A Workshop at Maxit Flower Design

Hi everyone!

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege to attend a floral design workshop put on by Maxit Flower Design of Houston, Texas.  It was fantastic!  It ended up being only myself and one other student taking the class, so it was very personal!  She gave us a tour of the wholesaler's warehouse where her studio is located, and then we created some wonderfully lush garden style arrangements!

My final piece from the workshop!

I wanted to attend this class for several reasons:

1. I think it's super important to always keep learning.  Now, I definitely don't claim to be an expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I was in need of a good, high-quality refresher. However, I truly believe that in whatever field you work in you have to keep training and stretching yourself.  If you don't, you get stuck in a rut of the same old processes and techniques - which can be especially damaging in a "creative" field like floristry. 
2. Maria Maxit, owner and creative director of Maxit Flower Designs, uses my favorite design aesthetic - garden style.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the structured, symmetrical, perfectly round, etc. style of flowers.  That's just me - there's absolutely nothing wrong with it!  (I will say, I do think it's cool when you can really manipulate flowers to do things they would never do in nature - it's very striking.)  For my wedding, I specifically went with a florist who specializes in garden style arrangements.  But when I was in school, the grand majority of the arrangements we did were that very structured style.  By the time I graduated, I felt a little burned out because I didn't like the way my arrangements were coming out.  Now I realize that it's because I prefer a more wild, natural look in my pieces, and I wasn't getting the chance to try that out in my design classes.  This class was a way for me to get to try out the garden style techniques - and personally, I think I rocked it!
3. I got to use some AWESOME flowers! Usually, when I'm getting flowers for my arrangements here on the blog, I'm on a bit of a budget.  I also have a pretty limited selection of where I can purchase flowers.  And while I have nothing against grocery store flowers (I think it's great that flowers can be so accessible now), they don't exactly have the best selection when you want to create garden style pieces.  You either get stuck with one type of flower, or a mix of less expensive flowers, and there are rarely any greens.  You just can't create the same caliber of arrangements with daisy mums and baby's breath as you can with ranunculus and delphinium and four different types of greenery.  So this class was a ton of fun for me because I got to play with and use all of the gorgeous flowers that I drool over in other florists' Instagram feeds.

I got inspired by Valentine's Day and made this fun heart out of the remains of  my arrangement.

Overall, I had an amazing time, and I learned so much!  Maria also talked to us about things she had learned along the way by working for different types of florists, different aspects of the overall industry, and design tips she had picked up over the years.  I would absolutely take another one of her classes - if she decides to offer them again.  I also might do some freelance work for her during this upcoming wedding season!  

This week's lesson in floriography:

• Ranunculus means "radiant with charm"
• White delphinium symbolizes the power of youth and new life, but also delphinium in general can be used as an encouragement to someone to reach for their goals

Thanks for tuning in!  I think next time we're due for a St. Patrick's Day themed arrangement!  See you then!

Romantic Valentine's Day Flower Crown

Hi Everyone! Thanks for tuning in to another installment of Floriography!  This week I made a Valentine's Day inspired flower crown!  Flower crowns are all the rage these days, and I am a huge fan!  They can be sweet, romantic, bohemian, or just plain fun!

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I wanted to come up with something to celebrate the holiday!  When I found these precious Spray Roses and Aster, I knew a flower crown would be perfect!

Spray Roses

White Aster

This was my first flower crown to make.  It was fun! There are some changes I'll make in my technique in future flower crowns, and I know there are many other ways to make them!  I can't wait to try out more!  

The materials I used:

• Gauge 22 Floral Wire
• Floral Tape
• Wire Cutters
• Scissors
• Spray Roses
• Spray Rose Leaves
• White Aster

Materials

The pictures below show the process I used to create the crown:

Step 1: Wrap the measured wire in floral tape.

Step 2: Wrap two or three stems with floral tape and make a bunch.

Step 3: Use the floral tape to attach the bunch to your base wire.

After that, you just keep repeating steps two and three with your desired flowers/bunches - laying each new bunch on top of the stems from the previous bunch. Easy peasy!  Also, I'm definitely still wearing the flower crown as I write this - it makes me feel pretty!  And who doesn't like to feel pretty on random Tuesdays?

Final Product!

This week's lesson in Floriography:

• Red Roses (in any variety) symbolize romantic love! Perfect for Valentine's Day!
• Aster's meaning changes depending on the color.  White Aster symbolizes daintiness - which is fitting for this adorable little wildflower!

Thanks for joining me this week!!  This Saturday, I'll be going to a floral workshop in Houston!  I'm so excited, and I'll be sharing my experience and creation with you in my next post!

A Visit to Westside Flower Exchange

This week will be a different style of blog than I've done previously (not that there's much to compare it too - this is only my third post!).  I was in Houston last weekend for PR's marathon.  He did so well! Broke his personal best by 16 minutes!  I'm so proud of him! And no, I did not join him in running 26.2 miles... I'm not crazy!

Since we were going to be in the area, I reached out to the Westside Flower Exchange, a floral wholesaler in west Houston.  The ladies over there were so nice and let me explore their coolers!  So this week, I'm going to show off some of the beauties they had in their coolers.  I took more pictures than are here, and this is only a tiny fraction of what they have to offer!  I had a blast checking out their lovely stock and I can't wait to work with them in the future!

Gorgeous Dahlias!

I loved the salmon shade of these Hypericum Berries!

So many filler flowers! I wanted to just dive in!

These are Quick Sand Roses!  Such a lovely color!

I've been fascinated by Blue Thistle lately!

Ranunculus are my current favorites!

With Anemone as a close second!

Beautiful cream colored peonies!

These 'Black Knight' Scabiosa Atropurpurea took my breath away with their velvety texture!

Some Seeded Eucalyptus

Silver Dollar Eucalyptus

Baby Eucalyptus

Curly Willow

Dusty Miller is super popular for weddings right now!

I know, I know, I said I was going to do a wintry white arrangement this week, and I didn't.  Well, I did make an arrangement of mostly white flowers, and I wasn't happy with it.  I didn't want to post something I was  really unhappy with.  It was a good practice of what to do and not to do, so it's not a total loss!  When the opportunity presented itself for me to visit the Westside Flower Exchange, I thought it would be fun to share my adventure with you.  So this week, I will not give a preview of what I want to do for the next post, because I haven't decided yet, and because I may change my mind a couple of times before I decide on something!  Lesson learned!  Thanks for being patient with me and joining me for this journey!  I've already learned so much, and I'm sure I'll continue to do so!

I hope you all have a spectacular week!  See you next time!

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to the second installment of Floriography!  We're kicking off the new year with a New Year's Eve inspired arrangement - complete with champagne and fireworks! Permanent Roommate and I had a pretty low-key New Year's celebration.  We went out for dinner then came back home for board games and champagne!  We made it to midnight and watched some fireworks from our porch, but were out like lights by 12:30!

For this design, I really wanted to mimic the aspects of celebrating a New Year's Eve.  My first thought was to put the arrangement in a champagne glass, but what would I put in it?  Then it hit me like a bright flash of light in a dark sky... fireworks! (See what I did there?) As you can see in my sketches, I had originally wanted something other than the spider mums.  Blood Lilies really have the look I was going for.  But not being an established florist has its disadvantages in terms of being able to get the flowers you want.  Then, I saw these great paint-splattered spider mums!  I thought they were so cute with their speckled petals!

Sketch - sorry it's so hard to see - I'll use a darker pencil next time!

The "fireworks"

The "Champagne"

The materials and tools I used are pictured below.  I used a champagne glass as my container filled with amber glass marbles to achieve the look of champagne and for stability.  My plant materials were white Spider Chrysanthemums and a couple of sprigs of Arborvitae.  I used scissors from my kitchen (oops, I need some dedicated shears), floral tape, 20 gauge wire, wire cutters and white ribbon for the finishing touch.  I used the wire to manipulate the heads of the spider mums so they would face front instead of upward.

The Materials

The Tools

And here's the final product!  This was a fun and quick project for me.  I really had a blast making this!  Stay tuned for the week after next's post where I lament not getting a real winter in Texas by creating a festive all white arrangement!

Lesson in Floriography: White chrysanthemums symbolize truth, honesty and loyal love.

Welcome!

Hi! Welcome to "Floriography" - a bi-weekly blog about flowers!  This is the first post in a year-long experiment in blogging!  Today I am kicking off everything with an introduction, Q&A style.  The real content will start next Tuesday!

What is Floriography?

Floriography, or the language of flowers, was a way to secretly communicate using the arrangement of flowers.  Ancient cultures around the world placed meanings on certain flowers for thousands of years.  Flowers were drawn, painted, and written about to symbolize meanings in various works of art.  In the 1800s, floriography reached its peak in Victorian England and the United States of America.  Men and women would carry around floral dictionaries to help them decode secret messages sent to them by their significant others.

Who are you?

My name is Morgan, and this (along with my embroidery blog) is my first venture into blogging!  I currently live in Texas with my wonderful husband (who would like to be known as "Permanent Roommate" or "PR").  After college, I worked in the wedding industry for a couple of years on the catering and venue side of things.  But when PR and I got married and moved back to Texas, I began looking for a way to get back into what I studied in school: floral design!

One of my favorite pieces that I've done.

So, what's the point of this blog?

 I'm starting this blog for a couple of reasons:

1. It gives me a reason to regularly practice my floral design and build my portfolio.  Eventually, I'd like to be able to go full time with flowers for events and weddings, but that takes time, lots of practice, and a rockin' portfolio!  Unfortunately, the florist-hopeful's job market where I live is pretty slim, and most people (rightfully) won't trust a stranger with very little experience to do the flowers for their wedding.  This is a way for me to showcase my abilities, build my skills, and maybe even connect with potential clients! (Plus, I get to play with flowers every other week!!)
2. It also gives me a chance to develop my writing skills.  If you would have told me in fourth grade that I would start blogging in my twenties, I probably would have laughed in your face (but not in a rude way, of course!).  However, in the past few years, I've really come to enjoy writing and I'd like to get better at it!  Blogging on a schedule gives me a reason to keep practicing!

What can I expect from this blog?

I'll be posting on this blog every other Tuesday.  That means two posts per month (sometimes three - yay bonus posts!).  The first post of the month will be based on a holiday that falls in the respective month.  The second will reflect something going on in my life.  It may be a trip we're taking, special events going on, etc.  Basically, whatever is inspiring me at the time.  Every post will include pictures of the final product and of the process along the way.  Also, keeping with the name of the blog, I'll include the historical meanings behind some of the flowers used in each piece.

"Why only bi-weekly posts?" you may ask. Well, as I shamelessly mentioned earlier, I'm also currently writing another blog.  I'll be posting about hand embroidery over there on the weeks I'm not posting here.  This schedule gives me two weeks to develop the content for each blog.  Also, flowers aren't cheap, and since I'm not getting paid to do this, I've got to set myself some boundaries somewhere.

Phew! That was a lot!

Yeah, I know.  I'm sure the rest of my posts won't be nearly this long or wordy and they'll have pictures of pretty flowers.  I'm super excited about this journey over the course of this year, and I'm super duper excited to have you along for the ride!  

P. S. If you happen to be into hand embroidery, too, check out my other blog "Adventures in Embroidery"! This will most likely be the only time I'll cross-reference my two blogs on each other.  This will definitely be the last time two of my blog posts will be extremely similar, I promise!