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Camp Fire Support and Swag Making December 9th, 2018.

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You know I love color.  Lots of deep saturated and bright colors. Purples, magenta, burgundy, copper. It all speaks my name.  But I will do lighter shades, and love to pair them with deep hues of greens.  Take a look at an order I put together for a client this Spring for a Local California Wedding.

Beautiful corsage for pin on with a natural English Garden feel. Small order for pickup, ordered online via our online store.

Unique and artsy Bridesmaid Bouquet ordered for a small local wedding in the Bay Area.

Fern accented boutonnieres for a wedding in Northern California.

I don't do a lot of pink and white, but when I do I the BLUSH out of it!

This beauty of a Bridal Bouquet was so fun to make. I love getting creative with the seasonal abundance available.  Spring is a great time for anemones and peonies of course!

G&G

This Spring (note the ranunculus, anemones, poppies, tulips and hellebores)

I created some beautiful artistic designs for an industry friend, Celine (of 24 East)

I used some of my favorite vases including this crackled low bowl, 

this handmade ceramic with a golden opaque creaminess

and this handy taupe tall rectangular vase.

The designs are all a bit wild, and of course, gorgeous and green! Using local grown flowers and branches grown in the spring.

Over the Summer my friend Michelle (of Le Dix Sept) invited me to attend a special jungle party at the Conservatory of Flowers. We got dressed up in our flowery and fauna-ey best, and got some food, drink and danced to some groovy music. 

It was right up my alley.   

Gorgeous and Green in the Forest

They had a cool light installation on the actual conservatory building.

I did some perusing of the local plants and this giant healthy maidenhair fern was one of my favorites. (and check out those leopard print shoes)

Fun event at the Conservatory of Flowers !

This floral design I created has nothing to do with the event, but it was a good ending note:

It's been about 9 years (woah!)  since I first blogged about floral foam and I'm still foam free.  I shared an old msds sheet for a popular brand of regular foam online so folks could see what was in it.  I even made some suggestions for more transparency, better alternatives.

Have companies offered alternatives in response? There are the new plastic cages from Holly Chapple that allow you to design foam free. But still, it's plastic. Would love to have seen a reusable metal version. There is also a biodegradable foam from a major brand that is said to biodegrade in under two years in a biologically active landfills.  But I have not heard anything about the msds cautions or if the formaldehyde and other toxins and carcinogens are still in this new formula. But, there is still plenty of metal chicken wire, and that is still what I depend on the most.

Florists all over the world are noticing that we don't need to depend so heavily on plastics and foam, and there seems to be more movement in this generation to go back to old methods of floral design without plastics. (I for one try to never use plastic vessels)  There is even an instagram movement to share foam free designs and to get more information about floral foam's effect on the environment and oceans on a molecular level. 

Let's continue to fuel this movement toward a healthier floral industry, including florists and the planet we live on.

Nothing quite like the drama of a black velvet backdrop to make your flowers float in luxury. This one's called the Muted Beauty.

From our daily offerings for bike delivery.

Apart from our usual daily offerings for local bike delivered flowers and gifts, we create designs special events and weddings.  Here are a few designs from a special event that required vivid florals and a genuine feel of Mexican art and culture.  I gathered some beautiful vases from an artist in Baja Mexico, and tried to translate my own experience of Mexican art and culture into the designs.  I think they came out well.

G&G

I love this vase.  It's ceramic, and reminiscent of a pickle jar.  So meet: The Fancy Pickle Jar arrangement by Gorgeous and Green. The wide mouth allows for a full and playful design that spreads wider than our other arrangements, and it still is floral foam free! We use some tape mechanics to help keep the stems of foliage and blooms in place.

Available for local delivery to Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville (by bike if available) 

Order online!