Beyond the Bouquet...

On the same night that I attended the Teleflora "Beyond the Bouquet" at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in West Boylston, my son was in Kennebunkport meeting President Bush and Barbara Bush out on Walker's Point. It was a good day!

The evening presenter at Beyond the Bouquet was the infamous Bert Ford of Ford Flowers in Nashua, along with the board members of the Teleflora New England Unit. One of whom was Lisa Greene of Eric's Flower Emporium in Reading. I had already had the pleasure of meeting Bert when he was a guest speaker at my garden club, and I have had the opportunity to learn under the direction of  Lisa Greene. Both very talented designers with their own individual styles.

Bert talked a lot about current design trends being "earthy-crunchy." A woman named Margie, (who was sitting next to me), wondered whether the trends would be a natural transition for designers. I already knew the answer to that question, yes! Since I feel most at-home when designing with organic inspiration and materials, this was music to my ears.

I decided to enter the boutonniere competition just for fun, and was surprised to receive second place last night. Because I design in my own studio, I don't have access to a cooler filled with flowers on a daily basis, unless I am working on a project. I used what was available right outside my door to create my boutonniere. If you read my blog, this will not come as a surprise as I feel most comfortable when I design in this way.

One of Bert's designs incorporated broccoli, cauliflower and granny smith apples. Unfortunately, these pictures where taken after sunset when the lighting was not ideal to best showcase his work.

I've seen Bert use apples in his designs before, but never vegetables. This design would be fabulous on a food table right next to the crudité platter. Love it!

A sweet summertime-themed vignette, designed with a magic carpet ride. Bert points out that the additional height of the roses gives the illusion of added value to the overall design.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at Tower Hill, as the weather could not have been more perfect. I was anxious to call my son on the ride home to hear about his evening in Kennebunkport; and to tell him that I won second prize for my boutonniere. Thank goodness for cell phones.



Until next time...L