Archive for June, 2011

Lilies In My Vermont Garden

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

This week has brought some brilliantly colored lilies in bloom my Vermont garden.  I seem to have successfully triumphed over the super destructive red lily beetles that have plagued my lilies for the past few years–diligent destruction of the buggers in the spring along with fearless squishing of their gross larvae have paid off so far.  These are Asiatic lilies, not day lilies so they hold their blooms for several days.  Here are a few of the beauts that are the first bloomers of the summer!  The orange with the brush strokes of burgundy were the first to pop.  #BringThePretty

These lilies are a deep pink with lots of buds yet to bloom.

Lilies have six petals and six anthers which are covered in deep orange pollen.  Florists usually remove the anthers because they can stain clothing…and hands…and the flower petals, too!

These lilies are the shortest of them all at about 12″ tall.  They are red, although they look a little pink in this photo.

We call this the “First Perennial Garden” since, as the name implies, it’s our first garden we planted when we moved into our house.  The allium are just past their prime; there are still a few peonies barely hanging on; the astilbe is just starting to show its colors; lady’s mantle and sedum are taking over the front row; and bee balm will be the next to bloom.  It could use a good weeding, too!

So that’s what’s new in my Vermont garden this week.  I’ll be in my studio for the next few days working away and I’ll have a fresh wedding post for you on Tuesday!  I hope y’all have a great holiday weekend!  Happy Fourth!

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Summer Wedding Flowers at Whiteface Lodge

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

It is officially summertime and Sarah & Andy had a summery June wedding at The Whiteface Lodge in Lake Placid.  The colors were vibrant and the main instruction I got from the bride was “no muted tones” so you’ll find super bright, fun blooms in this wedding.  I started taking pictures when we were still in the car!

The van was completely loaded with flowers without an inch to spare!

I took a couple of shots of the bouquets before we headed to the ferry.

The attendants wore Bright Dahlia dresses from J. Crew so their bouquets brought color.

I seriously dig this red and pink color combo the bride carried.  I think it’s both romantic and modern.  Her bouquet included pink peonies, dahlias, Tiega roses, red tulips and spray roses.

Here’s a shot of the 6 attendants’ bouquets with the bride’s bouquet.

The bridesmaids carried orange ranunculus, yellow freesia, red spray roses, pink roses and fresh herbs I cut from my garden including oregano, mint and ladies’ mantle.

The bride liked this wedding I did at the Whiteface Club so it was inspiration for their designs.

The centerpieces were labelled with trail markers and included orange gerberas, VT grown Asiatic lilies, pink peonies, dahlias, delphinium, red and orange spray roses, sweet William and fresh rosemary.

The rainy day called for an indoor ceremony and our birch chuppah was the perfect touch for the Adirondack style of the lodge.  The officiant was the bride’s sister!

Large sap bucket arrangements marked each side of the chuppah.

Mini sap buckets tied to the chairs down the aisle completed the look!

Congratulations to Sarah and Andy on your beautiful wedding day!…a Brooklyn couple with a Vermont floral designer and an Adirondack-style wedding!  We could hear the guests buzzing during the cocktail hour and I can tell you it sounded like quite a party. 

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Flowers in Beautiful Italy

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

In Italian the word for flower is fiore.  That’s one of the words I learned before Dave and I embarked on a 10 day excursion through Rome and Sorrento…well, that word and one sentence, Sono allergica alla penicillina, “I’m allergic to penicillin,” since my husband and I could both use that phrase in a pinch.

There are a few photos of the two of us on vacation, but most of my pictures are of flowers…and the view of Mount Vesuvius from our balcony in Sorrento!  There were some truly beautiful flowers throughout our travels–magnolia trees lining the streets in Rome, terra cotta pots on rooftop gardens, basil nestled on window sills, and my personal favorites are bouganvillea and jasmine–so I was more than happy to see them {and smell them} in full bloom!

Bouganvillea bloomed everywhere!

Like, seriously…it grew everywhere!!

Wisteria on marble seems like the quintessential Italian scene.

These yellow flowers on Mount Vesuvius were called broom bush by a local.

Poppies grew everywhere!…even out of rock walls and cracks in the pavement!

Oleander in pinks, whites and yellows could be found throughout the landscape.

A red garden rose in an Italian garden…smells so sweet.

This is one of the last shots I took in Rome.  A balcony overflowing with flowers is SO Italian.

This hydrangea display in Capri was over-the-top gorgeous.  It’s got such an incredible wedding feeling to it.

Here are some more floral details I couldn’t resist sharing!

A post with Italian blooms would not be complete without a nod to the lemon.  Lemon groves were numerous in Sorrento and trees even grew in pots!  One night we had an amazing dinner at a restaurant called Donna Sophia in a garden that was in a lemon grove lined with a wall of jasmine and hydrangea.  The scent of lemon and jasmine was absolutely divine.

And even though the olive trees weren’t in full production here’s a shot of Mount Vesuvius with olive trees in the foreground.

So that’s the floral tour of my Italian dream vacation.  I hope you enjoyed my pics!  I’ll be dreaming of jasmine and lemon for the rest of the day!

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First Day of Summer in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

It’s the first day of summer so it seems like the perfect time for a look at what’s cookin’ in my garden.  Last week we returned from 10 days in Italy {more on that later!!} and I must admit that I was worried I would miss out on my peonies blooming, but luckily I returned to many gorgeous blooms.  Here’s a look at what greeted me when I got back…

There are so many petal in these babies…

These pale pink peonies are gigantic and SO beautiful!

We also came home to our best crop of strawberries yet!  These were the first picked, but we’ve gotten several pints so far.

These Sweet William (aka dianthus which is the carnation family) make a beautiful display.  I threw some seeds out a few years ago and didn’t expect much to happen, but they’ve become more beautiful each year.

It’s a gorgeous day here in Vermont and I hope it’s a great day wherever you are.  Here’s a link to my very first peony post and here are more peony pictures for ya.  I have some flower pics from Italy to share with you on Thursday!  #BringThePretty

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June Wedding at The Round Barn

Thursday, June 16th, 2011

Every couple is unique, but when I met Krystal and Keith I knew these two were clearly a great match.  They way they interacted with each other; the way Keith looked at Krystal as she talked about their big day–I could just feel the love.  When I found out how they met it just completed the picture…they work in the same building in NYC and one day as Keith saw Krystal on the elevator he realized he knew someone who worked on her floor and he had to find out who she was.  So, for real, isn’t that romantic?  It could be the beginning scene of a movie if you ask me.

They weren’t planning a huge wedding, but they were focused on decor and details to be remembered.  Krystal was originally thinking “shabby chic”, but she ended up more on the “elegant chic” side in my opinion.  A color palette of whites with a few very pale yellow accents created a clean, classic early summertime feeling.  Daria Bishop Photographers were on the scene to shoot all the details so I’ll just share a few shots with you today.  Stay tuned for pics from the pros!

The bride wanted a bouquet that was nicely sized so she carried a bouquet that is slightly larger than I usually make.  Included in the bride’s bouquet were white peonies, hydrangea, Tibet roses and lisianthus.  It was a classic, fluffy, rounded style that never goes out of fashion.  The groom’s boutonniere included a white spray rose, a lisianthus bud and a small accent of waxflower.

The groom’s sister was the maid of honor and she was absolutely lovely (and SO happy for the couple!).  Here’s a look at both bouquets.

It was a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony!  Rose petals lined the aisle and large urns filled with bells of Ireland, French tulips, snapdragons, roses, hydrangea and lysmachia marked the altar.

Table linens were a chocolate brown and the all white centerpieces were designed in ceramic vessels with votive candles for ambiance.

Vermont Sweet Tooth set up an elaborate display (the desserts were not in place yet, but I read the descriptions and they sounded delish!) and we added some floral details  and candles to the mix.  Guests were greeted with mason jars to fill with the libations of their choice!

Here’s one final shot of the bride’s bouquet.  It’s classic, white wedding all the way.

When I met family & friends awaiting the arrival of the bride and groom at The Round Barn the joy and excitement was nothing short of heartwarming.  It was so touching it was downright “whelming” (’cause overwhelming doesn’t quite fit the bill here).  Congratulations to Krystal and Keith!   I am SO looking forward to seeing your professional photos–I know you both were stunning!

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Purple, White and Blue Wedding At The Round Barn Farm

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

I often work with couples for 7-12 months before their wedding day, but this bride and groom started planning their wedding only 4 months ago–Kelly and Fred didn’t want to waste any time once they got engaged!  They knew they wanted to get married in Vermont and since they travelled from Mississippi for their nuptials they definitely fall into the “destination wedding” category.  The distance did not stop them from having lots of personalized details that made the day extra special.

You may recall seeing these hand wrapped milk bottles a few weeks ago, but that was just the beginning of their DIY awesomeness.  There were homemade mad-libs where guests could fill-in-the-blanks with wedding advice; match sticks in lieu of seating cards with a sign that read, “We found our perfect match, now find yours”; and since the groom’s last name is Olive, well, “Olive You” candy favors finished off the night.

Here is a look at the bride and attendant’s bouquets.  The overall feeling was a Vermont country style and the only serious instruction I got from Kelly was NO ROSES.  Not only no roses, but nothing that even resembled a rose…like, seriously, she didn’t even like ranunculus which is a floral darling of many brides!  Her bouquet included lilacs, lily of the valley, muscari, anemones, sweet peas, dahlias, tulips and dusty miller.  When I delivered her bouquet she looked at her maid of honor and said, “Remember when we used to pick this as kids?”, referring to the silver foliage.  Needless to say that made me happy.

Here is another look at the bouquets.

We prepared for both an indoor and outdoor ceremony, but once the sky opened up and started dumping buckets of water on us it seemed like inside was the best decision!  Mini-sap buckets donned the table numbers (another cute idea from The MOB).  Cuisine Lucette created the lovely cakes.

Here are those super cute favors I told you about.  We also added some mason jar and curly willow “chandeliers” to the barn.

Both the bride and groom’s last names start with “O” so there were a lot of O-names on the match sticks!

Despite the distance they travelled Kelly and Fred made The Round Barn feel like home and I am sure their guests could feel that at every turn.  Congratulations on your beautiful day!  It was a pleasure to work with Kelly and her mom, Pat, on the details of this wedding.  Kelly is an absolute hoot–really, laugh out loud funny e-mails a-plenty–and I think I’m kinda gonna miss her!

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