You could taste the softness...

I have never eaten a flower unless it was the edible kind but more often than I would confess, I have gently and slowly brushed a bloom's petals against my cheek, lost in the feel of its softness. The Vanda orchids arrived last week. Only two in a box. Their petals looked softer than antique velvet. I had seen the colour, this wonderful mix of dark chocolate and the royalest of purples, and knew I could not resist getting them. I had a client in mind who I knew would fall in love at the mere sight ~ and out it went for delivery.  

I lifted the remaining orchid to my cheek; it was even softer than I could ever have imagined; such is the beauty of a Vanda orchid.... njb

 'Miss Piggy'

Hydrangeas 

 Hypericum

Sweet Pea 

Lilac

 Eryngium "Thistle"

Gerbera

Trachelium

Bouquet with Red Naomi Roses and Lavendula

 Tulips 'Black Jack'

Anemones 

Bouquet with Roses 'Miss Piggy', Hypericum, Phlox and Limonium

Dendrobium Orchids

Roses 

 Forsythia

Lavendula

 Phalaenopsis Orchids 

Vanda Orchids

A Bouquet for a Bermuda Wedding

Cars drove up laden with exquisite jewelry and flowers by the bucket load. Women's dresses, in earthy hues and made of delicate gossamer, fluttered in the crisp cool breeze. Men's afternoon jackets and pink ties hung sober on a hanger. Everyone had arrived and with a purpose. I was empty handed. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought it was a fashion conspiracy. 

There is something completely enjoyable about putting together a photo shoot. Just days beforehand we thought we'd take advantage of the flowers that had arrived for the bouquets for our booth at Anthony's Bridal Show. Alexandra Mosher had brought delicate pieces from her Bermuda collection: spoils of cufflinks, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings were spilled across Amanda's dining table begging to be picked. I was there to add my two cents worth i.e. to style. And so, under our collective watchful eye, what had only been an idea, came beautifully together.  

Huge thanks to our models, Jadiyah and Weldon, who posed for hours as the dappled winter light fell to dusk.   

Take one...

moment to see, to truly see the intricacies of each flower,
the startling differences of each bloom,
the uniqueness of each person with whom we interact,
the fleeting sense of each moment,
the quickening of your heart, the resignation or the aching sadness
or the sheer joy of each memory locked in your mind.

Recognize each for what they are. No more, no less.
But how, woven together, they create this rich tapestry called life.

Flowers are the same. Each evokes a memory, a smile, a love/hate reaction.
Whether you are drawn to a colour, a style: the fussiness or simplicity of each.

Flowers on a casket, lavender in a sachet of your mother's chest of drawers,
a single sunflower at the end of your bed - left with love.

Amanda had arranged a selection of this week's flowers brought in for the Artist's Exhibition. Creating her own tapestry that pleased her eye. And satisfied, she stepped back to capture her work. Again seeing the uniqueness and beauty of each bloom.

What do flowers mean to you?

...njb