So You Think You Can’t Garden?

Many of you probably think you can’t get in touch with gardening just because you don’t have a nice backyard or simply have no time for nature around your home. This blog will showcase three wonderful indoor plants that can amaze you with your undiscovered skills. By learning how to take care of your plant, it can stay with you for a long time.

HARD TO KILL

No Green Thumb? Don’t fret; Snake Plant can be your new favorite as far as potted green plants go. Even though it has a frightening name, it is actually a great bathroom décor as well as a natural air purifier as it absorbs pollutants! It needs watering every 7-10 days but isn’t very picky for lighting requirements (just not complete closet shade).

Signs

Foliage begins to wilt = too much water

Foliage begins to wrinkle= needs more water

Warning: Poisonous (like a snake) when eaten, so keep away from children and pets

HARD TO MISS

Orchids are like beautiful and high maintenance ladies- hard to please, but once you get to know the inside tips, you can satisfy their every need. The following are some characteristics:

They need daily misting to keep the moisture balance intact, they have a mild fragrance, and they are picky with their living environment- needs fast draining soil with mixed medium (like bark, mulch, and moss) and good circulation.

On the other hand, there are a couple attributes that are not so lady-like:

They need 10 hours of bright indirect light everyday and they only need water once every 1-2 weeks depending on how crackly the soil/moss is on the top layer of the potted orchid.

Signs

Yellow leaves = too much water

Brown leaves = too much light

Note: Don’t throw the whole plant away if one bloom starts to die. Simply snap it off and the rest of the plant should still be good for the next little while.

HARD TO REFUSE

Succulents (also known as the Jade Plant) are great for windowsills, corners, welcoming decorations, and bedroom or bathroom items. In many cultures, succulents have the meaning of good health and wealth, which makes them great gifts for anyone! There are many varieties of succulents, but they all have plump, glossy leaves and thick stems. They are very cute in appearance and easy to maintain. Wait until the soil dries out completely between watering sessions. Succulents need moderate light- try to place your plant facing either east or west or within 2-3 feet from a south facing window.

Signs

Spindly thin stems = needs more light

Plump leaves wrinkling = needs more water

There are obviously a lot more indoor potted plants out there that you can have. These are the three that GPF suggests. Specials thanks to Debut_Fire for requesting this post, your comments are much appreciated.

Please comment below and tell us what your favorite household greenery is!

Candles & Centerpieces

Romantic table setting tips can come in handy in various ways- not just for couples!

Many of us often draw a blank when we are hosting dinners or gathering events either at our own homes or at other venues. This blog will provide creative and helpful tips for prepping tables.

For birthday celebrations (big or small), you can include the birthday boy or girl’s favorite color or flower as your central theme for decoration. Some masculine floral elements can include horsetails, artichoke, anthuriums, cymbidiums, gerberas, and large leaves. Feminine elements encompass roses, gerberas, calla lilies, lilies, monkey grass, and orchids. You could try putting the cut flowers not as a bunch but single-stemmed in individual vases that are no higher than 3-4 inches. Then, place them in any shape or (you can spell out something too). The key to a clean yet eye-catching decor is to have one theme of color that pops out in a room and having multiple can guide the eye- creating visual rhythm. This kind of centerpieces do not require height, so small and lower containers will do the trick!

For romantic dinners, candles usually stand alone. For creativity’s sake, you could try to get floating candles and place them in a vase filled with water and put some ornamental rocks at the bottom with your favorite flower submerged in between. This will also save you space on the table for more dishes! Instead of having a giant centerpiece that gets in the way, it is also fine to experiment a more modern form- a flat row of flowers (like the image above with pink roses in a white vase). As well, since romantic dinners can be both elaborate and basic, I would suggest using calla lilies as a starting point and here’s why: calla lilies are elegant looking and have many shades to layer with. If you want it to look fancy, just add greenery and flowers of your choice. If you want simple, a tall, clear vase would suffice and all you need to do is gently stroke the stem of the calla lily to lean the way you want.

For your regular living room decor, you might consider having orange-red-brown themed centerpieces as it is now fall season, and those colors will reflect a warm tone- giving you a cozy home ambience. If you room is not suitable for dark colors, green is a timeless choice for pairing your favorite in-season flower.

Be sure to check out Garden Party Flowers and see what we have in store!

Tell us what you want to learn from us by commenting below, and we will post it in our next blog!

Thank you~

Fall Floral

Coral colored Celosia

Fall is the time of year to celebrate warm colors and rich tones. This year fall fashion encourages us to enjoy warm shades of orange, dusty pink, coral, rich reds and burgundies, dark purple, chocolate brown, warm grays, and a surprisingly bright blue-green hue. Of course we want our floral arrangements to match the season as much as our fashion does, so I have come up with some flower recommendations for the cooler, yet cozier fall season. There are many flowers in the fall color palette, and some also provide warming textures, such as the colorful Celosia. Celosia, also known as “coxcomb”, is a delightful ornamental plant that comes in yellow-green, a rich orange-pink, and can sometimes be bright red. In addition to coming in the perfect fall colors, celosia has a furry texture, which is very similar to that of a warm wool sweater!

Dahlias are another great fall flower that can come in a variety of autumn colors. Dahlias can be yellow, orange, and sometimes a near black shade of burgundy. These flowers are full and round with a silky texture, they add great beauty to any arrangement. Ornamental cabbage is another unique item that can be added to spice up any arrangement. This cabbage will add a little touch of green that will make all the reds, oranges, and yellows in any arrangement seem even more vibrant. There are also the flowers that are available all year. Roses, gerbera, and orchids can come in many of the fall colors. When thinking of giving an arrangement based on the fall colors, consider stepping outside of the box. Use complementary colors, such as purple and yellow or red and green, to make a vibrant statement. Have fun choosing colors and flowers that reflect the way you feel in this season of change!

5 Step Flower Guide to Making Your Event Look Stunning

Our client Teldon Media Group presented The Canadian Tenors at the UBC Chan Centre last night and contacted us to make their VIP area beautiful.  Here is how we did it:

Step 1
Show your esteemed guests where to go to find your party with beautiful brightly coloured floral arrangements.

Step 2
Show your guests they’ve arrived by flanking them with the most elegant flowers

Step 3
Create a sense of discovery and anticipation by brightening dark area’s with giant white calla lily’s and floral balls hanging mid air.

Step 4
Surround your guests with fresh fragrant flowers as they mingle and snack.

Step 5
Keep the energy and “WOW” going with modern floral designs….and wine!

Read more about the reason why Teldon hosted this event and the cause they are supporting here.

Simple Glam

Want to learn how to mix and match, and glamorize? Check out this week’s blog to find out different ways you can transform a few of your favorite flowers into a classy and eye-catching item.

Hello all GPF blog readers, I’m sure all of you out there have tried to design your own custom-made bouquet just because, or for a family member or friend. Many times, you will find that it can be difficult to start especially when there are so many gorgeous flowers to pick from. Here, I can give you a few pointers as to how to start building your own floral design and accessorize it, too!

1) Pick a few flowers with harmonious tones- such as orange + yellow, pink + purple, white + green, red + pink, etc. Or you could just stick with one color as well. The reason behind this is because too many colors within one bouquet can distract the eye and take away from a clean design.

2) Pick any greenery that you like and place them around your flowers as needed (but remember to place them slightly below the blooms so the flowers can be the centre of attention!)

3) Secure the bouquet in your hand with a rubber band.

4) If you want to place the bouquet in a clear vase, I’d pick a neutral colored ribbon that is at least one inch in width and evenly wrap the stems to cover the mid-portion where the rubber band is showing.

5) Fill up the vase with water until the bottom ends of the bouquet is submerged in water (but not too much that it soaks the ribbon!)

Glam Methods:

* Pinning something sparkly in the centre of the flowers (best used on roses and gerberas)

* Using quality tissue paper to frame the bouquet

* Adding small amounts of glitter to add light reflections

* Adding non-floral items such as bookmarks, postcards (or any card), photos, candies, cinnamon sticks, and if you really want girly…lipsticks! To include these directly into the bouquet, you could first secure them on a strong stick (bamboo or just a branch will do), and hide the tape or wire with moss or ribbons. This kind of dressing up can make your bouquet even more personal and customized without spending too much extra money.

I hope this blog will help you become a designer when you walk in a flower shop and make your calls on color, shape, length and presentation style!

Till next time,

The Flower Shop Girl

On behalf of Garden Party Flowers, I hope you have found this blog helpful. Feel free to comment- your voice matters to us and will be highly appreciated!

Invite yourself to Roula’s wedding – HD VIDEO TOUR

Yesterday, we designed and setup a cute pink themed wedding for Roula and David. The day started up by dropping off bridal bouquets and corsages off at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown and boutonnières off at David’s place in Vancouver.

Here is a good video I found of how to pin on a boutonnière:

We then rushed off to Saint George’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral to decorate the aisle with rose petals and beautiful pink floral standards.

For this arrangement, we used pretty pink lily’s, pink gerbera’s, hydrangea’s, sedum and green amaranthus.

After the touching ceremony, we began setting up at the Sage Bistro at the beautiful UBC campus. While dining, guests have a beautiful view of the north shore mountains and pacific ocean.

Check out this yummy cake designed and baked by April Bellia from april cakes!