Peter & Charlotte at the Clise Mansion

It starts like this:

And turns into this...

And this...

And then becomes magic....

Peter and Charlotte were married at the Clise Mansion on August 17th, 2012. Charlotte was just lovely to work with, and chose one of the prettiest color palettes out there: blush, cream, pale and canary yellow and hot pink. I loved making these designs! And I love re-living them through the photos of the amazing Jennifer and Brian of Photo Elan-- be sure to hop over to their website and blog and check them out!

The boutonnieres were all created with little flowers made out of cedar wood that Peter's aunt made, that had been in the family and used in boutonnieres before- I think they look like little pine cones.

I loved Charlotte's bouquet. It is hard to go wrong with cafe au lait dahlias, creamy roses, baptisia and clematis foliage, and one of my favorite perennials (though it's name always makes me laugh) gooseneck loostrife!

Congratulations Charlotte and Peter!!! I wish you all the very best!

A current favorite...

It would be impossible for me to name an all-time favorite flower... it changes so much with the seasons, the day, my mood... but for today, this is my favorite: the Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime.'

'Course she's not alone... she's at a party with a bunch of other fall favorites: Dahlias, Scabiosa 'Dark Knight,' Vitex, Physocarpus, Dusty Miller, Woodland Oat Grass and Spray Roses, all either grown in the Botanique Cutting Garden or purchased from one of the amazing local flower growers at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market.

Fall really is like a big flower party. So many colors and textures, like everything is dressed up in it's most wild costume.

Alix & Aran at the Center for Wooden Boats

Alix and Aran were married on July 28th, at The Center for Wooden Boats. They had a small, intimate wedding, that was the perfect example of "quality over quantity." Being an event planner, Alix was super organized, and hired an amazing team of vendors, from food (Herban Feast = to die for) to photographer (Malcolm Smith = super smart and stylish). Thank you Malcolm for these great shots!

The cocktail tables were each adorned with collections of cut succulents, little jars, bottles and bud vases (with flowers in them of course!), placed at varying heights on little blocks of wood.

Alix wore an awesome, teal dress that suited her perfectly.

Congrats to Alix and Aran! May you have a long and happy life together!!!

Zinnias and Burlap

They go well together, no?

This week's subscription arrangements were made with:

• Scabiosa 'Dark Knight' and Zinnias from The Botanique Cutting Garden in Seattle, WA
  
• Zinnias from Dan's Dahlias in Oakville, WA
  
• Zinnias, Artemesia, and Gomphrena from Everyday Flowers in Stanwood, WA
• Scented Geranium Foliage, Sanguisorba, and Celosia Plumosa from Charles Little & Co, in Eugene, OR

For bright, vibrant color, nothing beats the berry tones of late summer. And the fragrance of scented geranium foliage? Just about as cheerful as these colors. I'd say its a good week...

Fall!

I know that summer still officially has a few more weeks to go, but I am really starting to feel fall creeping in. I LOVE FALL. I LOVE IT. I love how life starts to cool and slow down, the anticipation of feeling extremely cozy, and how everything outside starts to drip and drop: fruit, leaves, and yes, rain too. After a stretch going on 46 days and counting with no rain, I am not going to be complaining when the first drops fall.

Today was the first day of the Autumn Flower Subscription, and it is so fun to play with all the riotous colors that are out there this time of year. I love the pairing of really saturated bright colors with softer pastels, and the orange and coral of the dahlias and asclepias with the dusty miller really do it for me.

Despite the fact that the Cutting Garden is going strong, I just can't resist the urge to design with the amazing flowers available from other local growers! These arrangements used Dusty Miller from the Botanique Cutting Garden, but the rest of these treasures came from other local farms:

• Dahlias and Broom Corn from from Jello Mold Farm in Mount Vernon, WA
• Dahlias from Dan's Dahlias in Oakville, WA
  
• Lisianthus and Asters from Everyday Flowers in Stanwood, WA
• Asclepias and Salt Shrub from Charles Little & Co, in Eugene, OR
  

Here's a recent shot from the Cutting Garden: 'Queen Red Lime' and 'Green Envy' Zinnias, Orange Cosmos, and 'Awe Shucks' Dahlias in the background....

It just amazes me the size that flowers reach in just a few short months. They grow from seed into these giant plants so fast! Imagine if we grew that fast...... or maybe don't, that thought is a little bit frightening......

In any case, I'm enjoying this change of seasons, and I hope you are too!

The Autumn Subscription!

It's all local.

It's exciting and new and gorgeous every week.

And it's starting on Thursday.

The Botanique Seasonal Subscription is a weekly design of fresh flowers from local farms (including the Botanique Cutting Garden right here in Seattle, WA!) arranged in Botanique's whimsical, natural style. The Autumn Subscription runs through all of September and October, with 4 and 8-week subscriptions available. Sign up here!

Fall flowers are some of my favorites- berries mixing with zinnias, dahlias, cool seed pods, vibrant foliage...... lovely materials I can't wait to weave into beautiful arrangements for you.

Sign up now- the subscription starts this Thursday!!!!