Hot Pink at Laurel Creek!

Well, even though I've been on a baby raisin' hiatus from flowers, this time of year still has me thinking weddings! 

We're having a TON of fun this summer with our little guy...he's been helping me in the garden and we go out every night to pick raspberries and do slug patrol - he loves to help me throw them over the fence.  I'm honestly glad I took this summer off so that I can spend my time just soaking him up.  And it's also been a good opportunity to focus on getting some work done around here. :)

But in the back of my mind I'm already starting to think forward to next summer and thinking that I would like to take on a couple of weddings - maybe one per month.  I miss my flowers!
In the meantime, I recently received some photos from the beautiful bride whose wedding I did last July at the Laurel Creek Manor and wanted to share.  It's so hard to belive a year has gone by already!  I loved looking through these photos and remembering such a fun day.

This bride's main color was fuschia and she loves Dahlias, so a combination of Dahlias, Lilies, Scabiosa, and Hydrangea buds made for the perfect bouquet.

I also used beaded wire to create extra interest and texture, as well as hot pink floral wire, shaped into spirals.  The boutonnieres were made up with a deep purple Huechera leaf,  a Dahlia bud, a Love in a Mist seed pod, and curled floral wire.

The bridesmaids carried pomander (also called "kissing") balls, accented with cream tulle.

We also did pomanders for the aisles, with crystal strand handles and accents.

I thought these handmade Mother and Father of the Bride signs were so cute!!

More pomanders here, hung from the arbor with fuschia and cream tulle. 

The huges vases on either side were from Ikea and we filled them with fuschia water beads and fuschia floral wire, shaped into spirals.

The bride had really wanted to do pomanders on each chair along the aisle, but didn't know if it would fit into her budget.  Knowing how much she wanted them, I suggested we get creative and utilize them in the centerpieces as well and it ended up working out perfectly!  She supplied these beautiful candelabras (found on Etsy, I believe) and we simply moved the pomanders over to the reception area after the ceremony.

This arrangement was placed on the guestbook table and was created with Dahlias, Heuchera leaves, and white Sweet Peas.  Fuschia floral wire shaped into a heart was the perfect finishing touch!

More Dahlias on the cake with crystal pink accents.

I just loved the colors of this wedding and the bride and groom were so fun to work with! 

Yep, I think I officially have wedding flower fever now! :)

2011 season and a new sprout!

A few days ago I walked into the garden and came across the most curious of things! There, in the wood chips, among all the beds was a new little sprout! But this was unlike any plant sprout I had ever seen...this one had sparkling blue eyes and chubby little cheeks! A-ha! This was no plant sprout! It was a baby sprout!

Introducing...our new little garden baby!

This little guy is keeping us pretty busy so far so we have decided that rather than spread ourselves too thin we're going to spend the 2011 growing season focusing on the events that we currently have booked and on establishing new bedding sites. So we won't be offering subscriptions or attending the market this year, but we're still here and we'll be back for the 2012 season with a new little helper! We are currently booking weddings for the 2012 season - our services are available for July, August, or September weddings. We book a maximum of only two weddings per month, so if you're interested, you will want to book early!

Happy Spring to everyone!

Short on counter space?

Why not put those flowers in a wall sconce?

A sconce like this is available at Fred Meyer for the bargain price of $14.99! Super easy to install (even I can do it!) and makes for a great way to display your flowers without taking up counter or table space. Sconces work great in entryways, hallways, or bathrooms.

I have this one at my office and I love to bring in fresh flowers to fill it with each week.

"Sconce sized" arrangements will be available at my booth at Orting's Saturday market priced anywhere from $5.00 ~ $8.00. E-mail me ahead of time if you'd like me to have certain colors put together for you!

Lavender Terraces

Well, thanks to a wonderful husband, great friends, and a helpful neighbor I now have more planting room! I'm SO excited! It's so much fun when you can see your vision for an area becoming a reality. Last week, this area was one big, huge brush pile. This week, I have sculpted terraces. Awesome! I was able to get to work this weekend putting starts in the ground and starting some rows of seeds. The weather coming up this week is going to be just perfect for seed starting...it's not often that I hope for rain, but in this case...bring it on! :)

The photo above shows one of the slopes between two terraces. With the terrain I'm working in, I'm going to have A LOT of slopes to work with. So my plan is to turn them into usable space. To prevent the slopes from eroding I will be filling them with lavender. Even when the lavender gets cut back the root system will stay in place and help keep each slope in tact. Plus, lavender grows really well on a slope, as it prefers well drained areas. It's indigenous to the Mediterranean, so it's very drought tolerant.

I started about 15 lavender plants inside this spring, so I was able to get one slope started yesterday. But they only covered about 1/8 of the area!! In the next few days I will be spreading seed on the rest of the area and the other slopes. Unfortunately, we won't be able to enjoy the fruits of this labor until a few years down the road. It's not until about year three that lavender is truly established and ready for full harvest. I might get a few blooms when pruning next year, but probably not many. But that's what gardening is all about right? Planting seeds and believing in the future! In other news, "planting site #1" is coming right along! We've got snapdragons, stock, phlox, dahlias, hollyhock, celosia, lilies, gladiolas, hops, and roses starting to come to life in this area. It doesn't look like much now, but there's a lot happenin' in the soil!

As you can see I've put down straw for mulch and pretty soon I'll be spreading a top dressing of organic compost on the growing rows. Over time, this will help the soil composition. For now, it will provide the plants with nutrients, help to keep roots cool during hot summer days and improve water retention.

Lots of work still to do, but I'm so glad to be kicking off our first growing season! :)

Gearin' up!

Well, I think it's safe to say that spring if officially here to stay! Which means that it's time for us to get busy around here...we're gearing up for the coming season and can't wait to get growing!

Today was the first day that the baby starts got to go outside. Before planting them, I've gotta "harden them off" by keeping them in a sheltered area outside for a few days. This way, they don't go into shock by being planted right away without building up a tolerance for outdoor life.

After getting those guys settled on the porch, it was time to head out back to do some prep work on this year's planting site. I call this "planting site #1". Creative huh? ;)

This is where we will grow most of our annuals and bulbs. The area will be expanded in coming years, but as you can see in the lower left hand corner we have some brush piles to deal with first! Right now, those piles are in the process of breaking down, which is creating some really good dirt underneath 'em.
Another view of "planting site #1".
Tonight was mostly about getting fence posts set. You see, we have all kinds of wildlife in the area, which means that each planting site will be separately fenced in. We love our woodland creatures, but not in the flower beds!!I had a little extra time left so I started blazing a trail down to "planting site #2". This area will not be planted up for this growing season, but I still want to start working the area; amending the soil and clearing blackberries and other weeds. This way it will be all ready for us to plant it up this coming fall! The plan is to use this area for woody shrubs, such as forsythia, lilac, hydrangeas, viburnum, and all kinds of other flowering beauties!

Of course, the project manager had to survey my progress...I think he approves! :)

Stay tuned for more updates!

Thinkin' Spring!

I don't know about you all, but I am LOVING this early spring we've been having! Cherry trees and Forsythia are in full bloom, Tulips and Daffodils are waking up, birds are singing, and I've even heard a few Pacific Chorus Frogs starting to make some noise! There's nothing quite like springtime in Washington.

Around here, we've been slowly coming out of hibernation and lately have been busy, busy, busy! There's a lot to do to get ready for the growing season, but I think we're well on our way! We've got trays and trays of seedlings in windows, cuttings taking root in their beds and the compost pile is cookin'...those little worms are keeping busy making us some really good compost for amending our soil.

We hope to get a chance to meet some of you this year! We are planning to be at Orting's Saturday Market every other weekend in July and August. Aside from being at the market, we will be taking special orders starting in late May/early June (depending on how the weather is treating us - very dependent on Mother Nature around here!)

Also, don't forget about our subscription service! This is a great option for those who want the freshest flowers possible. Being committed to providing excellent quality, we will only be offering a limited number of subscriptions this first year while the farm is getting established. So if this sounds like something you'd be interested in, sign up early! Just download our subscription form (right hand side of page) and mail in with payment...we'll then contact you to let you know when you should expect your first delivery. Or, if you prefer, subscriptions can also be ordered via PayPal.

The countdown to spring is on! Please check back for updates as we get growin' for our first season!

For now, a little somethin' to look forward to... :)

Gift Certificates

Looking for a great stocking stuffer idea? How about a Flower Farm gift certificate? Certificates can be redeemed for any service that we offer. We have a certificate for each subscription service available, as well as standard certificates starting at just $10.00! Standard certificates can be put towards a subscription, used for a one time delivery, or can be redeemed at the Saturday Market for a beautiful fresh bouquet!

Christmas certificates will come in a festive holiday envelope and can either be mailed directly to the recipient or to the purchaser...just indicate mailing instructions in the notes area if using PayPal. For those who prefer to pay by check, please send and e-mail indicating the type of certificate desired and we will follow up with payment instructions.

Merry Christmas to all!!!