Edible Schoolyard Fundraiser

 

Hello new favorite color of old favorite dish towel.  Coming soon to a store near you!  I have gone a little dishtowel crazy.  Whole new bunch of designs of Le Jacquard Francais pieces just came in too.

I just love how the more you use them, the better they get.  Would that more things were that way.

A Late Winter Morning

 

Breakfast for one at my dining room table.  Loving the greeen and white striped vetivert runner down the center.  Oh yeah, practical and pretty, that's me.

Oiling the Wheels of my Imagination

I cannot really describe how delightfully blown away I was by these planted  sculptural pieces I saw at the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF).  One of the most exciting things I've seen in a long time.  From Princeton based, architect/sculptor/plant loving visionary.  Check out this link to see some of his installations Opiary.http://www.opiary.com

This is the intersection of nature and art at it's finest.

Wedding Season in Eugene

It's been wedding whirled around here lately.  Last night, we had a fun , homegrown bridal show called Brides on  Broadway with lots of our friends and downtown neighbors.   And that's pretty big for me since I mostly feel allergic to bridal shows.  One hint of white lattice and purple nylon and I start to feel a little headache coming on.  This felt authentic and real.  And it gave me the chance to put a big ole wedding dress right in the front window which I have always wanted to do.  Blush Bridal Boutique was kind enough to lend us one.    We had designer cocktails and cake to nibble and took lots of pretty photos. Thanks everyone for bringing it.  Party Cart, Red Wagon Creamery, Jane in the Woods Photographie, Charm Bracelet Rescue Project, and Noisette Bakery, it wouldn't have been a party without you.  Plus all my fun downtown neighbors kept it hopping. Find out more by checking out the Brides on Broadway Facebook page.

And yesterday Style Me Pretty featured a Passionflower wedding  that Sarah did the flowers for at Mt Pisgah last summer.  Which by the way I just think is a wonderful spot to get married.  If you're lucky some deer might come out and join your wedding party.  I've seen it happen at more than one event there.    You can check out the  Style me Pretty link here.  It was an unexpected surprise to hear from them.  

And next week we're making 10 bouquets for the Luxe Bridal Event at the Hult Center. Let us know if you'd like some free tickets because we can make that happen for you~!   In the meantime, it would just be lovely to have some real life brides come in and order flowers for their wedding. Because, we need something to keep us busy this summer! 

The Saga of the Frozen Flowers

"Our cooler is freezing."  These are words that strike fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned florist.

We've all had those fears.....You have a big wedding in your cooler and come in to find the thermostat went on the fritz overnight and it's all frozen.  What would you do?  Well I've asked myself this question many times.  And thankfully, I've never had to put the backup plan into action.  And I pray I never have to.   I had a rose supplier once who had his coolers backed up to an alarm system so if things got too cold, he was automatically called.  And the big boys all have backup generators and all kinds of bells and whistles to avoid this problem.  Little tiny folks like me we rely on ingenuity, diligence, keen observation, and dumb luck.  But, honestly, it never occurred to me that I might hear those words circling around Valentine's Day. Banish the thought.  Just inconceivable to think what might happen to have a cooler packed with morning deliveries all ready to go sitting in vases of frozen water.  And thankfully, yet again, my lucky stars were shining.  Because it wasn't until the day after Valentine's Day that Becky's surprised voice rang up in my office.  "Jewel, our cooler is freezing..."  And it couldn't have happened at a better time.  There was hardly a flower to be found in that cooler.  And the tulips and jasmine managed to even survive the tiny freeze.  It's only the second time in almost twenty years that our cooler has frozen up and it happened the day after my biggest floral day of the year.  I might say I dodged a bullet, but I feel more like I just surfed a big wave.  Feeling pretty darn grateful.

A Happy Valentine's Day to All

I like traditions and  I like the comfort of the turning of the seasons.  I guess it's one reason I like being in the flower biz.  I have a feeling  for the wheel of the year.  Like February means pussywillow and hellebore and fragrant jasmine.  And  many years ago Chris told me that she always puts her hummingbird feeder out on Valentine's Day.  And I like that kind of a tradition.  Doesn't always mean it has to be a big party with turkey and stuffing.  Some traditions can be private and kind of personal.  So I always try and trim my rose bushes (the one's that need trimming) and plant sweet peas right around Valentine's Day.   That's my little tradition.

Happy Year of the Snake

It's Chinese New Year and it's the Year of the Snake and so thought I'd share these images of some great Laura Zindel platters.

And a great print from Spicher and Co.  These are the complete and total snake offering chez Passionflower

and we love them both.  You know, the snake gets a bad rap - slithery little creatures that can zip their way in and out of anything....but they also shed their skins and grow.  Which gets me to thinking about those things I want to grow out of.  Because it's never too late.

photos courtesy Laura Zindel ceramics and Spicher and Co

Some thoughts on Love and Valentine's Day

You know there's all kinds of love in the world......there's platonic love, and familial love, and unconditional love, and then, there's the one that we make such a big hullabaloo about come Valentine's Day - erotic love....And I say,"Why not?".....Sex really is one of the best things about being human, n'est pas?   so why not celebrate the one you love with flowers, and candles, and oils and lotions and all manners of baubles and finery?  I put a little Valentine's album together for you to get you inspired.  You can check it out here.

(and p.s.  it's not to say we don't see lots of moms and sisters and friends sending each other little tokens of love....so yeah I guess it really does take all kinds of love to make the world go round.)

image from google

Falling in Love (Again)

 

Oh big yummy, I kind of fell in love with these napkins and dishtowels when I was in New York.  Hand block printed on organic cotton/hemp fabrics using all vegetable dyes!!!  But the good buyer (that's hopefully me in my good moments) is not blinded by love.  She backs up and wonders...hmmm.....how colorfast and sturdy are those vegetable dyes really going to be?  Will these get better and softer with age?  Can this one woman, handmade in the USA, show really produce the goods? 

 Satisfied with the answer to my questions, I decide to take the plunge.  Look for these charming dishtowels and napkins Chez Passionflower this spring.

I can hardly wait.

Naughty but not too Naughty

 

It was so much fun putting together Valentine's Day Cards this year.  We have a huge selection.

So come and get 'em!

Twisting and Turning

 

I had a rocking good time at the Gift Show in New York this year.  Look to my left and there's a handtinted,   classical Italian print that looks like they collaged a big tillandsia right in the middle.  

And look to my right and there's this big old twisted and turned sago palm.  Everywhere you look there is creativity and people pushing themselves to create something new and wonderful. 

The Coming of Spring

 

Happy Groundhog Day, Candlemas, Imbolc, whatever you choose to call it, this is the day we're halfway between the darkness of winter and the coming of spring.  Traditionally when lambs give birth, when the buds are swelling on the trees, when lighting a candle feels very hopeful  and when: 

"We see the the change of the year here from the darker days of Winter to the lengthening days of Spring. It is the first harbinger of spring, the assurance that the Wheel is turning and the long warm days of summer will return" (quote from Yahoo answers).  Can you feel it?

  And I am back from New York, getting ready for Valentine's Day.  Looking for pussywillow and hellebore and quince blossoms in my yard.  Everything seems a little behind not quite where it usually is this time of year.  And each day unfurling some new wonder.