, Walter Knoll Florist

Hocus Pocus

I've gone through the program several times, and I just can't figure out which designer did this one. But I loved it. It was wild and wooly and the room was dark and kind of spooky. The spotlights made those perfect hocus-pocus roses just pop.

Fall-front Desk

Charles-Joseph Lemarchand, 1923; Susan Schoedel, AIFD, Freelance Designer

Isaac's Vase

Isaac gave this vase to me for Christmas and I've been looking for just the right flowers for it. These are white ranuculas, and I think they're a perfect match. Can't wait for the garden roses, because they'll be just right for it too.

Cobalt Circle

Ilya Bolotowsky, 1987; Louise Chambers Krueger, AIFD, LaSalle Wholesale Florist. This was one of my favorites. She has cauliflower and broccoli in there too. I like vegetables in arrangements. I took one to Gayle at the Apple Barn last summer that had carrots and celery along with zinnias. And if you're a regular watcher here, you might remember the tomatoes and peppers in the late-summer-back-porch-zinnia arrangements. But I wouldn't have thought to put broccoli and cauliflower in among roses at the art museum! That broccoli has been painted too.

The Hudson at Piermont

Jasper F. Cropsey, 1968; Sue Casebeer, Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri.

She's Cute

Okay, this little girl was not one of the chosen works for Art in Bloom, but I just loved her. She represents a "minor Buddhist goddess of beauty and wealth", from 9th century Japan. I realize she's beautiful and valuable and needs to be protected, but don't you think she'd rather be sitting out in the garden? And I wonder what she thought about being considered minor? I didn't think she looked minor at all. . .

Red Evening Sky

Emil Nolde; 1983; Floral Designer Trisha Haislar, AIFD, Elegant Celebrations

Helen's Australia

Sigmar Polke, 2003; Floral Designer Sophie Connor, Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri.

Floral materials: pincusion protea, anthurium, fern leaf acacia, and rattlesnake calathea

Drive

Kenneth Noland, 1966; Floral Design by Nick Decker, Ken Miesner Florist

Best in Show

Temptation by Marc Chagall; Floral Designer Kay Schaefer. This won Best in Show, both the judges and the people's choice. Really? It wouldn't have been my choice. But it is nice. Next year I'm hoping to go earlier in the show. Maybe there would be fewer people on Friday. (I wonder how many people were there. It was packed!) And maybe my back won't go out . . .

The Buffalo Dance

Artwork by Charles Ferdinand Wimar, 1946; Floral Design by Rhonda Lynn-Moeckel, AIFD, Focus on Design by Schnuck Markets.

Entry # 3

Madonna and Child Enthroned with Sts. Peter, John the Baptist, Dominic, and Nicholas of Bari; Piero di Cosimo; 1940. Deb Feltes of Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri did the arrangement. This one was just beautiful. Love how she included the frame. She used bells of Ireland, flat fern, myrtle, ruscus, palm, snapdragons, and roses. It's not easily seen in this shot, but she wove some bright blue metalic materials throughout to mirror the color of the robes.

The Knitting Lesson

by Jean Francois Millet, 1939. The Garden Clubs of Illinois did this floral design. The colors and textures of the arrangements echo those found in the artwork. Amazing.

Art in Bloom

The St. Louis Art Museum's annual pairing of beautiful art and fabulous flowers. . . These were the huge arrangements set up just inside the main door.