tulips and amaryllis

2 Varieties of orange tulips from the yard and an amaryllis bloom make up this monochromatic, grouped arrangement. Top; hand tied bouquet. Bottom; a looser vase arrangement.

trellis

Years ago I went through a phase of making trellis arrangements, it was a neat look that could be achieved with just a few flowers, but the design just "sat there," there was no reason to keep looking at it. This is the same type of piece with some bear grass woven throughout the design giving it some motion and more visual interest. Some good input and a little more experience yielded a simple fix.

structure

This past weekend I was at the Illinois State Floral Association's conference and had the honor of assisting Hitomi Gilliam. I used to build armatures and structures for my designs but was apparently quite lazy about it. River cane, curled and bound Midollino stems and red ranunculus in a cube vase. Bottom; a structure of fibersticks affixed to a metal stand that I assisted Hitomi with - a 4.5 ft. armature constructed in all too little time. When I get some appropriate flowers we'll talk about her "neo tropica" approach. Thanks Frankie, Shaun, Garrett, Arthur and Adam for a great time and some serious design inspiration!

parrot tulips and roses

Parrot tulips, roses and Bells of Ireland. Green and white is calm, cool and collected.

Susie Pundmann 2

 Top - vibrant bridesmaids bouquets of; orange roses, hot pink roses, green hypericum and blue delphinium, but let's get to the meat of the story shall we - Scott and Susie's kids. 2nd photo, 2 fine examples of young ladyhood Kait and Brit. 3rd the self-possessed center Anna. Lastly mommy's little monsters, the terrible twins, the dynamic duo Emma and Eddie. This is important. If you are getting married and already have children please include them. I don't care if they fidget, cry, have disabilities or are so young they need pulled in a wagon - nothing adds to a wedding like children. At this point if you have children "your" day isn't just about you anymore is it. Children are beautiful, photogenic fun and basically more important than us tall people - embrace it.

Susie Pundmann 1

I recently had the honor of traveling to St. Charles to do Susie and Scott's wedding. Though Susie and I had never met we had a connection through our recently dear departed friend Bryan Simon Audrey so I jumped at the chance. Susie and company were as wonderful as I expected and then some, such are the perks of the florist. Top; Susie's bouquet of Vandela roses, spray roses and mini calla lilies. Second; a tribute to Susie's mother with a single rose and the family's hands on the piano that was donated to the church by Susie's father. 3rd The Lady Herself. I included the bottom photo not because it was a great picture but an honest one, this is a blended family and you can't tell whose kids are whose because it doesn't matter anymore (yeah I'm crying and typing.) More to come.

spring wildflower bouquet

  

A wonderfully casual spring bouquet of: white veronica, green bells and purple ceneria. I've never had the pleasure of using green bells before and am a richer man for the experience. A very sweet ''just picked" look that I don't get do enough of until our garden gets going. No fancy footwork here, just choose the right combination of blooms and "let it be."