Some people celebrate the unseasonably warm start to spring by donning flip flops and taking lunch outside to start working on their tan.  Floral designers are a little less enthusiastic, because we know it means the season for spring flowers will be over before it really begins.  80-degree weather in March ushered in summer flowers, so it was just in the knick of time that we held our Spring Bulb workshop here at Royal Bloom.  We procured some of the last daffodils, narcissus, and amaryllis of the year, along with tulips, which are available year-round.  

A great time was had with the amazing ladies attending this month's Royal Bloom Workshop! We learned about true bulbs and the difference between bulbs and corms, rhizomes, and tubers.  Students experienced hands-on how delicate bulb stems can be, and did a great job gingerly working with materials to create their own whimsical arrangements to take home. 

I splurged a little on the bulbs because I have a hard time passing up my favorites. They selected from a variety of tulips (parrot, French, double, fringed, standard), a hybrid ivory daffodil with peach center, a bright yellow daffodil, peachy pink hycinth, blue muscari, apricot amaryllis, and fragrant lily of the valley. They chose between two projects: a tall arrangement with  a dramatic branch of blooming dogwood as it's structure, or a cheery patch of wheatgrass filled with "planted" bulbs.

Happy first day of Spring, everyone! To those that still find themselves buried under mounds of snow, may this be a small ray of hope to encourage you that things are about to change. Poppies are strange and wonderful plants, rather finicky, but oh-so delicate and stunning. They have the essence of wildflowers, but don't be fooled, they are a high-end bloom, and around Silicon Valley, they are not simply growing in a field to be picked at whim. However, if treated gingerly, they put on a joyful show that is worth the investment. 

For this Atherton event, our client wanted to feel as though they stumbled upon a cheery patch of flowers in a meadow, with rustic bark, and wild grasses. We had to be sure the flowers  coordinated with the stunning  artwork that hangs where guest will be dining.  Well, you know we love a good theme at Royal Bloom! So we arranged a collection of poppies with maiden hair fern, sword fern, pieris japonica, explosion grass, hypericum berry, wheatgrass, poppy pods, and oregano, and then wrapped the base of the arrangement in cork bark. It was just the ticket! Looked as though this arrangement grew naturally in the shade of a great tree on the edge of a meadow in the Springtime. 

For this Menlo Park celebration, we coordinated the flowers with the palette of the couple's home & garden resulting in the sweetest little backyard wedding in March! 

Masses of ivory and sunny yellow petals lined the aisle leading to the garden arch draped in seeded eucalyptus, dusty miller, Butterscotch roses, daffodils, David Austin "Patience" English garden goses, snowdrop, cociea, and craspedia (Billy Balls).

One of my favorite moments of this wedding came upon our return after the event, to retrieve the rentals. The petals from the aisle runner had been joyfully strewn throughout the entire backyard and I could just see the children dancing and swimming in them like it had rained candy from heaven (a very common response to the beloved petal runners). It makes me so happy that our work brings joy to life's most important moments!

March. Still cool enough to enjoy Winter citrus, but just sunny and warm enough to coax the daffodils from the soil.  They don't look like much at first, but when they begin to unfurl their colorful, twirling skirts, it's like medicine for the weary winter soul.  

Even the ranunculus get pudgy this month...they are huge! There is a gigantic, new variety of ranunculus that sell for $20+  per stem, but this time of year, you might be able to find local ranuncs that nearly rival that, and naturally.

My sister-in-law, Velvet, helped me make these cheery arrangements for some entertaining up in Emerald Hills.  just can't get enough of this palette against the aqua glass. It makes me happy...even sitting alone at my laptop...I'm just a silly, smiling fool for this yummy combination! Ahhhh Springtime!