Friday, April 27, 2018

California Blooms!~


Having lived in Los Angeles post college, any chance we get to go back to visit is always a treat.  Our most recent trip was full of floral fun at the The Los Angeles Flower Market at The Flower Fields at Carlsbad RanchThe flowers, beach and family fun rolled into this trip did not disappoint, and we can't wait to be California bound again!~  

For now... the flowers!~





The above were a few photos from The Los Angeles Flower Market. After taking in a final birds eye view of the city from our LA hotel, we headed south for the bulk of the week until returning to the city again to attend a special wedding in Pasadena. 



 The timing of our trip was perfect for visiting The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch. Oh my!~ The gardens and blooming fields of ranunculus were breathtaking!~ Here are just a few of the photos that we snapped while there... 



















... ahhhh. 
Now onto our own next Forrester Farm flower project!~  Until next time, remember to take time the time to smell the flowers!~ 

Monday, March 19, 2018

Blooms, Berries and Spring Weddings


These blooms and berries!!!  
What a treat to work with such beautiful colors for a wedding this past Saturday.

With every wedding that I work on, I take several "behind the scenes" photos of the flowers.  I love when we get the professional photos of the wedding and couple, but it is always nice to see the floral photos soon after the wedding.



It is always interesting to see the difference in flower color in the photos between those taken in natural light and those taken in our work space (like the two photos above).


 













The couple that we created the flowers for were absolutely so sweet and we are very excited for them as they begin their new adventure as husband and wife!~

Saturday, March 10, 2018

The meaning behind International Women's Day... should really be our Every Day!~

I'll never forget waking up in Italy on March 8, 2007.  I had already been there for several days, but this day was a bit different.  When looking out the window of The Hotel Papa, there were beautiful pops of yellow at the newspaper stand across the street.  In fact, everywhere that I went that day, there were beautiful pops of yellow. The mimosa flower was being sold and given away to in sweet bundles and vases all day long, everywhere that I went. Mimosa sprigs were in vases at restaurants. Almost every little shop had brown paper wrapped mimosa bundles of various sizes. I'd been growing and working with flowers as a florist for years, and I'd never seen this sweet and vibrant flower anywhere near home.  
Apparently International Women's Day was a really big deal in Italy, and I witnessed smiling women being given and carrying bundles of mimosa throughout the whole day. I was given a little vase of mimosa from the owner of The Hotel Papa where we were staying. It made me smile too.   

I love what Exotic Flowers blog had to say about mimosa and the traditions of it's use on International Women's Day in 2 different posts.  In discussing International Women's Day, the author stated "it is also a chance for us all to show women how much we respect them and appreciate them".  When discussing the meaning of the mimosa flower, the author of Exotic Flowers blog used the words "sensibility", "expand" and "sympathy"

How wonderful to have an "International Women's Day" but honestly it is a name for a day that hopefully just acknowledges the qualities that women demonstrate to others all year long!~ Strength, dignity, encouraging others and rising to the occasion in a variety of circumstances. 

I was recently humbled and enlightened when I read a blog post that a friend wrote about someone that I see on a fairly regular basis  This someone has had some challenging circumstances in her life and I'm so thankful that my friend took the time to find out more and essentially, give this someone a "vase of mimosa" in a different form. The encouragement and acknowledgement of "you are important and you are seen". I dare say that we all have a someone in our life that we can see in this story that my friend wrote.  I dare you to read it and I dare all of us to expand our horizons to see others and to show appreciation, sympathy and strength with sensibility towards those around us every day of the year. 

Here is : The Real Story 

Sometimes our "vase of mimosa" could be as simple as smile towards others, a listening ear, a bouquet of flowers and sometimes our mimosa could go much, much deeper.  May we all be "expanded" to see beyond ourselves and our own thoughts into the bigger picture of others!~