In Winter, We Talk Flowers!

Designing for winter weddings is always a welcome distraction from the the frigid weather and associated shoveling.  However there is even more fun to be had when we are invited to speak and present floral design to those who love flowers as much as we do.

This month we were invited to take part in the “Winter in Bloom” exhibit at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.  Their annual Five Weekends of Flowers event is a crowd pleaser, complete with garden tours (indoor ones of course), horticulture talks, demonstrations, and a plethora of floral exhibits.  

Professional designers were the first called upon to showcase floral work, doing so in a way that tied into the venue's indoor landscaping. Of course the O Luxe Design team came along with a few designs of their own, plus we had the added pleasure of performing spring-themed design shows for three of the five weekends.  

Weekend One brought the New Members welcome reception, where we had demonstrated fun spring florals at a time when the weather was pretty much at its worst (subzero, borderline arctic).



Honor and I had a blast regaling 150+ guests with fresh tulips, ranunculus, and tilandsia for the full hour.  Due to the size of the crowd, the design show was split into two portions where we were able to demonstrate casual design first, then something a bit more formal and elegant.  Fellow colleague Cody Burgess of Cody Burgess Photography was also onsite capturing the evening and our work so beautifully.

Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography

Image Credit Cody Burgess Photography
Weekend Two was Garden Club weekend, where local clubs were invited to display floral work of their own.  Our presentation for that afternoon centered around earthenware vessels and more spring flowers - a reprieve from the blizzard that had occurred just two days prior.  Who wouldn't love a few dozen roses and some hellebores when it's so cold out that your face hurts?

See how happy flowers make people?  Our design staff is no exception.

Our last show for the series took place on Artists & Makers weekend, where local artists showcased work throughout the museum’s interior.  Our challenge?  Interpret a selected piece of artwork (with flowers) live in front of an audience and we ere lucky enough to be paired with Mary Kocol's "Nasturtiums in Ice" piece, from 2012.  The fine art image depicted frozen flowers in ice sculpture form, bathed in the beauty of sunlight.  It was tricky at first figuring out how to present "simulated" ice and to find blooms that complemented the nasturtium (which is by no means in season at the moment).  In the end the finished design drew admiration from the crowd and from there we knew our job was done.

Those Poppies though! 
The stage set and ready.
Shown in the upper left, "Nasturtiums in Ice".  Bottom Right, our interpretation of the artwork.
It never ceases to amaze us just how much power flowers have to boost morale, change the mood of a room, and brighten the day of anyone who simply stops to take a look at them.  

As long as this is the case, we will always make time to share our love of design with other flower fans.  Many many thanks to Tower Hill Botanic Garden for inviting us to be part of Winter in Bloom 2017.  Until next year, stay warm and hold on to the colorful reminders above that spring is just around the corner.

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