Napa Farmer's Market, Rain or Shine!

The dust is still settling from this week's (or month's, really) events, but before I share some of what came to pass I just wanted to say that I'll be at the Downtown Napa Farmer's Market this morning, from 7:30 to 12, rain or shine (currently rain, once again). Due to the floral flurry that was this weekend I won't have many fresh wares, but I will have cards (ask-they'll be staying dry in the car), acorn ornaments and earrings, and a ready smile! Come say hi and make my soggy presence and the inevitable 700 calories I will consume in baked goods all worth it. : )

Natives

I drive slowly, but I know where the turnouts are and I always use them. That's what I was doing when, among an unremarkable clump of a member of my studio's namesake genus (Sticky Monkey Flower, or mimulus aurantiacus), above and below left, I caught sight of a little splash of yellow that I knew was special. Do you see it? Take a closer look, below right, etc. . . .

Growing up, we called these "fairy lanterns", and I watched for them every spring in the same shady wooded patch a little ways from my house. In recent years that little colony has waned, so I felt very lucky to find these.

In looking up the latin name (Calochortus pulchellus), I discovered another reason to feel lucky . . . check out this crazy isolated distribution! If you come visit in the Spring, drop me a line. I'll show you where the fairies are hiding these days. : )

Worth the Wait

Any way you look at it, I've been waiting for the chance to design with these roses for a long time- since winter, yes, but over 10 years if you start counting from when I first visited Garden Valley Ranch in Petaluma (it's located just near my godmother's). So you'll please excuse my extreme documentation of these chaps- I was a little overjoyed to have them in my studio!

 

Old News

 Two bits of old news from way back on Easter weekend: 1) Grandma's garden is looking awesome and 2) the man I have long referred to as my brother-in-law (for ease and accuracy of describing the relationship) proposed to my sister (shown below looking out over the Napa River during our reconnaissance of some studio space). Our families have been like family for years, but I'm still pretty friggin' excited to make it official. Congratulations again, L&C! I can't wait to start planning the flowers, so pick a date already! : )

And Then, Mother's Day

The rest of the arrangements went out before I could snap photos, but here are some I made for the mothers in my life. They featured lots of flowers from the garden (both ours and that of the aforementioned friend of the bride's family, who very kindly let me snip a few sweet peas and white avalanche roses for my own purposes : ), as well as some "show ready" tulips that opened too white to be included in the colors-only wedding. After deliveries I spent the afternoon at my grandparents' house, feeling all the world like the luckiest little floral designer in the world and celebrating my grandfather's birthday, Mother's Day, and Cinco De Mayo all in one glorious fell swoop.

A Home Grown Wedding

 

 

It is difficult to even begin to describe the joy that was designing the flowers for F&N's beautiful wedding; I was just totally blown away by the kindness and positive energy of everyone involved. A close friend of the bride's family lovingly grew the majority of the flowers for the celebration in her hillside garden overlooking the Valley (above), which I supplemented with some locally grown delphinium, peonies, ranunculus, and tulips. The result was a happy explosion of color, just as F&N wanted. :)