Chicago Botanic Gardens

These colors need to be seen more often this fall.

Free Flower Friday!

I'm excited to tell you that Darla, our Facebook winner, received her flowers this morning!
Here's a peek at the bouquet I dropped off.






I went for an English Garden look,
and used everything form ornamental cabbage to basil and rosemary, to zinnias and Queen Anne's lace.
Congratulations Darla, enjoy!

The Centerpieces

You saw the flowers here.  You saw the bridal bouquet here.   Now you get to see the centerpieces!

I was fortunate enough to have the fantastic talent of C. Chavis Photography come by and take some pictures of my latest - of course we included the cute little model.  I would recommend you get yourself a cute little model, mine really make the flowers look good!  

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Many thanks to Chris at C. Chavis Photography and to my little model!!

hot update

It is hot in Indiana, reader.
Too hot to go out, too hot to drive, too hot to do anything.
We went to the pool today and it felt so lovely and refreshing, until we loaded back into the car to go home. All that heat and humidity rolled over us like an unwelcome fog. But enough about bad heat!

Here is some good heat!
As I mentioned, my last bride chose hot pink as her main colors. Hot pink and white to be exact.
For her bouquet she wanted touches of hot pink, with the main flowers being white.





The flowers were a sort of Midwest-meets-the-tropics.
I used plenty of locally grown zinnias, hydrangea, astilbe and delphinium, adding more exotic cymbidium orchids and roses.
I especially love the white zinnias, many of them green or bordering on green. Is that green? Or white? The kinds of colors that make you look twice. I like those.

Thank you, of course to my lovely model, the Josie, my own exotic locally grown flower.

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An Anniversary

This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending a celebration in honor of my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's 15Th wedding anniversary. I had the distinct pleasure of creating four sweet little bouquets for each of their daughters to hold as they stood, along with their five brothers, on either side of their parents for a marriage blessing. What?! Nine kids? Yes, this is my sister-in-law, she of the 10Th pregnancy while running Tharp Events fame. We love each and every one of the people in that family.

Anyway! On to flowers!
Crista asked that each bouquet be a different color, to match each girl's favorite color.
Julia had blue, Beca took purple, Emi loves yellow, and little Ava held pink.
I took flowers from my favorite grower, added a few from my own garden, and came up with these sweet little bouquets.
I added two butterflies to each nosegay, to symbolize Chad and Crista, and mostly so the girlies would have something lasting to remember this day with.

The ceremony was beautiful, the "bride" and "groom" were lovely, and the girlies were sweet.








When trying to plan bouquets in different colors, the important thing to keep in mind is that they have unifying elements. All the bouquets were round, tight nosegays. All the bouquets had butterflies, and all were equal in size. The flowers matched because they all had a "just picked from the garden" feel. We didn't attempt to match orchids with daisies with gardenias.

You can keep your bouquets from being too perfectly matched as long as the pieces are cohesive. A similar style, type of flower or bouquet shape unifies separates into a whole.

How sweet they look with their happy smiles, and sweet bouquets!

Congratulations Chad and Crista, may you be blessed with many more happy years of marriage!!

We have a winner!

Is it 7ish yet?

I am sorry about the delay, we lost track of time at the beach.
My husband grew up with Friday night pizza on the beach, arriving just in time to watch the sunset.
My kids are growing up with the same.

So!
A winner!
Yes! We have a winner!

Erin S.!




Erin , I'll be by bright and early - maybe even before nine. Maybe.
If you are not up, I will leave them on your porch.

There will be more flower give aways, friends, so if your name wasn't drawn this time, just try again.
Thank you to all four! of you who entered. If we keep this up, your odds of winning will definitely stay good.

Free Flower Saturday!

I know, I know, the alliteration is all off.  These flowers are being given away today, so I suppose we could call it Free Flower Friday, but the delivery will be Saturday, so in the spirit of truth in advertising I'll ruin the flow of words.  You don't mind, do you?

Keeping in mind that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am imitating one of my favorite florists, Saipua, and doing my own Midwestern version of her Free Flower time.  The idea of giving a way flowers just because they make me happy and I want to make you happy as well just sits right with me.  You should check out Saipua, her flowers are so beautiful and natural and a little bit crazy.  Love the crazy.  If I lived in Brooklyn I would be parked on her doorstep a lot.  She also gives classes at The Little Flower School, and they look like so much fun!  Again, if I lived in Brooklyn....

Anyway, this is the Midwest.  Here in Chesterton, Indiana, we have beautiful flowers, and we just might have flowers for you!

Here's how it works:  to enter, please leave a comment on this post.  One comment per person, please.  Unfortunately I will have to limit entries to local people only (Northwest Indiana, please!).  You have all day to enter and if you want to diminish your chances of winning, please tell your friends!  At 7ish tonight we will randomly draw a name, and I will post the winner here.   Your flowers will be delivered to your doorstep on Saturday morning, just in time to decorate your freshly cleaned for the weekend house!  Or you could just shove that big stack of newspapers, magazines, empty mugs, and books off the coffee table and place the flowers there as a distraction from the mess.  Either way works for me.

Have a happy Friday!

hot!

It's not that hot out, really. It is perfect weather for an outdoor wedding, though! Yesterday I headed to LaPorte to pick up flowers from Becky at Green Trail Farm. She grows her flowers sustainably (translation: it's hard work), which I love. She grows a whole variety, which I also love. She does not, however, grow Gerber daisies. So today I headed to the wholesaler in Highland to round out the flower order.

This weekend's bride chose hot pink and white as her colors. A wonderful, bright combination for a bright summer day. They will marry at the watershed, which is the perfect backdrop. Hot pink dresses, bright flowers and a gorgeous location. Who could ask for more?

Did I tell you that I took all four kids with me to get the flowers in Highland? I did.
Usually the husband keeps them, but he could not today.
All went well. Until my Deli, my crazy monkey boy Deli, decided to jump off the loading dock.
I had gone down the stairs with all my children following me to get into the car (or so I thought), while the owner of the wholesale opened the dock doors to begin piling my boxes of flowers for easier loading. Guess which duck was not in a row?

The owner and I just had time to begin yelling "Don't!", when SuperDel flung himself from the heights. He landed on his feet, and then his hands, and then his face. Oh, his poor face. He now sports an enormous scraped up goose egg on his forehead. But if you ask him if he'll ever do that again he answers, "We'll see."

Those were today's adventures with flowers. I think no matter what happens tomorrow it will be much calmer.
The flowers look lovely, tomorrow the bride and her attendants will look lovely.
No one will have goose eggs on their foreheads, I hope.
I'll post pictures very soon.

Having flowers doesn't mean having to break the bank

As much as I would love each and every bride out there to spend a gazillion dollars on her wedding flowers, I know it can never happen.  And you know what?  That is ok.  I LOVE flowers and I would never spend a gazillion dollars on flowers.  Maybe you don't like flowers, maybe they are something less than an after thought when planning your wedding, or any event for that matter.  Maybe you just can't afford one more thing.  Still ok.

Any florist is happy to help you plan the perfect flowers for you wedding, party, bridge club, etc.  A good florist will listen to what you want, will work within your budget and will sweat bullets to make it look beautiful no matter what.  A friendly florist will give you ideas even if you don't end up hiring them.

If you just find it impossible to fit in yet another expense, there is always the DIY method.  There are pros and cons to doing your own flowers.  Fresh flowers cannot be made months or weeks in advance, they are most definitely a last minute detail.  If you don't enjoy crafting while stressed, you might want to step away from the flowers.  If you find great relaxation and joy in getting your hands a little green days before the party, then pick up some flowers and go!  Maybe you have a talented friend, or group of friends?  Buy a bunch of supplies and let them decide how they should work.  It might mean you will have to let go of the details (so hard!) and allow them to do what they think is beautiful, but in the end you will have a unique part of your wedding, lovingly crafted by people who mean the world to you.  Who doesn't want that?

Two weddings that have caught my eye recently - very recently, just a couple days ago! - are the weddings of Elsie + Jeremy at A Beautiful Mess.  You can click on over HERE to see how she made her own bouquet, but I would strongly recommend a perusal of the whole site.  The decorations and flowers and unique touches from beginning to end speak to joy and happiness and love.  (and my Josie is lobbying hard to get her hair dyed blue like one of the bridesmaids)

Maybe you are not looking for so much color and would prefer a more traditional white wedding.  With a twist.  You could take your cue from Erin + Jason at 100 Layer Cake.  From beginning to end it was hand made and lovely.  Her flowers were white, but with a twist.  Go HERE to see all the little details that added up to a beautiful and memorable day.  I love the hanging tin cans, what an interesting backdrop, while giving a nod to tradition.  Groupings of small vases are big this year, you could stay all one color, as Erin did, or go colorful.  Did you see her ball jar chandelier?  I hope Ball jars never go out of style!  And lastly, the cake table.  She asked women in her family to bring their favorite cake, frosted white.  What a lovely way to include family and make your wedding your own.

Cheers to both couples!  We wish them many happy and creative years together!

Just a reminder to you.  You can do whatever you want.  You can have lavish traditional bouquets, you can have small and simple bouquets.  You can make your own, you can hire a florist.  Be sure it is a good fit for your event and your personality.  Cheers on your day!

for next year's father

I wish I had seen THIS sooner, I would totally have made one!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads!

At the wrong time

The problem with funerals is that they never come at the right time. You never feel as if you were able to adequately say good bye, you feel as if you only had had a few more days, months, or years, you could have told that person exactly how much you loved them and exactly how much they meant to you. Just a little more time and you would be ready to say good bye.





But of course, no matter when we lose someone we love, we feel we never had enough time.
We are not ever ready to say good bye.
Any time there is death we want to do something, anything. We want to yell our love for that person, we want everyone to know just how great our loss is and how very much they meant to us.

Too often, a lovely expression of sympathy can become more than what it should be. We order extravagant arrangements in hopes that we can express that last moment of love. Of course we miss them. Of course we wanted more time together.

Of course they knew we loved them.

So before you send flowers for a funeral, think about the person you have lost.
What kind of person were they?
Were they bold? Larger than life? Exciting? Colorful?
Send something that speaks to their nature.
Send something bold and big and colorful and exciting!

Were they kind, gentle, demure, sweet?
Send something delicate and sweet.

Did they have favorite flowers or a favorite color?
Make sure the flowers reflect those preferences.

When you think of what you would like to send, think of what is most appropriate for your relationship with the person you loved.
Think about what made you both happy together.

And send what makes you smile.

Is this thing on?

So! By the looks of my last post it has been almost a year since I've been on this little Sugarfield venture!

It has been a while, hasn't it?  Let's start over, shall we?

wild raspberries beginning

I do still love flowers quite a little bit.  I took a break for so many different reasons, not least of which we had an elderly lady live with us for a year, and all of my attention was given to keeping our house running in a way that helped all of us thrive.  The kids needed attention, the husband needed attention, the elder needed attention, and well, so did I.  Our elderly friend does not live in our house any more which leaves me with ever so much time on my hands.  Back to you, dear Sugarfield.

I love the purple/green combination, don't you?

We took a jaunt to one of our favorite spots - the Watershed - yesterday.  You will be seeing quite a bit of this lovely landscape, seeing as how it is so close and changes every time we visit.

smelled like wild onion

It was chilly, so we stayed a very short while, but we are looking forward to many picnics, scooter rides, and walks at the watershed.  It is a beautiful place all year around.
 

Reminds me of gorse growing wild in Scotland.  I'd be happy to go back and compare the two.

What was happening while I navel gazed took these lovely flower photos?  Well, a little of that:

And a whole lot of this:

 

It is good to be back.  You can look forward to a few things here in Sugarfield land. I will be unveiling a new website - please be kind, I am new at this - offering some classes, and in general sharing what I do with all of you.  I hope to see you all back here in the future.  

 

*Disclaimer*

No actual children were harmed in the writing of this post.  In the playing of monster, maybe, but not in the writing of this post.

Summer Wildflowers

It is finally summer in Indiana!
I prefer cool mornings, followed by warmdays and cold nights,
but I don't believe it is everyone's idea of summer.

It hit the 80's and 90's here, so we deiced to take a walk around
the local watershed.

It is a beautiful place, full of flowers,
bugs, birds, toads and nature.

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I think my favorite part of the watershed is the complete relaxation
we feel as a family.
The kids laugh and play, my husband becomes the scary monster chasing them accross the walkways,
and I give a sigh and just enjoy,
a smile on my face.

bloom

I think this is my favorite time of month in the garden.
Everything is bursting.
The Echinacea, the Shasta Daisies, the Hollyhocks are going crazy.

One of our happier discoveries this year was of the plant you see below.
I always thought this was a weed, and it may be, but I've been to lazy the last 3 years to chop it down.
This summer my slothfulness paid off.



I think the common name for this plant is Evening Primrose, or Night Blooming Primrose.
One of our favorite evening activities is to now gather in front of this plant as dusk falls to watch it bloom.
As night falls, the tight little buds pop open and begin to unfurl.
We are able to watch as flower after flower opens and blooms.
They smell fantastic too.

Right now .... 10:03 pm

Closer to ready

Are we ready for this?