Topiary

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, topiary is the art of training, cutting, and trimming trees or shrubs into odd or ornamental shapes.  I love creating the traditional topiary shape seen in English gardens with floral arrangements!  It gives me the opportunity to play around with colors and different blooms within the context of the unique yet familiar shape of a topiary. It's a great way to add height and to use branches.  Also, since it utilizes a lot of prop building, I get to use power tools, pvc pipes, cement and other "manly-man" materials along with flowers. I also love giving my clients the option of using something different from a glass vase.

A topiary arrangement with blue titinium, white stock, white roses, and salal. The couple was only allowed floor arrangements at the church for their wedding. They wanted height in their flowers but they weren't allowed to use any stands or pedestals.

I used a tall cylinder vase to capture the illusion of a topiary.  The flowers were actually arranged in a wreath to allow tall branches to shoot out of the center. 

 I wanted to created something different from the single linear shape topiary.  I covered my mechanics with geranium leaves. 

Here is a very traditional topiary that allowed me to use ribbon to complement the colors of the arrangement.

So I think I misnamed my blog. No, I know I did because creating flowers for weddings and special events is not work for me. It's my passion and one of my sources of happiness. It's my second baby, the first one being a lovely 3 year old boy named Matthew.   Whatever the name of my blog is, I wanted to create a space where I can give more background information on my floral designs, the events they are made for, and the people that are celebrating these special events.  I wanted a space to post pics I took with my phone when I'm on site setting up or step by step pics of my creations without having to wait for proofs from a professional photographer. So here we go, I finally took the first step of making my blog! Here's a sneak peak of my next post where I discuss my adventures in topiaries, terraniums and teacups.