Real Weddings: Mike and Kate

Kate and Mike’s September wedding at Howard County Conservancy was one of my favorites this year!  When I met Kate last December, she mentioned to me that she had a blog –mostly about wedding ideas, styles etc. I followed Kate’s blog all year long-getting excited right along with her. I loved reading about all of the details and decisions she was making. It also helped me create bouquets and centerpieces that fit perfectly with her style and decor. (so brides, if you have wedding blogs…send me a link!)

Kate looked absolutely beautiful on her wedding day! She carried a brightly colored bouquet filled with dahlias, sunflowers, lisianthus, plume celosia and asclepias.

The centerpieces were made up of a collection of mason jars and Patron bottles. The Patron bottles looked awesome! They have a great, unique shape. The glass if beautiful…and the are indestructible!

I also loved this wedding because my oldest and dearest friend was visiting and helped me deliver and set up!  Thanks Kell!

Thanks to our growers for these beautiful flowers-especially Locust Point Flowers and Belvedere Farm! Thanks to Procopio Photography for these absolutely gorgeous photos! To see more photos from Kate and Mike’s wedding, you can check our Procopio’s blog, Kate’s blog, or our flickr site!

Thanks to Kate and Mike for choosing Local Color flowers! Wishing you loads of happiness in the years to come!

Real Weddings: Mike and Morgan

On this snowy winter night, I thought it would be fun to share this beautiful summer wedding with you! Mike and Morgan’s late August wedding at The Cloisters was natural, romantic and beautiful.

Morgan carried a bouquet full of white dahlias, lisianthus and snapdragons. We include a few pink snapdragons for a splash of color. The sedum and hydrangea were perfect because they both had green, pink and white hues. The little dark brown millet peeking out complimented the chocolate brown ribbon.

  

The bridesmaids bouquets were filled with lisianthus, sedum and snapdragons.

One of my favorite parts of Mike and Morgan’s wedding was the Chuppah that was lovingly made by the groom’s mom. We decorated the poles of the Chuppah with potted petunia and grasses. We also made some kissing balls to decorate the front corners of the chuppah.

Thanks to Mason Summers Photography for the beautiful photos of the bouquet, bride and groom and wedding party. To see more pictures from Mike and Morgan’s wedding, check out Local Color Flowers Flickr site. Thanks to our great growers at  Belvedere Farm and Locust Point Flowers!

Congratulations to Mike and Morgan! Wishing them much happiness in the years to come!

And don’t forget…winter doesn’t last forever!

Real Weddings: Megan and Lee

What better way to brighten up this dreary (almost) winter day then to share Megan and Lee’s beautiful wedding with you!

Megan was a  glowing  bride on her wedding day. She carried a bouquet of blue hydrangeas, green and yellow zinnias and scented geranium. Her bouquet and the girls bouquets were wrapped in her family’s plaid ribbon brought all the way from from Scotland for the wedding.

We also added a charm and family pin to the wrap that were important to Megan.

 

The wedding ceremony took place out on the pier at Brown’s Wharf in Fells Point.

 

The reception took place on the top floor of the historic Admiral Fell in in Fells Point. Each table was named after a different Baltimore neighborhood.

Besides loving each other, Megan and Lee love Baltimore! They wanted to incorporate local flowers-especially Maryland’s state flower, the Black Eyed Susan, into their wedding.

We decorated the cake with Black Eyed Susan’s in all shapes and sizes.  They looked great-especially with the blue crab cake topper! (love that the bride is carrying Black Eyed Susan’s and the groom is wearing an O’s hat!)

Thanks to our growers-especially Belvedere Farm who provided the Black Eyed Susans.

Special thanks to photographer Jay Moore of Jay Moore Photography for the beautiful photos. ( the crab photo is mine!)

Congratulations to Megan and Lee! You guys are an amazing couple who deserve all the happiness in the world! Thanks for letting Local Color Flowers be a part of your special day!

Book Review: The Brother Gardeners

While on vacation this past week, I read The Brother Gardeners by Andrea Wulf. Flower lovers, garden enthusiasts and growers of all sorts will enjoy this book. Wulf tells the story of a small group of botanists, flower hunters and  gardeners, known as the Brother Gardeners, that were responsible for creating the gardening craze in England in the 1700’s.

The book begins with American John Bartram. Bartram was a Pennsylvania farmer who sent plants, seeds, trees,  and more to his “pen pal” Peter Collinsworth in London. American classics such as kalmia, Echinacea, monarda, lady’s slipper and many more could now be seen throughout English gardens. This introduction of American plants changed the English garden landscape forever. The friendship between Bartram and Collinsworth lasted for over 40 years-even though they never met face to face.

While loads of new flowers and plants were being discovered, the botanical world  was having heated debates about how to identify and categorize the new varieties. While Swedish Botanist Carl Linneaus seemed like a pompous ass that everyone hated, his system for standardizing the naming of plants was the easiest to use and the most widely used. While his protégé ditched him and moved to London, while the community of European gardeners cursed him every chance they got, Linneaus is the one whose name will be remembered in history.

The last third of the books tells the adventurous tales of the team of Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander-botanists and plant hunters from England who traveled the world bringing exotic flowers and plants to England for the first time. Flowers that seem common to us today like birds of paradise or the bread fruit tree were coveted as the most unique plants ever seen.

The Brother Gardeners was captivating, interesting and even laugh out loud funny in parts. This is a great read for anyone interested in flowers and gardening.