Looking Good for Christmas

So you have your annual office Christmas party and you dread the thought of putting on that knitted Santa sweater with the battery operated twinkling lights you keep hidden under your bed. You look in your closet, and nothing in the red and green palette is to be found. What do you do? Well here at Garden Party Flowers we have the solution for you. A few weeks ago we blogged about floral jewelry, and now we have the holiday hair pieces to match! Using an old headband, plain hair clips, wire, some hot glue and floral elements, I created these festive, yet classy holiday accessories.

The above hair clip was made using blue thistle, dusty miller leaves, silver brunia, a mossy twig and some white yarn. This option is great if you love silver!

This headband used to be white! I used india ink to paint it black and then used white yarn, blue thistle, silver protea leaf loops, red ilex berries, rose hips and a mossy twig to make this rustic head piece. This option is great if you want to wear you hair down. It is very bold and will not be lost in a crowd!

For my last hair piece, I choose a more traditional colour palette. I used silver brunia, rose hips and a single blue thistle for that cool greenish-blue accent. This would match perfectly with gold or red, now all you are missing is a glass of egg nog (spiked with the best rum or whiskey, of course)!

And of course, you need to see these lovely accessories in action! Thanks to our very own Nicola Adam for being such a lovely and gracious hair model.

Happy Holidays to everyone out there!

The Illusive Man Bouquet

Your stereotypical man bouquet usually involves beer, but flowers can be manly without involving alcohol or golf clubs!

People often call in and ask me, “Do you make bouquets or arrangements for a man?” I reply to them, YES! It is unfortunate that our modern society has decided that flowers are only for women. Flowers are a part of nature, and can be appreciated by both sexes. There are both masculine and feminine flowers, and men should not be afraid to show their appreciation for beautiful flowers and plants. I began to ask myself, “What do manly flowers look like?” After polling the some of the men I know, I have come to some basic conclusions about selecting flowers for the perfect man bouquet. Men seem to appreciate simplicity and modern designs. They like flowers such as the calla lily, orchid and anthirium. The colour palette of a man bouquet tends be oranges, yellows, reds and greens and they also prefer simple containers of a more neutral colour palette. It seems that men stick to the rule that less is more, preferring only 2 or 3 different kinds of flowers in one container. They prefer attention to detail and enjoy non floral elements, like interesting rocks, as part of their manly arrangement.

Here at Garden Party Flowers, we also design flowers for several high end men’s clothing stores. Haven, Inventory and Neighbour are all located in the Gastown area of Vancouver. Each week we are challenged to design something masculine and cutting edge for them. It is a good opportunity to flex our creative muscles and practice our man bouquet making. Flowers really enhance the atmosphere of their manly stores, and it just goes to show that men can enjoy flowers too!

When men do get sent flowers, which is not often, it usually is because of a special occasion, like a retirement or maybe a birthday. I was a bit sad on father’s day, because unlike mother’s day (which is the busiest day in the floral year), I only made a few arrangements for some lucky dads. Flowers are something that can express thoughtfulness and love, since flowers are a luxury item that is meant to make the recipient’s home or office a lot more enjoyable for a week or two. Flowers can remind a person that you care enough to spend your hard earned money on something that only serves one purpose for a limited time. Why should women be the only ones who get to enjoy such a thoughtful gift? If done right, a man bouquet can let the man in your life know how much you care and simply that you were thinking of them.

Now, if it makes the men out there feel better, there are lots of men in society that adorn their offices and homes with flowers. Here are a few famous examples: Alec Baldwin’s character on the show “30 Rock” has a very luxurious arrangement in his office. Both Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno use flowers on the set of their late night television shows. Conan O’Brien’s flower of choice seems to be anything in orange, which I am guessing is to reflect his famous ginger locks. Jay Leno’s set is decorated with green succulents, which are also popular with many men.

So, to any men out there, do not be afraid of flowers! And to anyone who has amazing men in your life, show them how much you care with a masculine flower arrangement! I bet it will really surprise and perhaps even delight the man who receives a nice man bouquet. Let’s break down the stereotypes and let flowers be equally enjoyed by both sexes!!!

Here are some photos of man worthy flowers for masculine inspiration:

Calla Lily

Protea

Silver Brunia and Scabiosa

Orange Mokara Orchid

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!

Olympic Floral Designs For The Slovak House

Today we got to decorate the Slovak Representative House with flowers that match their national flag.  For the duration of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Slovakia has setup a Slovak cultural atmosphere in the Vancity Theatre in Downtown Vancouver.

They requested us to use the same colours as their national flag and we had a great time arranging these flowers that will be placed in various locations in the theatre.

For this arrangement, we used premium red roses, blue roses, blue orchids, white roses and white cymbidium.

According to the official Slovak Representative House website, they will be serving food, wine, cheese, music cultural presentations and movies.  Check out their website for more info.

Interesting Request – Skull of Flowers

A few days ago we got an interesting request from our client.

Here is a transcript of our phone conversation.

Me: Hi good afternoon Garden Party Flowers.
Client: Hi, I want to send my good friend flowers.
Me: Sure no problem, do you have a style or colour preference?
Client: Can you make me a skull?
After a few seconds of silence…
Me: Sure, would you like photo’s of the design before we deliver it and a paperless invoice to your email?
Client: Really? That would be awesome!

Amy spent the next two hours designing and sculpting a skull.

I was laughing so hard the whole time she was making it because it looked more and more real every time I looked over.  After she finished, We had to deliver to Stella’s on cambie street where the recipient was celebrating his birthday. When we arrived, his jaw dropped and couldn’t believe what he was getting.  He loved it and so did random people at the restaurant coming to check it out.

Here are a few more angles of the skull we took at the store before delivering: