Amaryllis

Before Christmas, I wrote a post hoping that an amaryllis bulb would bloom in time for me to use in a Christmas day arrangement.  It didn't bloom on time and I improvised and used a poinsettia instead.  I planted the bulb before Thanksgiving and it bloomed about a week after the new year.  Oh, well.  With all my waiting did come a big payoff.  The one bulb ended up producing two stalks that produced 4 blossoms on each stalk.  That one bulb gave me 8 gorgeous blooms!  And much to my surprise, the blooms were red instead of pink.  I'll share with you what I did with the flowers next week.

Winter Floral Arrangement

This is the wild arrangement I created for the Christmas brunch I hosted.  The evergreens were harvested from my own yard and my in-law's yard.  I purchased some holly and curly willow from a local grower.  The poinsettia came from a local nursery and the pods are from a friend's garden.   

Watercolor Flower Painting

Hello 2014 and hello to you!  I hope that you have enjoyed the holidays.  I enjoyed the break with my family and friends and now I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.  I wanted to share a painting with you today and a bit of myself.  Prior to flowers and children, I earned a degree in art history and worked in public relations and marketing for the arts.  The year I married my husband, I suggested to my newly retired father-in-law to take a class at the art center that I was working at.  My father-in-law always had an artist within him, he just never pursued it.  He began taking watercolor classes and 12 years later he is showing and selling his work regularly and now teaching painting classes himself.

Over the holidays I received a gift from him of a painting of one of floral designs.  I love his interpretation of my work and I wanted to share this special gift with you.  Happy New Year to you all!  I hope you take time to reflect and learn from the past and pursue what is in front of you in the future.

Paperwhites

It feels like it's been snowing here in southeast Michigan for nearly a week and today, as I sit her writing this we're bracing for a possible ice storm.  Winter has just arrived and I'm already waiting for spring.  There are no flowers in sight except for the bulbs I've planted indoors.  The only one that has bloomed is the paperwhite so far.  I have an amaryllis bulb that I planted before Thanksgiving but, it hasn't bloomed yet. My original plan was for it to bloom so that I could use it in a design for Christmas.  That's the wonderful and frustrating part about flowers, like everything in nature - it's unpredictable.  I still have a few days left before Christmas so, I'm still hoping that the amaryllis blooms in time.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  I'm going to take a little time off from the blog so that I can spend time with my family and friends during the holidays, so you won't be hearing from me for a while.  I hope that all of you enjoy holidays and I'll see you in the new year.  I'm ready to say goodbye to 2013.  I can't wait for a fresh start so, bring it on 2014.  I'm ready for you.

       

Holiday Evergreens

Hey there!  I've been busy preparing for the holidays around my home.  Both of my trees are up and I'm hoping I don't find anymore boxes of decorations.  A few years ago I started hosting Christmas brunch at my home and with that I started collecting items to style the table.  Although the table is decorated, I also like to add some special touches to the chairs too.  I've seen the chairs of brides and grooms all gussied up for weddings, but why not for other occasions like the holidays too?  I gathered three types of evergreens, from my yard, my in-laws' yard and a friend's yard to create this mini swag.  Beware - if you become my friend, chances are I'll be heading to your house with my pair of clippers in hand.  Don't let your table have all the fun.  Pay attention to your chairs too and try this at your home.