Bringing in the New Year

I don't know about you, but I'm bringing in the New Year with someone I love.  We had a nice home cooked meal and are kicking back.  I think of all the fun arrangements I did and also expanded my education through the Floral Design Institute.  I'm planning an art installation in a public place and recycling at the same time and combining art and flowers.  I foresee exciting things happening in my future.I will be enjoying  my way through life just by creating with two of my loves, art and flowers. 

The New Year is full of hope, peace, and love.  Spread the love through flowers and show the man, woman, or child in your life you love and adore them through flowers.  Men love flowers too, they might not tell you because they might not think it's manly, but they do.  Your local florist can do some really cool Ikebana arrangements that are on the masculine side...go ask your favorite florist!  Many like outdoor plants, you can ask your local florist and if you're calling long distance, many florists have local nurseries they do business with to give a gift of outdoor plants.  Winter is a hard time to buy outdoor flowering plants, but Helebores are wonderful to give gloomy Winter days a little color.  I personally like their leaves for texture in arrangements as well.

Need more color in your arrangements?  Ask your florist to do a Flemish arrangement with lemons, they can get expensive, but the color is great to brighten your New Year's!  Happy New Year's to one and all and God Bless everyone!

http://www.edenscapes1.com

Christmas smells!

Don't be  alarmed about the title as I was referring to the pine, juniper, and cinnamon.  As my hands are covered in sap and my nose is being inundated with these awesome smells, I wonder how many people out there are ordering Christmas flowers.  As a  lot of homes have artificial trees, isn't it a wonderful gift to give someone a centerpiece with a  bird's nest in it.  (The nest comes from a German belief that it brings good health and luck.)

The following came from Ubloom and I  thought it was lovely sentiment:

The Legend of the Christmas Rose...

As Madelon tended to her sheep one cold and wintry night, Wise Men and shepherds passed by Madelon's snow-covered field bearing gifts for the Christ Child. Following, Madelon saw the Magi present gold, myrrh and frankincense to the baby...even the humble shepherds had brought fruits, honey and doves to give to the babe...but Madelon had nothing, not even a simple flower for the Newborn King. Standing outside the stable where Jesus had been born, poor Madelon wept, wishing that she had a gift she could carry to the infant. A watching Angel, taking pity on Madelon, caused the snow at the feet of the small girl feet to vanish, thus revealing a most beautiful white flower whose petals were tipped with pink, formed by the Angel from the tears which had fallen from the eyes of the little shepherdess. Overjoyed, Madelon presented her gift at the manger of the baby Jesus...her gift of the Christmas Rose.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and may you receive a centerpiece with a nest in it!

Dahlia Care

I have a wedding to do next August with dahlias.  I knew to put the fresh cut flower stems in water that I boiled for a few minutes.  But I have just learned that if you harvest them the night before, boil and pour into a heavy vase and then put your dahlia stems (cutting off lower foliage) in the hot water, making sure they face outward so as leaves won't be damaged by steam, and then leave overnight to cool to room temperature, your flowers may last up to 5 days afterwards. Normally, you get about two days after you cut them. You can cut your stem off to any length afterwards cutting the brown area off left by the boiling water.

Remember that dahlias are heavy drinkers and if you are making your own bouquets, they need water, don't let them sit out when not in use.

Thanks to Leanne @ Floral Design Institute for her extra tidbit of info!

If you would like to order flowers:  http://www.edenscapes1.com

You can see what others have said about EdenScapes on trip adviser.  I've had several surprised visits from people who found me through them and told me that I had some great reviews.  It was a nice surprise.

You can also find me on http://www.bloomnation.com and put in 98362

I'm on facebook:  put in search for Peacock Florist and Gifts

Autumn Textures

Autumn with it's orange, red, and yellow colors are lovely, but they really come alive when you bring in texture.  You can do the most marvelous designs using linear grouped with texture.  Take the sunflowers tied in with curly willow and put a small jack o'lantern at its base and you evoke a feeling of a haunted landscape with all the twists and turns.  Then if you make a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, and flowers and add in curly willow evoking twisting and turning around the fruits & vegies you evoke a feeling of warmth.

I am still getting dahlias from my garden.  The textures on each color are different.  You can take a variety of different grasses clustering them together, bending them and tying or leaving them to sprawl long or short, they give dynamic accent to your arrangement.  Hydrangeas can be gotten year round.  If you take a pale green hydrangea and match it with some jade roses playing off the textures and throw in some kermit lime green mums and some bear grass you're on your way to a pleasing, calm arrangement.

So my advice is to get some large and small textural flowers, some linear foliage and flowers such as curly willow, bells of ireland,  or safari leucadendron which is a varigated stiff foliage that is just gorgeous and full of upward texture.  With all the points of design, I would have to say texture is my favorite.  I want to look at a painting and believe that I can reach out and feel the touch of texture.  It's the same with flowers.  I have always learned best by doing it myself and feeling the different layers of whatever I'm doing whether it be art, flowers, or cooking.  Texture brings things alive!

http://www.edenscapes1.com
trip adviser - edenscapes
facebook - peacock florist and gifts

Order direct

This a simple request...order direct.  If you have a computer, just put a telephone number or the florist shop in the search box of google.  You don't know either one?  Put florist and the town and state in the box.  There are order takers that are charging  as high as 27% on their end, sending the order out, and if the minimum hasn't been met, the filler of that order will make a smaller arrangement so they don't end up getting screwed.  The simplest solution is to order direct!

Some order takers will make impossible designs to make due to camera manipulation.  Not all flowers face the front.  Not all flower shops keep the same flowers in stock especially due to this economy.  Don't get me wrong, they can still make beautiful arrangements and your best bet is order designer's choice.  You usually get more for your money.  Just give them a price of the flowers, delivery is usually around $15 and then figure tax into it.  So a $55 arrangement + $15 delivery + tax is $5.88=  $75.88  Flowers aren't cheap, but it is sure to bring a smile and pick up one's happiness every  time the receiver looks at them.  It tells them they are loved and cared about and that helps morale right there!

So two things to do...Order direct and give the colors you'd like and say designer's choice!  Make everyone smile, including your florist!

http://www.edenscapes1.com
We are on facebook...Peacock Florist and Gifts...hit like
We are on Trip Adviser ... EdenScapes

Autumn

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, plus the fun holidays.  I'm inviting friends and neighbors for a Halloween party and having best costume and best decorated snack.  I've made bats out of egg cartons and ghosts out of maple leaves.  I will make an autumn Halloween pumpkin arrangement with sunflowers.  If you want to do an arrangement in a pumpkin, you'll need to spray the inside everyday with bleach water to keep decay away.  Also find a container to fit the hole snugly. You can go to my website:  http://www.edenscapes1.com and order or you can say designer's choice with ideas and colors you'd like and a price range.

Look us up on facebook under Peacock Florist and Gifts.


http://www.bloomnation.com/port-angeles-peacock-florist/autumn-pleasure.html

Flower Jokes

A few flower jokes to liven up the day:

"What does the letter "A" have in common with a flower?
They both have bees coming after them."
-  Kim Roblin 


If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims.


What do you call a grumpy and short tempered gardener?
A SnapDragon.



What kind of flowers do you give to King Tut?
Chrysanthemummies.



A man walks into a flower shop "I'd like some flowers please."
"Certainly, Sir. What did you have in mind?"
He shrugs "Well I'm not sure, I uh, I uh, I uh..."
"Perhaps I could help.  What exactly have you done?" 


A new business was opening and one of the owner's friends wanted to send him flowers for the occasion.  The flowers arrived at the new business site and the owner read the card: "Rest in Peace."  The owner was annoyed, and called to complain.  "Sir, I'm really sorry for the mistake, and sorry you were offended," said the florist. "But even worse, somewhere there is a funeral taking place today, and they have flowers with a note saying, "Congratulations on your new location."
  

What do you call a country where the people drive only pink cars?
A pink carnation. 


What do you get if you cross a dog with a daisy?
A colli-flower. 


To order flowers go to:   http://www.edenscapes1.com  or go to facebook to keep in touch.  Search for Peacock Florist and Gifts and hit like. 
 

 

Halloween Decorations

I have been working on Halloween decorations lately making ghosts out of maple leaves and bats out of egg cartons.  Now I'm thinking of flowers for our Halloween party.  How about a dozen  blood red roses decorated with vampire teeth?  Or maybe a dozen bi-colored yellow and red tipped roses with a ghost or a pumpkin?  Of course, if you follow the 'Twilight' saga, you could order chocolate anthurium or peppermint carnations.  If you're having a party, why not give best prize for costume, decorated snack, or carved pumpkin...a small, but beautiful flower arrangement.  You can easily take the Halloween decor off and it transforms into a Fall Thanksgiving bouquet.  A little tip to preserve your pumpkin after carving it is to spray bleach water inside every couple of days.

To order flowers:  http://www.edenscapes1.com

http://www.bloomnation.com  and put in 98362 for the zip code if you're local.

You can find us on http://www.tripadviser.com   Edenscapes

or on facebook:  Peacock Florist and Gifts

Hydrangea

A simple home remedy when putting hydrangea into floral foam and making it last longer is to dip the cut end into alum.  This came from Leanne @ Flower Design Institute.

Look us up on facebook:  Peacock Florist and Gifts.  We are on Trip Adviser, read some of the testimonials.  You can find us on www.bloomnation.com and put in 98362 or www.edenscapes1.com

We look forward to hearing from you, Anne & Jack Peacock

You can easily arrange flowers

You can easily make floral arrangements for yourself or your church or friends.  Go to your nearest craft store and buy a few supplies or ask to buy them from your local florist.  Supply list:  Bubble Vase, clear adhesive floral tape, sharp knife, aquafresh packet, sweetpea flowers, 3 different foliage. 

Go to Wal-Mart if you can't find a bubble vase at a thrift shop or the Goodwill store.  Fill your vase 1/2 way with aquafresh.  You can get a packet from your local florist.  This has flower nutrients and anti-bacterial inhibitors in it.  Make sure your vase is clean and dry.  Then you will need some clear floral tape to make a grid. Try to do 3-4 lines across and then 3-4 across the other direction.  Once you make a grid, you need to take tape all the way around to fasten all those pieces of tape down around the outside. 

Okay, here's the fun part.  Go out into your yard and gather 3 different foliage.  Not only will these give your arrangement interest because of the different textures, but they also give a weave to hold your flowers in place.  We are going to go monochromatic, which means one color.  Sweetpeas work wonderful in this because they have beautiful texture and are short enough for the vase.  You want them to be 1-1/2 times the height of the vase, the taller flower being in the middle and tiering down to shorter around the outside. Easiest way is by doing triangles and make sure you drop them below the line of the vase to break the plane and give your arrangement some points of interest. Don't be afraid to take foliage or flowers out and re cut them down to size.  You don't want anything to be overwhelming, especially foliage, it's only a support for your flowers.  You want it to be light and airy.   If you don't have sweetpeas, try something else that you can fill that is simple, monochromatic, and has texture.  White lilies work well for funerals and weddings.

Cut your flowers at an angle with a knife.  Don't cut with clippers because you crush the stem which creates air bubbles and your flowers will droop.  Cutting at an angle gives more space for your stem to drink water.  Make sure there is no foliage in the water because this will cause bacteria and rot your flowers.

To order flowers from me:  http://www.edenscapes1.com  or go to http://www.bloomnation.com and put in zip code 98362 You can go to facebook and put Peacock Florist and Gifts into the search and hit like.