Ideas in Bloom: May 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

What’s Blooming {Lilac}

A fresh cut bunch of these fragrant beauties sits atop my bookshelf table as I type; an uninhibited and slightly wild grouping of woody stems with purple blooms peeking out from the mass of leaves as nature intended (courtesy of my grandmother’s backyard).

Lilacs abound in New England for a brief but spectacular season in the Spring (usually early May). They are a fast fading bloom, but very popular. The flowers will usually last 3-5 days. The trick to a longer bloom is to cut them when the tiny star-shaped flowers are just beginning to burst open and the majority are still just engorged buds. Also, resist the urge to plop them into a pool of ice cold water and opt for lukewarm instead. It will help them drink faster and stay hydrated longer.

Syringa, or Lilac, is a genus of about 20–25 species of flowering woody plants in the olive family. They are deciduous shrubs or small trees that explode with flowers in shades of purple, or in some varieties, white, pink, dark burgundy color or even pale yellow.

The Syringa vulgaris has a special place in the hearts of fellow New Hampshirites as our home’s official state flower. They are "symbolic of that hardy character of the men and women of the Granite State" (New Hampshire Revised Statute Annotated (RSA) 3:5).

Every May the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain celebrates "Lilac Sunday". During this celebration of Spring, the The Arboretum shows off its collection of over 400 lilac plants and opens the grounds for picnicking (the only day of the year it’s allowed). Unfortunately the festival was held May 8th this year and we missed it. I’ll have to settle for my bunch of blooms at home for now.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

What’s Blooming {Tulips}

It’s raining. Again. It’s hard to stay positive when everything is so damp and dreary, I know. I was at the flower market this morning and in a moment of weakness I caved and bought myself a bunch of these orange beauties. Like you all, I too need a little color in my life these days. Yes, I’m usually surrounded by vibrant blooms, but even I needed a little pick-me-up at on my desk this week.

Few things are more beautiful than a simple bunch of tulips spilling out of a vase. Groupings of the Dutch variety, the elegant long stems of French, or the ruffled petals of the Parrott, it doesn’t matter. I love them all. I take full advantage of their abundance while in season and it saddens me that they are quickly making their exit.

So, as an homage to their simple beauty, a post on the last of our spring bulbs in this series…

Tulips are perennial bulb plants with showy flowers found in a wide range of shades (basically anything other than true blue). They belong to the family Liliaceae and are grown in gardens beds, containers, or for harvest as fresh-cut flowers. Depending on the species, tulip plants can range in height from as short as 4 inches to as high as 28 inches. Strap shaped leaves with a waxy coating surround a single stem that usually produces only one flower per stem, though a few species bear multiple flowers. The showy, generally cup or star-shaped flower has three petals and three sepals, which are often termed tepals because they are nearly identical.

Enjoy them while they last!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Find the Newt! (again)

So it turns out that there was no newt to be found in April’s edition of NH Magazine! There is a very nice apology to those who strained their eyes looking for the little bugger last month and the magazine is offering up two prizes for those willing to give it another go in May. You could win our lovely spring/summer door piece (below) as well as a year’s subscription! For those of you without a current subscription, click here to find your local retailer.

Happy hunting!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Yellow & Grey – A Prepare To Wed Shoot

In case you missed it on the Facebook Page, check out our post on the Prepare To Wed blog. It has all the details of our shoot at the Inn at Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, VT. It was so much fun to design for this project and we hope you enjoy the end result!

Click HERE

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

What’s Blooming {Daffodils}

Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé, Flora von Deutschland A short post on these quickly fading blooms! It’s hard to believe it’s already May and the bulb plants are already making their exit.

Daffodils, or Narcissus, are of the Amaryllis family and bloom from bulbs in the New England spring. There are somewhere between 50 and 100 different variations of this trumpet-like bloom, including species variants and wild hybrids.

It’s is yet another spring flower with a name derived from Greek mythology. As the story goes, Narcissus became so obsessed with his own reflection as he kneeled and gazed into a pool of water that he fell into the water and drowned. Another variation of the tale depicts an entranced Narcissus trapped on the water’s edge by his reflection until he died of thirst and starvation. In both versions, the Narcissus plant first sprang from his post on the riverbed. As a result, the flower is widely seen as a symbol of unrequited love.

All species of Daffodil have a central corona surrounded by a ring of six floral leaves which unite to form a tube at the forward edge of the ovary. The usually yellow flowers (though also found in white and shades of green)are divided as follows: The three outer segments are sepals, and the three inner segments are petals. Growers have developed some Daffodils with double, triple, or ambiguously multiple rows and layers of segments, and several wild species also have known double variants.

They aren’t all pretty though! All varieties of this cheery bloom contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, concentrated mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves. The bulbs can sometimes be confused with small onions and can make you very ill. So don’t eat them!

Daffodils also cause a bit of trouble for florists, but the season is so short that we don’t mind. When cut they secrete a sap that can harm other flowers. If mixed with other blooms, the stems cannot be recut before arranging or else the sap will be released again and effect the rest of the piece. The calcium oxalate in the sap can also cause "daffodil itch," a dermatitis issue. I much prefer to use them in landscapes, rather than in arrangements!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

To all the Moms and Mommies-To-Be!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms and Mommies-To-Be out there! Special wishes to our three former Brides expecting this year!!!

And love to my own wonderful Mom!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

What’s Blooming? {Hyacinth}

Next in our “What’s Blooming” series: Hyacinth. These perennial spring bulbs first make their appearance as long, narrow leaves that are folded lengthwise. Once the buds mature, they pop as highly fragrant flowers that bloom in dense clusters of a wide range of colors: peach, orange, salmon, yellow, pink, red, purple, lavender and blue. The flowering spikes can be as short as 6 inches or grow to a leggy foot tall. They can be planted indoors and out, making them a favored gift in the spring. These blooms are also used in springtime cut flower arrangements.

Hyacinths bear the name of a beautiful youth loved by both the god Apollo and the West Wind, Zephy Greek mythology. One telling outlines Hyacinth’s passing as an accident. In an attempt to impress Apollo, Hyacinth ran to catch a discus thrown by the god, but he was struck by the disc and died. Another version of the tale marks Zephyrus as responsible for the death of the namesake. Apparently Hyacinth’s beauty caused a feud between Zephyrus and Apollo. Jealous that Hyacinth preferred the archery god Apollo, Zephyrus purposely blew Apollo's discus off course to injure Hyacinth. Either way, Apollo did not allow Hades to claim Hyacinth. Instead, the god made a flower from Hyacinth's spilled blood. (pseudo-Apollodorus, i. 3.3., Lucian,Dialogues of the Gods; Servius, commentary on Virgil Eclogue iii. 63; Philostratus, Imagines i.24; Ovid Metamorphoses x. 184)

{Muscari}

Two for one today! Closely related to the Hyacinth is the Muscari, or grape hyacinths. These low, blue or white flowered plants appear similar in appearance to hyacinths in their bud form. They are also commonly cultivated in gardens for spring bloom and their delicate appearance makes them a perfect compliment in a cut bouquet.