At 6:30am we were on a bus trip to the San Francisco Flower Market. Greeted with fresh coffee and donuts, we meandered through Brannan Street Wholesale Flowers and many other vendors taking in the visual feast. It was the floral equivalent of being a kid in a candy store. Throughout the market J Schwanke AIFD […]
San Francisco Touristing
My second day at the AIFD Symposium was a tourist day. After perusing the ‘must see’ brochures, I decided to take a walking tour of Haight/Ashbury, the hippie mecca of the 60s. Stan, the tour guide was a walking encyclopedia. Everyone we passed seemed to know him, there was a real community feeling in this […]
Floral Designs at AIFD Symposium 2011
At the beginning of July I had the good fortune to attend the AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers) National Symposium in San Francisco, a working vacation you might say. The theme this year was ‘Imagine – Dream, Create, Share.’ When I arrived at the hotel I immediately knew that I was in the right […]
It’s All About Design
Two of Martin’s staff members recently attended the fabulous Symposium of AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers). It was held from July 4 to 9th in San Francisco. The theme of the event was IMAGINE: DREAM. CREATE. SHARE. Leading floral designers from around the world showed their current style in front of an audience that […]
Soft and Pretty Flowers
Astilbe is a fluffy-looking flower that is growing in gardens south of Toronto at this time of the year. It’s a perennial that should make an appearance in neighbourhood gardens in the next few weeks. Like lilacs and peonies and lily of the valley, the season for these flowers is short. We absolutely love to […]
A Study in Texture in Floral Design
Here is an arrangement we made recently that is rich in texture: The flowers used are Pincushion protea, coral roses, Dusty Miller (the gray-green leaf) and grevillea (the thorny-looking leaf). The arrangement has all the attributes of good design: structure, balance, colour harmony, etc. but with an accent on texture. The Dusty Miller is soft […]
Highlights from Canada Blooms
We paid a visit to the Canada Blooms show yesterday. What a breath of spring! The gardens were amazing… it only took a little imagination to picture yourself sitting in the sunshine in this peaceful place, with water flowing and plants growing and music playing… ah, can’t wait! But for us, the most important part […]
Creative Beach Theme Arrangement
Here is a fun design by Shastyna. She calls it, “All Washed Up.” Looks like someone has been walking on the beach, gathering shells and stones. The arrangement is in a large 12″ tall vase. Mitsumata branches form the upright structure of the design. White lysianthus looks as fresh and delicate as sea spray. Of […]
Design Contest Winner!
Congratulations to Cathy Hillen-Rulloda of Avante Gardens Florals in Anaheim, CA! She is the winner of the March Madness Floral Design competition featured on Real Florists Blog. What a fun contest it was! You can read Adam’s gracious post conceding defeat at the Belvedere Flowers blog. Congratulations to both finalists!
Creation of our Canada Blooms exhibit
After months of thought and planning, our design for Canada Blooms 2010 is done. Click below for the video! Canada Blooms Display by Martin’s Beautiful deep red “Black Magic” roses are enhanced with black callas, “Freedom” red roses and ti leaves. Black velvet drapes the container, and shiny black hosing loops through the design. On […]
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