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

Spring flowers

Summer solstice occurred just two days ago. I feel like this past spring was more beloved than any other due to record-breaking and long winter. I love Chicago but our winters are torturous! It was great to finally see the ground after four months of snow cover. Spring blooms were so delightful to see and smell for those of us who were winter-weary.

In celebration of spring, here are pics of my favorite April, May and early June blooms as seen in gardens around the neighborhood and the flower markets:

snowdrops are one of the earliest spring flowers to bloom and often don't wait for the snow to melt before emerging

tulips, of course (may's flower of the month)

anemones

sweet peas

daffodils (April's flower of the month)

 hyacinths - smells like heaven

magnolias

grape hyacinths (aka muscari)

lilacs - smells so amazing it breaks my heart

peonies, the queen bee of the season (also June's flower of the month)

ranunculus (March's flower of the month)

irises

And now, bring on the summer flowers! Hydrangeas, roses, dahlias, zinnias and more!!!

Flower of the month: ranunculus

I've decided to start a new series on this blog: each month, I will highlight one of my favorite flowers of the season.  

For the month of March, it's the beautiful ranunculus, a predominantly spring flower. I absolutely love ranunculus. They resemble small garden roses and peonies with petals like tissues and a mild scent. They come in a variety of colors except for blue and black. They have delicate and hollow stems, which are unfortunately prone to breaking. It's also prone to rotting, so the water level in the vase needs to be kept low. Water should also be changed often. If cared for properly, their vase life is 7 to 10 days. They're high-maintenance flowers but so pretty and definitely worth it! 

 at the flower mart

boutonniere 

an arrangement with stock and dusty miller

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!