Living On Through Peonies

When Seaberry Farm mentioned yesterday that they had single peonies available this week, I knew right away that these were Mel’s peonies.

Before Mel Heath died, he sold off most of his plants and farm equipment. Seaberry Farm took much of what was available. Wen Fei confirmed that the peonies that were available were Mel’s. She said:

“We go around our farm everyday saying things like "go cut Mel's peonies" or  "go get Mel's tractor"…we miss him greatly.”

We miss Mel too…  but today especially, I’m thrilled to have our first peonies of the season be Mel’s peonies.

May Pop Up Market! SO MUCH FUN!

We had a great day today at our May pop-up market! Thanks to everyone who came out to support Urban Farmhouse and Local Color Flowers. We had such a great mix of friends, neighbors, kids, dogs, new clients and total strangers come over and hang out, chit chat, buy flowers and veggies…It was a beautiful thing!

A whole lot going on at LoCoFlo!

Chrissa from Urban Farmhouse selling veggies!

We got a little work done during the pop up!

Irene made a gorgeous arrangement (loosely) based on one of Studio Choo’s  “recipes”!

And we sold lots of flowers!

Happy May everyone!

Real Weddings: Danielle and Chuck

I have so much to say about Danielle and Chuck’s wedding…one blog post might not be enough!

Chef Beej Flamholz emailed me about a year and a half ago and asked me if I would be interested in working on a wedding with him. He said the clients would be a good fit for us. I met Claudia, the bride’s mom a few months later when we met for the first time to discuss the flowers. Claudia and I hit it off immediately!  Her daughter Danielle was in medical school so she was going to be coordinating the flowers in her place. They wanted multi-colored, vibrant flowers that looked “wildflowry” and natural. They also wanted to help collect antique bottles and jars that would be used for the centerpieces.

As the year of planning progressed, the vision for the flowers became more clear. They wanted a rustically decorated chuppah, a mix of potted and cut flowers and one of my favorite elements of the wedding-a Farm Stand!

As the wedding day approached, our whole team was bursting with excitement. By this time I had met Danielle and Chuck and Danielle’s uber-creative sister Nicole and I was so excited to create a beautiful wedding for them.

Danielle looked so beautiful and happy on her wedding day, I actually cried when I saw her!  She carried a naturally shaped bouquet filled with peonies, ranunculus, astilbe, dusty miller and a mix of herbs. Since Danielle was flexible with the colors of her bouquet (she wanted soft colors and shapes to compliment her dress) we were really able to get creative with what was growing locally that week.

The ceremony took place on the first floor of AVAM. The bride’s uncle built the chuppah and our talented team of designers decorated it with kousa dogwood, mock orange, peonies and curly willow. We also draped the bride’s granddad’s prayer shawl over the top of the chuppah. It was a beautiful, sacred place for Chuck and Danielle to get married.

After the ceremony guests enjoyed a beautiful farm to table dinner from Chef’s Expressions and Chef Beej Flamholz. I’m not just saying this-the tables looked AMAZING! I seriously cried when they were all decorated and ready for guests to arrive (I cried a lot at this wedding). Each detail came together perfectly-the vintage glass, the barn wood boxes, the apothecary jars…it was a perfectly miss/matched collection that looked wonderful together.

Long farm tables mixed with round tables added to the visual interest in the room.

 

And then…there was the Farm Stand! In lieu of a traditional favor table, we created an authentic Baltimore Farm Stand for Chuck and Danielle’s guests to “shop” at the wedding was over.

We filled the stand with uniquely Baltimore treats!

 

Lucy and Amelia black eyed susan seed bombs were a big hit as were individual packs of Zeke’s coffee and jams by Infused Spreads.

Nick’s Brand Backfire spices went fast as did the local strawberries, honey and McCutcheon sodas.

 

It was a great way to celebrate a couple who wanted to highlight the local goodness Maryland has to offer.

I was exhausted, but so joyful when this wedding was complete. I felt so proud to be part of this amazing team, so honored to be part of Danielle and Chuck’s wedding.

This was truly a team effort! Thanks to LoCoFlo’s amazing team of designers, farmers market/thrift store shoppers and venue setter-uppers! Thanks to to the growers who provided thousands of stems of locally grown flowers for this wedding including Seaberry Farm, LynnVale Studio, Wollam Gardens, Farmhouse Flowers and Plantmasters.

Thanks to the super-talented Beej Flamholz for pulling everything thing together. Beej is an amazing chef and his planning skills are to be commended.

Thanks to Eli Turner Photography for these spectacular photos…which…as you can probably guess…made me teary-eyed when I saw them. To see more photos from Danielle and Chuck’s wedding, you can check out Eli’s blog and our flickr page.

Finally, special thanks to Chuck and Danielle and their families. You were truly a joy to work with!  Congratulations!

Mother’s Day Rocks!

Only 2 weeks until Mother’s Day and LoCoFlo is excited to offer all sorts of goodies for special moms in your life.

Sending a beautiful, locally grown flower arrangement is a great gift for Mother’s Day. Local Color Flowers will head out to local flower farms and pick up May’s best blooms. With the weather being so weird this season…that could include some early season peonies! 

If you love local flowers and want to share them throughout the seasons, you can give the gift of a Flower Subscription. Subscription members will get flowers every season, every month or every week (your choice!)  This is a perfect way to enjoy the bounty that Maryland has to offer throughout the year!

If you really want to give a gift that keeps on giving…how about an herb garden or terrarium made with locally grown herbs and succulents?

To find our more or to place an order, head over to our website and fill out an order form. Deliveries or pick ups available on Friday, May 11 or Saturday, May 12. Get your order in today!