Petals is excited to have begun hosting a series of informative and hands-on workshops at its beautiful location on 19 Queen Street in Hamilton.

During each workshop, one of our florists will guide you through the process of creating a design for your own home or to give as a gift, all while teaching you top tricks for working with flowers. Refreshments will be offered on arrival and all floral materials and decorations are included.

Christmas Workshops

We are thrilled to host a series of Balsam Fir wreath workshops but the format is a little different this year...

Where: Petals, 19 Queen Street, Hamilton

Dates:

Sunday, December 7

Monday, December 8

Tuesday, December 9

Wednesday, December 10

Thursday, December 11 - SOLD OUT - PRIVATE CLASS

Friday, December 12

Time: 6.00 - 8.00*

Start with a little holiday cheer. Cost includes refreshments on arrival, a 10" wreath, a red 'velvet' ribbon and decorations.

So how is this year different? Well, for one, we've lowered the cost. If you want to pimp out your wreath with lots more decorations, get a bigger wreath or change your ribbon for something a little sexier, you can choose from the many options we have available and simply pay the difference. The choice is yours!

Have your own decorations you want to use... bring them along and enjoy the lower price. Gotta love it!

Want a private class with a group of friends on a differrent date or time - to bring a group and come on a different day or time - let us know!

Maximum - 8 creative people.

Cost $85

Action: Contact us to reserve your place. Better yet, come with a group of friends! Call 292 7303 or nikki@petals.bm

Falling in love.

On the top floor of Takasyimaya, in a fairy tale garden, I saw my first Vanda Orchid. Its face appeared to seek out the sunlight, stretching and spreading across the wooden floor, entering between the impossibly tall buildings flanking Fifth Avenue. Blooms of soft lilac and white gingham suspended by invisible fishing line, danced between paper thin Origami Cranes, all hung weightlessly from this vast oak tree in the middle of the room. The memory remained and I cannot resist bringing them in as a secret reminder of how I fell in love with flowers. 

Being lost

I am not quite sure when my love affair began. Stuck in Vino Volo, on my way to Paris, I began working on the weekly flower order. Between flights (of wine) I carefully chose the flower vignettes - all on an excel spreadsheet. I tried to focus on numbers, forecasts and budgets but colour stories danced in my head impatient to be heard and translated, later, by my hands.

Like many things you secretly love, you deny their importance. Brush off their quiet charm. Distracted by something that demands your attention. It's easy to do if you're not careful. It's not until they're gone do you realize how much they're missed.

I got an email this morning from one of our growers about the order I'd placed. "Astrantia season finished. Sub?" I was lost; there was no substitution for this tiny flower that is both complex and playful. Its colours drawing you in. If you stopped. For a moment. And looked.

And just like that my love affair with work came to an abrupt halt. A quiet, unexpected death. I had spent the whole year racing from meetings to weddings to emails and on line night classes that I was missing out on the very things I love.

Call it age, call it wisdom, call it what you like but there is rarely a replacement for what makes you truly happy, just temporary distractions.  So stop and smell the roses or the coffee or whatever the heck it is that makes your eyes smile.  Make love while you still can, laugh until your sides hurt, look up from your work long enough to see the sun setting.  Your inbox will still be there. But most of all be present and grateful in each moment of each day. One day when you least expect it, it will be your last.  ,,,njb

Go Big or Go Home...

Love them. Hate them. There is no in between. Or is there? Carnations. After years of shunning carnations I decided to explore why I didn't like them. They were vibrant, lasted almost as long as orchids, were relatively inexpensive and not a day went by when someone doesn't come in asking for them. What was it about carnations that I was missing? After years of trying to convince people to explore something less traditional, I found myself turning to them. Revisiting my thoughts. 

Dianthus Caryophyllus

So I brought some in - 200 of them in fact in the hottest shade of pink. It was as if a sea of happiness had exploded, a pink field across the shop floor. But most of all, en masse, they were beautiful. It was then I realized I had converted. 

But enough about me, what do you think about carnations? Let us know in the comments below.

njb...

- NEW SERIES -

How Well Do You Know Your Flowers?

Each week we'll be selecting a flower and seeing how many people know what it is. It's no secret that I tend to make up names if I don't know what it is - You can blame my mentor, Mark Rose for that. Whether it is Greenaria Exotica (my name for greenery when I am clueless) or Chincharincharilla (instead of Ornithogalum), the names tend to spill off my tongue and delight me at the same time. 

So here is the first in the new "How Well Do You Know Your Flowers" series.  I am calling it "Tickled Pink" but do you know its real name? 

The Blushing Bride

Several years ago I designed a martini cocktail I called The Blushing Bride. Its colour is more intoxicating than its alcoholic truth serum effect. It's the colour of a child's rosy cheeks when they first wake. It is the colour of fat summer clouds infused with the dying sun just before twilight.   It is the colour of mystery and innocence. It is the colour of this miniature protea - aptly called Blushing Bride.

The flowers in the shop this week are vivid, carefree and exotic. But don't take my word for it - come in and see for yourself. As always in limited quantities, as always just for you.

Petals ~ 19 Queen Street, Hamilton ~ 292 7303
Your Bermuda Florist

...njb

Blushing Bride Protea

Lilac Allium - larger than a bowling ball

Phalaenopsis Orchids

Thistle

Vandela Roses by the armful

"Pineapple Roses" 

Anemones

Mango Calla Lilies

Coral Magenta Roses

A Handtied Bouquet with Hydrangea, Fresh Lavender, Aubergine Lisianthus and Mint

Sum sum summertime - it's madness!

So excited to be doing the weekly buy again. It's a crazy mental process of forecasting and dreamingm consulting oracles and past trends, looking at what sold well last year and balancing orders already on the board ensuring the correct quantities come in for bouquets and

Amanda's Shimmery Cards

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Amanda Temple's Art

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Alexandra & Darren: Bermuda Wedding

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