Summer Blooms

It's mid-August, and it's that time of year when flowers really love to show off. Love it! Here are photos I took of my most favorite summer flowers from the last two months.

foxgloves: I hope for a chance to arrange with these flowers soon.

clematis: I haven't had a chance to design with these flowers either. I found them at the flower mart recently, but they were so expensive! :(

chamomile: they make such a charming filler flower.

delphinium: not too many flowers that are naturally blue, so I love these flowers!

allium: another flower I would love to use in a design.

sunflower: how can you not smile when these flowers are around?!

roses: July's flower of the month

zinnias: another happy flower and a favorite of butterflies. They come in vivid red,yellow, orange, pink, green, and purple. I tried to grow these in my backyard as I heard and read that they are easy to grow.  They didn't grow, unfortunately. I don't think my yard gets enough sunlight and I didn't water them! Oops!

lilies: I love their scent, and as a floral designer, I love that they are long-lasting!

dahlias: to me, they symbolize late summer (August's flower of the month, too)

hydrangeas: it seems to be the favorite of many. 

yarrow: I used these flowers at a flower arrangement class with young girls, and they loved them for their awesome texture (reminded them of honeycomb). 

I also love hibiscus. It's Hawaii's state flower and they love the sun and heat. 

Flower of the Month: Dahlia

For August, let's talk about dahlias, which are, in my opinion, truly works of art! The dahlia comes in lots of varieties, sizes (from small, ball types to dinner-plate types) and colors (red, white, yellow, orange, burgundy and fuchsia). Because of their tremendous beauty, just a single stem in a small vase looks spectacular. I also have a soft spot for this flower because as previously mentioned, I started learning floral design last summer. As they start to bloom here during the middle to late summer, I practiced a lot with making floral arrangements using dahlias, which were plentiful at the local farmers' market when I was initially learning how to design.

Some tips I've learned about buying and arranging with them:
1. They start to wilt from the outer petals toward the center, so I check the back of the flowers for freshness.

2. They wilt easily. It helps to get rid of foliage to make them last longer.

3. Unfortunately, vase life is around 5 days.

Here are dahlia photos from my visit last week to the Biltmore House, the awe-inspiring family home built by George and Edith Vanderbilt. What a spectacular place! I highly recommend a visit if you are ever near Asheville, NC area. It was mind-blowing to walk around the garden, and this time of the year, the dahlias were showing off.

check out the bees on the above picture

New York City's Flower District

Manhattan's flower district on 28th Street, between 7th and 6th Avenues, is quite impressive. It comprises of wholesalers with storefronts offering greens, branches, potted plants, local/imported cut flowers, silk flowers or tropicals. In addition, there are vendors selling floral supplies and vases. If you are visiting and looking for a fun, relaxing activity in NYC where you can surround yourself with beautiful flowers you may not have seen before, I highly recommend checking out the area. Most, if not all, of the vendors will sell to anyone off the street and not exclusively to resellers. The best time to go is around 10am after the morning rush (note that some shops may be closed by noon since they open way before dawn). For those in the floral trade, be prepared to swoon at the flowers readily available to NYC florists.  

Just some of my favorite photos from my visits:

dahlias and I think, gomphrena

blue thistle and ornamental peppers at G Page

late fall sunflowers and hydrangeas

blooming spring branches

ranunculus (March's flower of the month)

astilbe adds such a charming texture to any arrangement (photo taken at Dutch Flower Line)

mango calla lilies 

more pretty hydrangeas

a vendor specializing in different types of high-quality roses--A Rose by Harvest

Los Angeles Flower District

Last October, I had the chance to visit Los Angeles to see a friend I haven't seen in a long time. I made sure to visit the city's famous flower district while there. The Los Angeles Flower District is the largest market in the country (six blocks long! 200 wholesalers!). Any flower you can think of, they have it there! I opted to take a tour with Flower Duet, which is a floral design studio owned and operated by two sisters that offers tours once a month. They've been in business for about 15 years so they obviously know their stuff. The tour was two-hours long, and I learned a ton about purchasing flowers (like their favorite vendors, how to tell if the flowers are as fresh as can be, etc). Plus, it was so great to finally see flowers that I have only seen in magazines and blogs in real life!

While there, I made sure to take pics of my favorite flowers. I took so many. Here are just a few of those pics:

stock (i love their sweet scent)

dahlias (the favorite of many 'cause for obvious reasons)

green trick dianthus, so quirky and fun! 

ranunculus, so dainty and pretty 

succulents!