harkins, the florist blog

Color your world

2011-07-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Color your world

With the use of color we can be energized, or soothed, comfortable, or unsettled - color plays on our senses. Memories are made, and memories are triggered by color, it’s an emotional thing. We have our favorites but, as with everything, colors fall in and out of fashion on a regular basis.

Yellow and gray is THE combination right now, and what a combo it is! It can be bright, it can be muted, sometimes it's elegant, sometimes it's rustic - it welcomes a whole spectrum of nuanced tones, and easily invites a complementary hue to peek in, such as a red or orange.

I’m thrilled to see yellow back in popularity, it’s one of my favorite colors in fresh flowers, along with orange, but we’ll save orange for another post.

Gray can come into the bouquets and arrangements through ribbon and fabric, or fresh foliages such as soft, and fuzzy Dusty Miller, or the sleek leaves of seeded eucalyptus, which are both silvery-grayed green.

Some brides have been requesting monochromatic yellow, or a combination of yellow and whites in the fresh flowers and bringing in the gray through the attendants’ gowns, and accessories, even the cake!

Silver is a natural with this palette, and the metallic quality really adds a nice element. One thing about this palette is that it can be dressed up or dressed down.

I’ve found a couple of fun sites online, for anyone looking for ideas or help with a color palette, or just some fun ideas to add to your wedding plans. The first is a site for colors, palettes, and trends, try http://www.colourlovers.com/ . I’ve played around a little bit and can see how useful this site could be for choosing a palette, and comparing all the combinations of the color values within that palette. It shows patterns using your palette also. Can’t wait to explore further.

The next site, of which I am now totally addicted is Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/ This is basically a collection of pin-up boards, on which you “pin” pictures of interest that you have found online. Each board may be a different category, and you can have as many boards as you care to.

I’ve been categorizing elements of weddings, not necessarily flower related, but things I feel our brides may be interested in incorporating into their own plans. Everything from bridal bouquets, to travel destinations, homemaking (Wow, that sounds from the ‘50’s doesn’t it) attendant gifts, cakes, party idea, lots of DIY, and on and on. Come check us out at http://pinterest.com/harkinsflorist/

I’ve been talking so much about yellow and gray weddings that I neglected to mention that this combo is hot in clothing fashions and home decorating too, not just weddings, or events. Embrace the combo, and have fun, however you may use it.

DIY weddings…(Do It Yourself)

2011-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Do it yourself weddings have become increasingly popular lately. I would think that part of the reason is the downturn in the economy, but I really believe that many brides just want to have more of a hands-on experience with their wedding décor, not just ordering, but actually having a hand in on some part.

Some brides, who are talented, or have some experience with handling flowers, will tackle the whole wedding, while most will opt for the reception centerpieces, and occasional pieces such as a bouquet for the guest book table, or the powder room.

Our part in all of this is usually to supply flowers in bulk. We applaud these brides and will help with flower selection, advice on seasonal types and a few tips on the mechanics that go into an arrangement. If the brides need the flowers processed we will do that for a small additional charge. We don’t offer classes, and we don’t offer space in which the arrangements can be made. We just don’t have the room for either.

Some brides find that they've bitten off more than they can chew, and call asking for help, especially when they are faced with making 20 centerpieces, and their volunteer help has run off, and they are quickly running out of time! It is rarely a problem for us to take over the construction and delivery of these at the last minute. We are happy to help out, but we will also be charging fully for the work.

So, if you are a Do-It-Yourself bride, and you're getting married in New Orleans, or the surrounding area, come in and see us. We'll work together to help you have the wedding you've always wanted, at a price you can afford.

I just love….how much is….can I have this for July????

2010-12-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

I just love….how much is….can I have this for July????

These are just a few of the questions we hear every day from our brides. Most of the time we are able to obtain the particular flowers that they’ve found in magazines and on the Web, but some things are just too seasonal.

Spring bulb flowers can be this way, particularly narcissus, daffodils. Late winter and early spring only for these beauties. Muscari – grape hyacinth - along with standard hyacinth, make their best showing in early to mid spring. Some bulb flowers such as tulips and iris have become available for the entire year, though at a premium in off seasons.

Anemones come to mind as one of the types that really only shines for part of the year. Generally available from November until about mid May, this gorgeous flower, with it’s circle of color-saturated petals and a (usually) black center is at it’s best in mid to late spring. At other times, if some becomes available, it is usually smaller than normal (normal is about 1 ½ to 2 in. diam.) and the stems are spindly.

We also have lots of requests for ranunculus, which lately I’ve seen often paired with the anemones in magazines. These wonderfully “petally” flowers are available most of the year now, however, like the anemones they are at their best in the late winter and spring – February until May.

I’ve mainly seen complete bouquets with only these two varieties and some foliage, and they are fabulous, however I’d like to caution you that they are expensive that way. The blossoms are small, averaging about 1 ½ inch across, on both varieties, though if you’re lucky, they may come in about 2 to 2 ½ in across. You would be safe to figure about $2 to $3 per blossom. Your florist has no control over the size, other than to ask for the largest blossoms and then just keep their fingers crossed.

I like to tell the brides that come to me, that if they can’t, or don’t want, to afford a bouquet solely of these flowers, then to use them as accents. Small groupings of the blossoms in either a single area, or several areas of the bouquet really make it pop. Both of these varieties lend wonderful texture, but especially the anemones can lend a hot pop of color too.

I also tell all the brides that visit us to bring along picture that they’ve found on the internet and in magazines. We will price them out and also offer alternatives if need be. I’ve always wished that the magazines would publish some prices for the styles they showcase. Most people would be shocked, and unfortunately some brides are very disappointed to find that what they’ve set their hearts on is certainly out of reach as pictured.

Preservation Resource Center's Holiday Home Tour

2010-12-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Fait accompli! After taking on being a part of the Preservation Resource Center's Holiday Home Tour during the December rush, everything came together beautifully. It seemed like there were thousands touring our home at 2700 Coliseum. Those passing through were surprised to see that the florist/owner chose to decorate without a single flower other than a few orchid plants. With the theory that ostentatious flower arrangements would outshine the architecture and the antiques, a fruit and winter greens approach was taken. Each room featured a different fruit, from pineapples to plums. Far from being the grandest home on the tour, many were complimentary that it seemed people actually live in the house! It was great to share our home with so many enthusiastic people.

2010-11-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Trends in Holiday Decor 2010/2011

Internet nut that I am, I’ve been scanning the web for holiday trends this year. I’ve found a couple of distinctive styles that seem to be winning out, and are seen often.

Opulence, as seen through rich, deep, saturated jewel tones, lots of metallics, and glass are present. Ruby reds, navy to a solid periwinkle, and purples seem to predominate, I haven’t seen many rich greens such as hunter, but accents of lime green, especially in fresh flower accents have been many. I would have thought velvets would work nicely with this, especially with the depth of color, but it seems raw silks to taffeta are the way to go.

Golden glass balls and balls of mercury glass, and all manner of glass vases will play heavily on trees and tables, and again this year, tablescapes will dominate over a single centerpiece. I have found many instances of artificial, metallic toned, evergreen boughs, and gold tinted pine cones tucked among twisted, and nicely plaited, colorful fabrics, and cords. I haven’t noticed berries, which were big, a couple of years ago, but it seems that if it’s lush, it’s in for this style. There’s no fussiness, as with a Victorian look, this is BOLD.

A second trend, if you could call it that, is toward a more natural look. Perhaps the green movement has something to do with this, but rather than the pale-colored austerity that I equate with the “greens” this seems to be nature let loose with wild abandon. Full, brimming arrangements, lush garland and wreaths. Wood, natural and deep stained, and/or carved, stones, especially the darker, smooth river stones, sand, mosses, deeply stained reeds in reds and mahogany. As in the first trend, this wants deeper, richer colors, though will have some lighter tones, such as natural grape vine, or drift wood, and the lightness of sand and perhaps even a few sea shells. Here you’ll find hunter greens and golds, reds – but more along persimmon tones, lime greens, lighter, but bright yellow, pinks, fuchsia, and blues. Flowing patterns, and ethnic patterns will accent the fabrics. Where the other style was bold, I would say this one is LIVELY!

Of course tradition, with it’s own richness, colors everyone’s holiday. You will certainly keep your memorable holiday decorations, but it’s fun to incorporate something new, and I can see where elements of each of these trends will fit in nicely with traditional holiday decor. We will be posting our holiday pictures soon at www.harkinsneworleans.com , please stop by and take a look.

Destination Weddings in New Orleans!

2010-08-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

Unlike many businesses that have seen sales go down as tourism had declined, we have been delighted to witness a growing trend upward, toward destination weddings in New Orleans.

With the use of our website, email, and telephone, we can work beautifully with brides to help create the wedding they’ve always hoped for. Many times we will meet the bride when she is in town taking care of wedding plans, but also there are times when we don’t ever get to see her!

A few tips we like to give brides when they first start planning a destination wedding, is to first of all, relax! We know it can be frustrating when you can’t actually be here to see the flowers in person. I like to tell brides, “they are only flowers, how can anything so beautiful be stressful?” We know flowers, it’s what we love to do, so our brides don’t need to stress over the types, styles, or even colors.

We try to make things as convenient as possible for our brides. We usually start off by asking the bride if she has any preference as to color, style or types of flowers. This is a good time to also ask if there are any flowers or colors that she absolutely can’t stand.

We also ask about the different items she may have in mind. We have, on our Wedding page, on the web site, http://www.harkinsneworleans.com/wedding_checklist.htm a document titled “Wedding Checklist”. This list, originally was created for the few traditional brides that would like to divide the costs of the wedding between the bride’s and groom’s families. We have found that it works wonders in jogging everyone’s mind when trying to list all of their items.

Our Bridal Bouquet page continues to grow, with many different color combinations and different flower types for brides to consider, but the possibilities are endless, so we always ask our brides to look through magazines, and web sites and forward any and all pictures and ideas to us. Often brides will fall in love with certain bouquets they see in magazines, which have very seasonal flowers. I suppose this happens because in the excitement of getting engaged, they immediately start planning months and months ahead of their wedding date, so they are seeing the wrong seasonal flowers. We help out by suggesting substitutes for most of the varieties. One good work-around for this is to visit the library and look at back issues of bridal magazines, for flowers that are showcased around the time of their wedding date.

The wedding magazines are a great source of ideas, though I’ve noticed that since the publications don’t list prices for the flower bouquets, corsages, centerpieces or church décor, most brides are at a loss as to an appropriate flower budget for these items. Many of the floral arrangements shown in the magazines are so lavish, they are out of reach for all but a few brides, but we can help here by offering suitable substitutions, alternate designs, and tips to scale back on many items and still stay true to the spirit of the original design. An old rule of thumb has always been that the flower budget should be about 10 percent of the total wedding budget.
Another area we help out our destination brides, is the reception. Local brides will usually have friends and family take home the centerpieces from the reception as a keepsake. When you have a destination wedding, there usually are no local friends and family. We like to offer our brides the option of renting the containers for their centerpieces so they won’t feel it wasteful to have upscale vases, or many vases, in the case of tablescapes.

Lastly, we love the unique, personal touches that people come up with to make their day so special. We welcome all ideas, so don’t be shy, bring on the wacky and funky, the sentimental and touching, we’re here to bring it all to life!

Welcome to our first edition!

2010-07-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the premier edition of our new blog!

We hope to help keep you informed of all things floral, from the newest seasonal offerings, such as the much awaited Michigan glads which have just arrived, to the latest trends in wedding designs, or even the latest colors for home decor - we've heard that bright orange-red will be one of the hot colors this season.

We'll be adding tips and tricks, from time to time, to help you get the most from your flowers, whether they come from here or your backyard garden, and we'd love to get some feedback from you.

We continue to stay busy with our recycling program. So many people have expressed how pleased they are that something can be done with their old vases - no one likes to throw them out, and by trading them for flower bunches, everyone wins. In case you are new to our program, we offer a pack of daisies, or alstroemeria for every 3, clear, glass vases that you bring in.