NEW CLASS!
Late Summer Splendor; a celebration of the garden
August 11th and 19th
1:00-4:00
$300/class

Emphasis will be placed on using seasonal flowers and foliage to build loose and wild compositions that evoke the feeling of an overgrown late summer garden.
Dahlias, zinnias, celosia, scabiosa, pods, herbs, fruits and vegetables play an important role in our summer studio practice. Referencing the work of the Dutch Masters and Constance Spry, we'll teach students the basic tennants of floral design while encouraging them to experiment with unusual materials. Class limited to 10 students. All materials and refreshments will be provided.

Saturday, August 11th: This class will take place at the Saipua studio
147 Van Dyke St. Brooklyn, NY 11231 SOLD OUT

Sunday, August 19th: This class will take place at Nicolette's studio:
50 Dobbin St. Brooklyn, NY 11222  SOLD OUT

REGISTER HERE

Uh, we've been hoarding this post for a while...The Garden Valley rose report.



There is no rose like a Garden Valley rose, at least in the cut industry - and that's largely because of Fallon Anderson the rose keeper. Located in Petaluma, my new favorite place, a place I could live for a while, and not just because of the roses there. But largely because of them.



Fallon greeted us on a cool and moist may night and we ran through the rows with clippers (the ones that made it through airport security that is) - clipping for the hell of it. Roses need to be dead headed to encourage repeat blooms, and so we were encouraged to cut anything open beyond a crack.



When a rose opens with this swirl pattern it's called quatre couer meaning "four hearts." This one only has three really, but it's beautiful. I heard of a florist once who would throw out all roses that opened this way because they thought they were defected. Gah! Only in New York City!



This rose is called "sweet juliet" and is similar to the "Juliet" roses we get in the flower district from hot houses in South America but a million times better. Trust.







"About Face"



"Pieter B." a rose named after a gardener in Ohio. I love this rose so much. Nicolette's favorite too..



A row of Kathryn Morley...or is it John Strauss? I was having such a hard time remembering varietal names.



A field of "swan" and a tight Pieter B.



Golden celebration, a gorgeous yellow.



And lastly, heres a stunner made by Fallon who moonlights as a talented designer (Fleurs de Fallon) when she's not tending the roses at the farm.

A hundred thank you's to Fallon and owner Mark for letting us come and romp around in the roses, cutting as if it were our own garden, and putting us up in their lovely cottage. Also thanks to Jen Huang for joining us for the class portion of the visit and taking such pretty photos, many of which can be seen on Kathryn's beautiful Snippet & Ink.

CALIFORNIA CLASS GIVEAWAY!

We've just landed in sunny California, it's wild to see how spring has been blooming here! There are passionflowers all over, foxgloves growing out of cracks in the sidewalks and bougainvillea galore.

Whatever! We'll just have to make the best of it while we're here...



So when we're not stalking Annie at Annies Annuals, or eating at Pizzaiola we'll be teaching classes in Oakland; and we've got a few spots left in the May 10th class. You can register here.

And why not, lets give away a spot to a lucky California girl (or boy) comment to win today tell us your favorite flower and be sure to leave your email.

We'll pick someone tonight at random for Thursday evening's class. Should be fun.

Additional California class added!

We've added a second class to our California tour next week! We hope you can join us May 10th!



Spring Fever!: Best of the West
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
5:00-8:00pm
$275

One could enter a heated debate as to what season yeilds the best flowers; but we'll put down our chips in May - thinking ahead to the first true warm weather beauties. From now till May we'll be thinking ahead to peonies, California poppies, field grown ranunculus, sweet peas, the first herbs, bearded iris, columbine and so many other spring blooms. In this basics class we'll discuss in detail how to effectively blend colors and textures, combining a myriad of blooms to build sprawling centerpieces fit to pay homage to the season.

All materials, clippers and refreshments provided.

Class limited to 25 students.

This class will take place in the ballroom of Starline Social Club
2232 Martin Luther King Jr Way
Oakland CA 94612

REGISTER HERE

Beauty from our Hellebore Class...

This was a special class; I feel like the arrangements from this group of students were really top notch; pieces we would present as work from our own studios. Good work gang!

It was also a special class because we got to meet a few fellow florists; Ashley from Ashley Fox Designs and Stacy from Broadturn Farm. Stacy not only designs but also grows a myriad of floral and vegetal materials. When I have a farm question I email her and she calls me from the tractor! And Ashley reminds me about obscure Finnish holidays via email. I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I do...we'll be posting imagery from Dutch Masters and The Weddings 101 workshop soon - and then also releasing new spring/summer classes next week.

we bow down!

The professor and I made an epic trip to Hautau growers to meet with owner Kim Hautau on Tuesday. It was a trip we've been thinking about for a while, and thanks to Lauren at GPAGE (one of our favorite wholesalers in the market) we were able to get our act together to make the trek.



To say we were overwhelmed would be an understatement. The flowers they grow at this nursery are beyond. A third generation operation located out in the stix of New Jersey, Hautau does everything right. They grow unmatched ranunculus, hellebores, sweet peas and calla lilies for the wholesale trade. The quality of these flowers is unmatched in this region. Hopefully our photos here, distilled down from hundreds of images we captured that afternoon, do them some justice.

Meeting and talking to growers informs a vital exchange. It puts a face and a conversation to the names on the orders Kim receives from our wholesalers each week. It lets us point out in person the flowers we are interested in; meaning we will receive stems closer to our vision. It also gives her a chance to ask us what we're looking for in the product she's working so hard to produce. All of us in the industry know how tricky color interpretation can be - when you order flowers from a wholesaler, imagine trying to describe the muddy lavender brown color you're after. Wholesalers tend to think in terms of purple, yellow, orange, red, etc...Now when Kim receives an order from Nicolette Camille or Saipua, she knows that we tend to gravitate towards the nuanced complicated stems that don't necessarily fit into one of the primary color groups.



Plus we get to gush in person to her how unbelievably gorgeous her flowers are. When she asked me how she should improve upon the cuts of her hellebores I was tongue tied. "PLEASE!" I said..."Just keep doing whatever it is you're doing."

The full set of images from our trip here.

Special Spring Class April 15!

Sunday, April 15

1:00-3:00

The Best of Spring with Nicolette

$165

Spring has arrived! In this special class we'll create bountiful Spring arrangements with all the best of the season. Ranunculus, hyacinth, dogwood, cherry blossom, hellebores, sweet pea, jasmine vine, rose geranium, tulips, muscari and more! We'll discuss the techniques of building arrangements, how to choose flowers, and color palettes. Open to students of all levels.

Each student will take home their arrangement, a pair of clippers and a copy of my very first book collaboration Bringing Nature Home! Photographer Ngoc Minh Ngo & prop stylist Amy Wilson will be sharing styling tips as well! This class will take place at West Elm's Broadway store.

I hope to see you there!

REGISTER HERE