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Inspirations, Thoughts, Shares

We’re wild about bronze foliage

Carex “Cappuccino”, Coleus “Dark Star” and Heuchera “Melting Fire”

Persicaria “Red Dragon”

Acer “Burgundy Lace”

Libertia “Taupo Blaze”, Coleus “Dark Star” and Ipomoea “Bronze Sweet potato Vine”

Thicket has arrived!

Some of you have heard about our new venture “thicket”

Well – after a month of work on the space we are finally open. We have a clever little assortment of plants, modern craft and garden ephemera to inspire life lived in the garden.

Come and take a peek at our new garden space. We are on 23rd and Alberta just around the corner from Pine State Biscuit.

Here is a sneak peak at some of our fabulous finds, garden tools, supplies and plants, plants, plants!

Spring?

Is Spring finally here? March and April always have me fooled. Here in Portland, after months of dreary winter weather we get a splash of sun in February and it goes straight to our heads. We all sigh with relief and loudly proclaim “Spring is here” and then March comes along and brings driving rain and freezing temperatures and we are plunged back into winter. I try to console myself that at least my newly planted seeds are happy with the rain.

This year I expanded the cutting garden and am planting tons of new flowers and foliages. My favorite is a lovely and rare white nigella with a purply black center. We also have fragrant cleome, several new varieties of huechera, gobbs of new tulips, swallowtail columbine, hebe and 3 new varieties of hydrangea.  For the past few years I have been looking for this gorgeous variety of cut leaf coneflower that grows to over 6 feet tall and I have finally found it! There are no signs of the little seedlings showing yet but hopefully come summertime…. I just can’t wait for June!

The best time of year to have a wedding…

A winsome bouquet of garden roses, ranunculus, muscari, linten rose and parrot tulips – it’s like a poem for Spring.

Delicate boutonnières with roses twigs and mosses.

Muscari add a hint of blue to this bouquet.

A spring of daphne is enough to perfume the whole day.

Sunshine in the winter

This morning I woke up to snow! Beautiful as it may be, by afternoon – my coffee isn’t able to keep the chill out of the studio. So I am resorting to re-visiting the photos from one of my favorite weddings. Melissa and Minh just happened to choose one of the hottest days of the year for their wedding. Luckily – no one melted (not even the cake)!
 
Can you tell that Melissa is a dancer?

We created a bridal bouquet of solid gardenias! The fragrance was just intoxicating. But even with all those blooms – a sister steals the whole show!
Evrim Icoz was the photographer and as always he captured the event beautifully. I love this reflection image.

The De Soto Rooftop garden is one of the absolute best places to have a wedding in all of Portland. The view opens up to the city on one side and the green trees of the Park blocks on the other. As night falls the light dances though the space – it’s magical. Go visit them:
http://desotorooftopterrace.com/

Ahhhh summer…

The wedding ceremony was held under a trellis draped in sheer linen and string of blooms that filtered the sunlight beautifully.

Visit Evrim Icoz to see more of his inspiring work:
http://www.evrimgallery.com/

So many wildflowers…

I can’t help myself – just a few more posts of wildflowers as I wrap up my South American adventure. My husband jokes that we have 3 pictures of the glaciers and about 600 photos of tiny little flowers. But just look at how perfect they are. These tiny beauties are called streaked maidens. They seem to grow in the most rugged spots near the very tops of rocky outcrops where the wind drives them into a frenzied dance.

I saw these dog orchids in the guide book and said a little prayer “please please let me see just one”. On our first day in Torres del Paine I was lucky enough to spot one right by the side of the trail and bent down to admire the details. They have a sweetly curved stem with the flower head nodding very politely at the end and a beautiful touch of pink in the center – just gorgeous! I got lost looking into that little bloom. It wasn’t until I stood up to go that I realized that the entire meadow was filled with hundreds of them grouped together in little families. What a gift!
Dark green veins on a soft green leaf.
These tiny little red blooms are called waterfall plants and true to their name they grew at almost every waterfall we crossed.

I believe these are some sort of saxifrag. Unfortunately they are so small that most people don’t even notice them.

This was the trail leading to the Valle de silencio. I was lucky to have the entire trail to myself. Because there is no overlook or grand view the trail didn’t have anyone else but me, a beautiful red fox, tons of birds and more wildflowers that I could hope for.


Chocolate and Cream

As always Jos has captured this summer wedding with an eye for detail. This shot with the afternoon sun coming through the meadow is just magical.http://www.josphotographers.com/
This bridal bouquet was a wild and loosely gathered arrangement of orchids, kiwi tendrils, poppy pods and chocolate cosmos with a few hydrangea and fragrant roses as well.

This dress is so so so lovely with vintage inspired gathers and delicate lace details.

A desert wildflower hike in Patagonia

We are still traveling around Patagonia and every day has been filled with beauty. These flowers are from a short hike we did  outside the town of El Calafate. The hike isn’t in any of the guide books we just decided to make our way out of town and followed the river up to winding canyon. It was just beautiful and we had the entire place to ourselves! The picture above is of the Calafate berry. The locals claim that if you eat the berry you will return to Patagonia.      

Those of you in the Pacific Northwest probably recognize these lovelies, apparently lupine have a very large range.

These look very similar to our own “Spring beauties”

I had seen these diminutive little orchids in the guidebooks but hadn’t seen any. My husband decided that he was ready to turn back and head towards town but I wanted to go just a little further up the hill so he waited for me. After only about 100yards or so I came across this meadow filled with literally hundreds of these tiny yellow orchids – AMAZING! They covered the desert floor in swaths of soft yellow. My husband said he suddenly heard me break out into giggles and knew I must have found something beautiful.

These are called dessert alstromeria. The picture on the left is the plant before it blooms – it looks almost like a sea anenome. The soft peach and grey coloring is just gorgeous.

Drifts of these white blooms cover the roadsides.

Goodbye sweet canyon – thank you for a perfect afternoon.

Heart roses

This was a gorgeous wedding from last summer. I couldn’t wait for the photographers to send me pictures so I am posting a few images that we took the day of the wedding.

This is a new variety of roses called “Heart” They are big and lushious and open much like a garden rose with lots of ruffles and a delicate fragrance. So pretty!

Garden Vineyards is one of my most favorite wedding spots. It is so perfectly romantic.

We hung tiny vases filled with simple roses around the dance floor. They were especially pretty when the lights came on in the evening and the glass caught the light as they moved in a breeze.

A sweet little bunch of Gardenias

Our first day in Buenos Aires – I found a small corner flower vendor with bunches of fragrant gardenias. They call them Jasmines here. I bought about 30 stems for $3. I think I could live here!

Fall in Maine

We made it just in time for the last of a warm Indian summer and beautiful fall colors.

The funnest wedding ever!



Steven and Shannon incorporated all the things they love into their wedding celebration. It was simple and perfect. All the people they love – Great wine – Amazing food – And a little bit of funk! There were tons of little details that made this wedding one of a kind. From the  donkey greeting guests to the pinata over the dance floor – this party was like no other.

More cowbell!

If you have not yet had the opportunity to experience Salt and Straw go there today. It is quite possibly the best ice cream on the planet…

This great little trio led guests on a little parade up the hill to the reception site.

Can you say sassy.

Shannon painted tons of tins in bright fushia and orange for us to fill with blooms. She also added bands of gold to milk bottles and jars for a splash of shimmer – so lovely!

The couples sweet little camper doubled as a shady spot to get ready for the wedding as well as the perfect place to spend their wedding night together. Ahhhh – a camp under the stars in the middle of a vineyard and just steps away from the party!
Sherri Diteman shot these lovelies for us you can see more of her phenomenal work here:http://www.studioditeman.com/

Other vendors included:
Catering – Tabla Bistro – Simply some of the best food in Portland http://www.tmbistro.com/
Venue – Apolloni Vineyards – Ahhhhh how I love Oregon Pinot http://www.apolloni.com/

This just in from Lauren Brooks

These beautiful images just came in from Lauren Brooks photography. She has an amazing eye for light and form as well as the uncanny ability to capture the sweetest of moments. I just love the series of intimate images in the conservatory – she really captures the feeling of this lovely wedding.
Rain forced us to change venues at the last minute so we all rushed from Garden Vineyards over to DeArmond Garden estate where the conservatory provided shelter from the rain. Luckily the bride and groom were so kind, easy going and gracious that they were able to run with all the stress of the move and just enjoy the magic of their day.

 Please visit Laurens blog to see more pictures of this beautiful wedding:

http://www.laurenbphoto.com/blog/2011/carolyn-and-paul-july-17th-2011/#more-13413

A bright summer wedding at Apalloni winery

This wedding was so bright and cheery. It was such a perfect day – sunny – with a warm breeze to cool the meadow setting. Apalloni winery is a treat for the eyes as well as the palete….and this couple put together an amazing team of vendors to pull together their day. Being that the bride is a designer – you can see why so many details came together perfectly. Adam Berger from Tabla catered the dinner. Salt and straw brought out their sweet ice cream cart. And of course Lavish put on the finishing touches with bright blooms in an eclectic gathering hand painted tins, bottles and milk jars.

 

Peaches and pickles and plums – oh my!


The veggies have finally arrived in full force and I have more green beans and cucumbers than I know what to do with – so my sister, niece, mother and grandmother came for the weekend and we canned and pickled and laughed for 2 days straight. So much fun!

Amelia Ann Photography

These beautiful images just came in from the supremely talented Amelia Ann. I just love the soft filtered light coming through the trees. And the mossy leaf littered forest floor gives me goose bumps – it’s so romantic. What am I doing in the office – I need to get out for a tromp in the woods….
 


The woods

This wedding at Timberline Lodge was all moss and woodsey with mushrooms ferns and all sorts of lovely twiggy elements. For the bridal bouquet we used a mix of lush orchids along with maidenhair fern and soft golden gloriosa lilies. Even the cake was decorated with lichen covered branches and tiny mushrooms from the farmers market. Centerpieces were a mix of apothocary jars filled with wildflowers, vine maple and native ferns. We also filled french cloches with mosses and mushrooms….


This just in

Summer in the gorge in all it’s glory. This beautiful event was shot by the amazing duo of BB and Company – http://www.bbandcompany.com/blog2/?p=1034

Bon Voyage….


We had a few orchid blossoms left over from a busy weekend of weddings so we made a little raft and floated them down the river to the sea….

Photo shoot with Jos

The amazing Jos shot these lovelies for us – http://www.josphotographers.com/

http://loveandsass.com/
Tree from Love and Sass created some truely amazing hats and facinators for our little project.

Abra Faron makes these gorgeous parasols as well as  running a very cool photo booth for weddings and events.http://www.lolathephotobooth.com/

http://www.urchindesign.us/
Sonia form Urchin Redesign designed all the dresses, veils and capes for the day. I so want one of her pieces!!!

Our flowers were all sepia tones and soft muted hues for a vintage photo look.

Photo shoot at the brand new porch light

We were so lucky to be able to use the new Porch Light in the pearl. Go see their fabulous new space!!! http://porch-light.net/

Tiny magnolia blooms

I know – I know – apothocary jars are “so over” but I can’t help it – I just love them so!

I wanted to give the feel of vintage sepia tone photographs – so we uses all subtle hued blooms in soft muted browns and yellow for a far away look.

Photos by me

Ah peonies!

This wedding was at The Crystal ballroom and featured some of my very favorite blooms of all time – peonies!

Garden roses for a summer wedding by the river

The bridal bouquet was made with ranunculous, roses, lisianthus, peonies and scabiosas – too pretty!

Each bridesmaid had a bouquet with a different variety of garden rose.

Loose clutch of blooms for a casual centerpiece.

What a fun cake – we covered it with bright roses, sunflowers, lisianthus and snapdragon.

The dahlias have finally arrived!

Bunches of dahlias waiting for vases.
This bridal bouquet was a wonderfully wild arrangement of vibrant oranges and magenta mixed with bright green and earth tones.

Roses, gloriosa lilies, wild grasses, hebe, nigella and huechera – what a party!

The bouts were a fun mix of herbs and bright blooms tied with a moss and twine.

Centerpieces of simple willow wrapped around a loose clutch of dahlias, roses, blueplurum and berries.

We got rained out of the original location at Garden Vineyards but luckily we were able to dash over to the lovely DeArmond Estate. And all was saved.

Rain clouds loomed on the horizon but not a drop on the wedding party…..

Soft green

Sweet romantic bouquets of organic roses and green orchids

Cymbidium bouts for the guys.

Pretty in pink

Vintage blue canning jars overflowing with roses and peonies, Queen Ann’s lace and love in a puff – so sweet!

Antique photos of the family set on each table.

We were so lucky to still have peonies this late in the season. I guess a cold spring isn’t all bad.

The ceremony and reception was held at Langdon farms in the grassy fields.

The brides and maids bouquets were lush paves of sweetness – we can’t wait to see the images from the professional photographer. The bride was just gorgeous!

Photos by me.

Magical weekend

I spent a glorious weekend in the North Cascades working on a photo shoot with some of my very favorite things – Flowers, Horses and Fairies!!!

My mothers beach house

 Well it is is technically my parents beach house but my mother has it just how she wants it…

She has been making these lovely little log planters filled with wild native ferns, mosses and sweet perrenials.

So many vintage moments all through the house…

My parents just put in this sweet little driftwood fence.

The wild foxglove just plants itself wherever it likes.

Kathy’s garden love!

Little succulents cozy in a hollowed out beach log.

My sweet baby niece – all grown up and looking glamorous!

The sunshine is here!

We used local calla lilies, lambs ear and peonies with freesia and orchids for this soft dreamy bouquet.

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