Peonies are a favorite for most people in late spring! The showy blossoms emit the sweetest, rarest fragrance, and the fleeting time period they are available makes peonies all the more desireable. Stunning on their own or mixed in with textured, seasonal stems, peonies offer a happy, pastel note to any room.
I made this arrangement with:
peony
reflexed roses
mustard flowers
climbing roses
peony greens
rose greens
honeysuckle
privet
scented geranium
Privet is such an underrated filler! I loved mixing it in here. The Cecile Brunner climbing roses were cast-offs from a local landscaper. They have a very unruly, unkept look about them which contrasts so beautifully with the perfectly formed peonies. The climbers add a wild note to the arrangement to keep it from being overly sweet.
Be sure to conditon peonies properly and refresh water for the ultimate long-lasting peony arrangement.
Try these tips for peony arrangements:
Try using peony greens for the base of your arrangement or for accent.
If one or two peonies in the bunch is too old and falling apart, remove all the petals and use just the center of the flower for texture and interest in your arrangement.
Keep peonies away from bright sun if you want them to have a longer vase life. They are very sensitive to warmth and light.
Take a look at the full peony arrangement video here:
If you are interested in shopping your local wholesale flower market to buy flowers in bulk, you need to know about the application process and if you are eligible to shop there. The requirements vary city to city and country to country, but this video gives you an overview of how to go about getting access to your market.
- Some wholesale markets are open to the public at certain hours.
-Most markets have early morning hours only for the trade.
-Wholesale floral markets are meant for florists or people who are using flowers in a product. If you are not a florist, and your market does not have public hours, it is best that you source from other places (examples here)
-If you want to shop for the trade, during the first hours of the morning, for the best selection, you will need to go through an application process.
-The application process involves showing that you have your floral business registered and set up!
For more information on sourcing, you can join me for a free 45 minute training where I detail all of the sources available to florists, and my own sources I use as a stylist and designer.
Sometimes I need to remind myself to take my own advice. Playing with flowers is important, even as a professional. To keep the passion alive, to come up with new ideas, and tune into flowers for joy, not just as a product. This weekend, I allowed myself some time and space to play as I was testing some of our new tech for our livestreams and new offerings.
My relationship with tech is complicated. I love creating photography, films, and online classes, but I would prefer the tech details get left to someone else. I want my hands on the flower stems, not on the keyboard! I do love that tech allows me to share the passion and joy of flowers with anyone in the world! And similar to flowers, I embrace imperfection and impulse over the premeditated or perfectly executed pieces.
Here I am embracing all my Portuguese flora even though I sometimes miss my gorgeous PNW ingredients this time of year that can only be grown with the copious amounts of rain! Embrace where you are. Share the ingredients close to you. Most everything I use is found on a short walk from my home. On foot. Foraged. Slow. Here’s to some flower play this week! Share your pics with me on email!
