Flower of the Month: Stock

For January, let's talk about stock. What a terrible name for an all-around great flower! It has clusters of small florets on a spike with a single stem. Their sweet clove-like fragrance and eye-catching texture make them a great addition to any arrangement. Floral designers love them because they can add line and mass to an arrangement. They come in white, cream, yellow, peach, pink, red or lilac. They are relatively cheap and available year-round with January through October as the peak season. Unfortunately, stock is susceptible to mildew, so changing the water daily and removing foliage below the water line are key tasks.

Some of my arrangements using stock:

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!