Big announcement: P&P now offers large scale installation design services for private parties and weddings! A few weeks ago we partnered up with Trent Bailey Photography and Patina Rentals to show off the process of making floral chandeliers, which happens to be one of our favorite projects so far. A big thank you to Design Love Fest for sharing the full story on their blog today here! AND can you believe Patina’s new blue couch and coffee table/setee we stole for the shoot!!

Both the most exciting and most disappointing part about working with flowers are seasons. While each season has it's own gems that you pine over every year it is often hard to say goodbye when their time has come to an end for the year. One of Autumn's best gems is the dahlia. They come in many hues, shapes and sizes but one of the most sought after bloom is the cafe au lait dahlia. Known for its pillowy petals, romantic presence, and perfectly pale pink hues it is a delicate flower that requires much attention and care. A couple of good tips to keep the cafe au lait dahlia happy is to keep its stems deep in water and always spray the center to keep its many petals hydrated.

Designing with dahlias is often tricky because many varieties are very flat on the backside. We're excited to use dahlias as our focal flower in our upcoming workshop where we'll discuss tips and tricks for designing arrangements using this flower.

After a few years hiatus, my family and I have ventured back to one of my favorite places on earth- the island of Nevis.  We started coming here when I was tiny and the magic of the island, with it’s crumbling sugar mills and windy beaches, never fails to take my breath away.  With Sierra’s wedding fast approaching in Costa Rica, and neither of us extremely well versed in the world of tropical flowers, I thought why not take this opportunity to do a little experimenting with the local flora.  I set off on the grounds of the Hermitage to find some things to work with.

I have to say, the local weed which everyone calls Bee Bush is my favorite.  It’s crazy tendrils and delicate flowers were enough to have any florist drooling.  I’ve done a little local research and found out it’s part of the potato family.  It grows wild and rampant here.

I must admit I was happy with the results of this tropical experiment.  Fears of Sierra’s wedding being awash with birds of paradise and ginger flowers (note: while they’re amazing flowers they’re not really her style) can be put to rest.  I know we’ll find different things to work with in Costa Rica but I’m confident they’ll be just as nice if not better! I just wish Bee Bush grew wild in Brooklyn.

Sierra & I are both having a little QT with our families this weekend. Sierra is off on the West Coast visiting her bro and I am up in Maine with my sisters and mum.  It is a wonderful respite from the busy wedding season and I can’t wait to cook big dinners and read by the fire (believe it or not it’s pretty chilly up here at the moment).  Being in Maine got me thinking about all of the gorgeous wildflowers everywhere and the amazing things we could do with them! Then I wondered, what is Maine’s state flower?

Who knew? It’s the White Pine Cone!

I certainly didn’t but am glad to add the information to my arsenal.

Have a wonderful weekend! xo

We’ve had a whirlwind of a week over here! Actually let’s call it what it really was, an 8 day wedding and events binge. Last night we wrapped it up with an event at The New York Arts Council along with Martha Stewart Weddings. We’re beyond thrilled to begin working with their whole team, which honestly consists of the most talented folks around! We had the best time hanging out in the gorgeous NY Arts Council building, sipping champagne, and nibbling on Lael Cakes desserts.

At the event last night we set up a table with some of our favorite seasonal blooms and led a short demonstration on designing floral arrangements. Since this is the last week of our friend, the peony, we couldn’t help ourselves and bought them in pretty much every color available. The one show above is a coral charm peony and it’s in it’s prime. This particular one was showcased in one of our bouquets carried down the runway last night.

Check out Juliet arranging flowers with Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings! Note the gigantic gardenia peony featured in our table arrangement. It was as big as our heads!

Lily of the Valley

We’ve just wrapped a shoot upstate and were lucky enough to spend the past few days working on a beautiful farm in Vernon, NY.  Amidst the beautiful rolling hills and fields we came across a vast bed of Lily of the Valley.  If you read the blog regularly, you probably know by now that it is my favorite flower (it’s hard to choose a favorite but if I had to this would be it). My grandmother always had a myriad of them growing in the shadier bits of her garden.  She also wore Lily of the Valley perfume so their delicate aroma always brings back memories of her and long summers spent at her farm.

I won’t bore you with all the scientific facts but, if your like me and find them fascinating, read up on some of them here. In the language of flowers, the Lily of the Valley represents the “return of happiness” which I think is pretty apt.  It certainly makes me smile!

We want to say a HUGE thank you to West Elm for asking us to join them for 3 Saturdays in a row at their Broadway location selling flowers. This is hands down the best West Elm I’ve ever been in! The staff is absolutely amazing, helpful, and friendly. We had the best time hanging out with them this past Saturday and can’t wait for the next two weekends!

I brought along the adorable and talented Miss Ellen (Juliet’s sister) to help me dish out some knowledge and design bouquets for our shoppers this past weekend.  We picked up some amazing elements to sell such as lotus pods, parrot tulips, local lilac, local ranunculus, local hellebores, frittalaria and tons of other goodies. I think the overall crowd favorite we’re those amazing smelling blush garden roses. I wouldn’t be surprised if they we’re the only reason so many people stopped by to say hello. We’ll be selling flowers for the next two Saturdays (May 5 & May 12) at West Elm on Broadway & 61st St. Come by and say hello!

Big hug and kiss to Missy Photography for snapping all of these vibrant photographs and You + Me for hand writing our gorgeous mirrors.

Today we’re talking about one of our favorite tropical flowers, bougainvillea often referred to as “paper flower” because of it’s delicate thin petals. One of it’s most striking characteristics is it’s wide variety of rich hues which can be found throughout Central and South America. It never ceases to amaze me that mother nature can create such colors.

Essentially bougainvillea are thorny, woody vines growing anywhere from 1 to 12 meters tall. They have thorns with black, waxy substances on their tips and the actual flower of the plant is small and generally white. However, each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. It is a bit poisonous to some animals such as dogs, so be careful if you place it in your home.

It is unfortunate that we rarely get to work with this amazing flower, because it makes me giddy every time I come across it. When I was traveling in Costa Rica this past February I was lucky enough to enjoy it every step of the way. It grows in most people’s yards for decorative purposes and always stands out from other plants and flowers.

{photos found here & here. facts courtesy of wiki}