inbetween greens

a new year

2012-01-08T15:09:00.006-05:00

A happy new year to you all!!
We hope you've been well and enjoyed the holiday season.
It's been a while since our last post, but we've been busy and well doing variety of things as you can imagine.

Here at inbetween greens, our new year began working with a small collection of lovey white flowers.
Starting with white flowers felt quite fitting to mark the beginning of a brand new year, like opening a new sketch book!
And being that the occasion was a wedding, it was additional loveliness to start working on a special happy note.

These tulips were my personal favorites among the flowers we used.
There is something about tulips that's very uplifting and refreshing!

We hope your new year will be a wonderful beautiful one!

kaz@ibg

2011-09-28T19:37:00.015-04:00

September is one of my favorite month for flowers!
We recently worked on a wedding that was full of beautiful seasonal flowers.

I always enjoy having a long table set up.
Opportunity for so much variety!

Votive detailing was pretty for this wedding.
I think it added to the romantic feel.
Subtle accent is always nice.

And the bridal bouquet was my favorite.
The bride gave us a lot of freedom which always helps to make it nicer.
We were able to make it uniquely seasonal which was lovely.

What a beautiful couple they were.

Congratulations!!

kaz@ibg

a summer wedding story

2011-08-01T14:59:00.030-04:00

On a beautiful July weekend at the location called Locustus on Hudson, there was a wedding...

And it began like this.

Theme: bright colors and fun

Motif: polka dots

Colors: turquoise and corals

There were pinwheels!
All of them color coordinated and handmade.

Not just a few... a lot :)
(We lost a count after making 200 of them. We were enthusiastic!)

Watching them spin in a summer breeze were simply joyful.
I realized how much I enjoy "motion" in a space!

To the tent...

We decorated the field with big polka dots.
This was my personal favorite part.

And they were illuminated at night too.

Escort cards...

Summer flowers...

Fabulous orange chairs!

Candy bar...

Their wish was to have a lot of color presence in the space.
We indeed planned it so...

With additional colors above!

Congratulations to the happy couple!!!!!

I enjoy being a part of an event with personality, and this had a lot of it. :)

Big or small, a wedding decor takes a lot of energy and care to plan, make, and then to deliver. It is a collection of hard work for often many weeks. But in the end, I always feel that it is such a privilege to be a part of someone's special day. There is nothing quite like feeling their joy and happiness in the air. And that leaves me with a huge smile at the end of the day.

Many thanks to our wonderful crew for working so very hard to accomplish this event.

It's going to be a while before we can update our web page, so I wanted to share some of it here.
You can call this our special summer edition!

I hope you are all enjoying the summer!!

kaz@ibg

garden rose

2011-05-22T19:12:00.000-04:00

How did I continue this blog for this long without mentioning the Garden roses!

I love flowers. All types, any kinds. No discrimination. However, I do have an absolute favorite flower as a gardener, and that is garden roses. In my June garden, the garden roses that I grow are in full bloom. ( Which makes June my very favorite month.)

They are are incredibly elegant, yet so friendly. The quality that I most love about garden roses.
I've been a fan of them for ages, so I am very happy when I discover new varieties of of them in the market. As a florist, I am always curious how they do, ( if they open, how they open, how long they will last etc.) so I often purchase them and test them !

This bright pink ones were irresistible!

The price of garden roses are easily 3 to 4 times the price of the conventional rose. So, a full on event with garden roses may be bit extravagant usually, but they can be used as a wonderful highlight in an arrangement or a bouquet. They will certainly create a very special feel which can't be produced by other roses.

What can I say, I simply am a fan of garden roses !
I highly recommend you to try them at least once.

kaz@ibg

viburnum

2011-04-10T13:04:00.004-04:00

I love the color of this flower viburnum. ( In fact, my favorite color is the cast of apple greens and some of my rooms are this color!)
Young hydrangea is in this coloration and they can be found more easily in the market, but my personal pick would be to use viburnum if they are available.
Viburnum has more movement due to the long, narrow and slender stems and I just love the relaxed feeling of it.
So, naturally, I like arranging just as themselves. However, this is a color that can work harmoniously with many other colors, so viburnum can often be the supporting character in the play of arrangements.

As such!
Preference?

Often available throughout the year (coming from all over the world), but the local season will be around May. Ooo it's coming before we know it!

kaz@ibg

ranunculus

2011-03-03T21:03:00.004-05:00

Almost looks like a poppy, but Ranunculus!
I've featured this flower many times last year, and this won't be the last.
Just love this flower!

As if dancing... so cute and joyful!

Enjoy the weekend everyone.

kaz@ibg

poppy

2011-02-20T19:35:00.005-05:00

Poppies oh poppies how pretty they are...!
And how challenging they are!
I love this flower... poppy. Beautiful, cheerful and luminous.
The range of happy colors are simply irresistible.
I would think this flower would make anyone smile. It's like having a beautifully free spirited friend around. Just lovely.
However, beauty doesn't come so easily!
I find this flower bit challenging to manage. We keep trying different and new ways to treat poppies so they hydrate correctly and well all the times. Easier said than done.
On top of that, available season for poppy is not long. We recently had to change a concept for an event because the event date is just a little bit late for poppies. Alas...

Not easy flower to use for events, so why feature it here in this blog?

Because it's so very beautiful !!

It may not be possible sometimes (as nature dictates) to use/plan poppies for an event, but sure is lovely to hope for and worth challenging for...

That's poppies!!

I am feeling a glimpse of spring in the air despite the additional 6" of snow this morning...
It's coming! It's coming! Spring will come. Hopefully soon enough!

kaz@ibg

anemone

2011-01-20T14:40:00.005-05:00

Hello everyone!
Here at inbetween greens, the new year began with this beautiful blue purple anemone.
The winter weather in NY has been bit unstable, so it's been a challenge knowing how, when and if certain flowers can get to us in time. It would have been easier to plan using other flowers, but we always want to try our very best to use flowers that speaks to us in special ways, so we went ahead and planned this. (of course with backup plans in place!)
Winter weather produces the need for extra effort in so many ways, but it's well worth the investment when we are able to deliver what we promised and something special. Many thanks to people who makes it possible for us.

Being that this is our first post this year, I wish you all a happy healthy and beautiful new year!
We are excited and looking forward to working with all of our clients this year!

Super cold weather coming up to NYC, bundle up and stay warm!!

kaz@ibg

anemone

2010-12-23T19:31:00.002-05:00

Here in our studio at Inbetween Greens, we seem to have the favorite flower every season, and it was anemone for the past few weeks!
In nature they are spring flowers. But anemones are in full force at the flower market looking very beautiful.
They are available in white, pink, red, and shades of purples. My current favorites are white ones and deep plum purple ones. Isn't the button like center so cute?

Such cold days here in NYC, flowers are wonderful companion to my soul as always!

Wishing you all, a wonderful, beautiful holidays!!!

kaz@ibg

tree peony

2010-11-27T16:06:00.007-05:00

Meet this tree peony!
We came across this particularly beautiful ones to accent one of our most recent event. Peonies in general have a lot of presence. So even one stem of it makes a statement. (so I often think!)
But peonies in November?
Well, they come from country such as New Zealand which has seasons in opposite cycle to ours.
So we were able to have peony focused event recently and it was beautiful!
One thing though about tree peonies (which is different from peonies)are that they are rather hard to "plan". I feel there are some flowers that you just meet and not plan. But when we are able to find them in perfect timing, I wouldn't hesitate to use them!

November is ending already! I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!

kaz@ibg

dahlia

2010-10-31T20:39:00.004-04:00

Hard to imagine that this is the last day of October already. Where did the time go?
The air has cooled down significantly in the past few days. This means that dahlia season is almost over. With one frosty night, the dahlia fields will finish it's season. The way it is getting colder and colder, it will be soon.
What a lovely dahlias we had this year! I will miss the cheerful, colorful wonderful dahlias for sure.
We made few bouquets with dahlias this season. I really liked the bright pink ones and the delicate pale ones so I will leave them here as my memento.

kaz@ibg

hydrangea

2010-10-03T16:15:00.003-04:00

It's the season of fall hydrangea!
When the cooler weather of autumn starts to arrive little by little, the fall hydrangea begins to show up in the flower market.
Aren't they beautiful?
I can't decide if I like the blue hydrangea or these dusty aqua green hydrangea better.
If you leave them in a shallow water to slow down the hydration, they often dry really nicely and you can enjoy them a bit longer!

kaz@ibg

alstroemeria

2010-09-08T12:54:00.006-04:00

There are several flowers that are full of merit, yet not truly appreciated.
I feel alstroemeria might be one of those.
They are available in many colors, long lasting, available all season, and overall an elegant looking flower.
On top of that, probably one of the most economical material.

The problem might be overexposure... but why discriminate?

When you keep your mind open to things, you could be so pleasantly surprised!

Who knows, alstroemeria might become your favorite flower!

kaz@ibg

dahlia 3

2010-08-15T12:43:00.006-04:00

Some happy colors for your soul!

Dahlias in beautiful bright jewel tones always makes me cheerful.

I love that they come in different shapes too.
The round ones are my current favorite. So very cute!
This will be a fun event to work on.

kaz@ibg

scabiosa

2010-08-08T14:21:00.008-04:00

Scabiosa is one of my favorite flower to accent with.
Cute button shaped flowers, whimsy stems... and lovely colors too!
This dark colored ones are probably our favorite among several colors that are available. (ie. white, red pink) We choose this often not only to bring textural interest, but to sharpen the color palette a little. Brings the arrangements and bouquets elegant sophistication while keeping the natural feeling.

I love flowers that are wonderfully multitasking!

kaz@ibg

dahlia 2

2010-08-02T13:47:00.000-04:00

Beautiful large dahlia!

The name is " cafe au lait".
Granted that this particular photo is of the rare and random pinkish one that was in this bunch, (it was so pretty, I couldn't resist) but this dahlia usually comes as gentle creamy color.

So, this name is bit puzzling to me.
If I were to rename her, it will be something more creamy like "heavenly cream" or "summer vanilla" ...
Just a random irrelevant thought during a lovely summer afternoon...

kaz@ibg

dahlia

2010-07-21T12:36:00.003-04:00

For anyone who loves to have colors for their event, dahlias are your friend!
The natural season of dahlias are summer to early fall. When the first frost arrives in the fall, that's when the dahlia season is absolutely done. So that means we will have few months of this gorgeously colorful flower ! Yey!
Dahlias come in couple of different shapes, such as round cute ones, huge dinner plate sized ones, and spiky petal ones like above. Available in ranges of colors from light to dark, and they are all lovely.
My problem usually is picking which ones I like best.

Summer heat continues here in NY... I am definitely going to get some ice cream this afternoon!

Stay cool everyone!

kaz@ibg

sunflower

2010-07-10T13:33:00.010-04:00

Wouldn't sunflowers be the first flower you'll think of as the summer flower?
It certainly is for me !
Though there are lot's of beautiful summer flowers to be enjoyed, I think the big, bold and cheerful presence of sunflowers very much represents the joys of summer.
Sunflowers are actually available throughout the year but it's natural season is definitely summer. The surge of sunflowers at the flower market was a brilliant sight!
I often talk about flowers having "energy" when it's in season, and it's true. They do possess special strength and beauty that are not found other times. It's the " X factor " (undefinable "something" that makes for star quality.)

For that reason, I encourage clients to go with flowers that are in season for their events.

Embracing the season definitely is one of a key to having a successful floral event!

kaz@ibg

blueberry

2010-07-04T12:49:00.006-04:00

Have you eaten fresh blueberries lately? They are so very much in season and sure enough, DELICIOUS!

There are few botanical materials that are available in the market which fascinates me every time I see them and blueberries are one of those. Perhaps it's because I know them too well as fruits and not as floral material. Seeing cute plumpy clusters of berries on the gorgeous green branches delights me every year!
Needless to say, it is one of our favorite material to use when they are in season.

They(growers) do cut them before all of the berries turn blue (so berries don't easily fall off during transportation etc), so majority of the berries are green with hint of blue ones. And yes, blue ones are edible! ( personally tested. yum!) I do suggest washing them before eating.

By the way, it's July 4th today!
Happy Birthday America!

Enjoy the great holiday weekend everyone!

kaz@ibg

hydrangea

2010-06-20T13:24:00.004-04:00

I planned to talk about a totally different flower today, but decided it should be the hydrangea day ! It's a hot day here in NY, so the beautiful cool blue as such seem very soothing to the eyes and mind !
Hydrangeas are actually available all season as cut flowers. In gardens, you'll probably find them in summer, and in different coloration as Ph of the soil affects the color of the hydrangea when growing.
In the flower market, they are available in white, apple green, pinks, purples and in ranges of blues. In the fall, they will become available in gradations of aqua blue with hint of lavender purples, which I will post it here in the fall for sure !

Right now, this locally grown kind is my very favorite. Flowers that are " in season" contains special energy that is hard to explain and it's always wonderful to be around them!

kaz@ibg

peony

2010-06-13T11:52:00.006-04:00

Wow, it's been a long while since our last post ! Busy few weeks at inbetween greens and time just went ! Hello everyone, we hope you've been well !

Let's talk about "peony" today, as it was one of the main flower which we have been using for our latest events.
I am always fascinated with the transformation which peony goes through from being about 2" (sometimes even smaller!) bud to something like 6" width blossom! It's amazing how large it opens in such short while. Although we are at the mercy of nature and can't control everything , but we do try to carefully observe and judge the timing of the opening as much as we can, so we can have them ready in the way that's most beautiful for what we designed.
Caring for hundreds of them all at once can be little intimidating but definitely fascinating and joyful sight when they do successfully open!

Peonies are available during the year but it's natural peak season is late spring to early summer. Right now it's coming to be the end of it's peak I would say. Colors that are available are ranges of pinks in dark to light, deep red, white, and even lemon yellow (although not in large quantity.). They are all very romantic, beautiful and I love using them. Peony certainly is a flower with huge presence!

kaz@ibg

spirea

2010-05-16T20:03:00.005-04:00

There are certain flowers that I don't ever solidly "plan" ahead in my arrangement recipe for an event, and spirea would be one of those flowers.
Not because I don't love them, because I do!
The reason is the very short available time frame !!

As far as my experience goes, the spirea season is about 2 weeks pocket of time in May. (in our area ) Sometimes early, sometimes not. Totally dependent upon the surrounding temperature of the season. So while I wish to use them, I can't really plan them so far ahead of time.

The elegant cascading shape of this flowering branch is simply beautiful.

See here below? Lovely isn't it?

We were very lucky to have the most beautiful spirea for a wedding a week ago. What a perfect timing!

I do consider it "serendipity" !

kaz@ibg

lily of the valley

2010-05-09T15:33:00.004-04:00

I think the scent of the " lily of the valley" is magical.
Whenever I see them, I can't resist to pick them up and smell them. What a lovely flower it really is.

If you tried to have a big event with a lot of lily of the valley, it will be rather difficult and very costly, as they are highly seasonal type of flower and also pricey. No doubt such event will be lovely, but often times more isn't more.
I love arranging few sprigs of lily of the valley in bottles, or have few of them in a bouquet as an accent . The reason why I enjoy lily of the valley isn't in the quantity but in the very presence of them!

kaz@ibg

lilac

2010-04-29T14:00:00.004-04:00

The beautiful lilac season is here!
I think it arrived little bit earlier this year in comparison to previous years, sign of warmer spring weather.
I wish there was a way to "attach" the scent to the image and send it along to you. The scent of lilac is just as beautiful as the flower and they should be enjoyed together!

Lilacs are available during the year, but only in small quantities off-season. The main season of lilacs are not long, and a lot depends on the weather. So if you have a deep desire to have lilacs for your event, I would think(on average), end of April and during May will be the time frame around our area.

So very elegant too in white aren't they?

The combination between the beauty and scent is divine!
If you haven't already, try some at home. You'll love it!

kaz@ibg

forget me not

2010-04-25T10:41:00.008-04:00

If I had to choose my absolute favorite blue flower in the whole wide world, this is it. " forget me not "!
The blue of the forget me not is magical. It is so delicate and luminous I can't really capture how special it is in photographs! (and I do try.)

I confess that I am positively spoiled when it comes to forget me not. I love them so much , I started to plant as many as I can in my own garden. So I can have a lot of them around this time of the year.
I do see them in the market occasionally, however, not really in the quality that I would accept. (yes, I have extremely high standard for the quality of this particular flower! )

If the "perfect floral destiny" brings a bride and us together (during the blooming season) someday, I will be happy to share some of my very own forget me not with a bride. It will be a special "Something blue" from inbetween greens!

kaz@ibg

grape hyacinth

2010-04-20T16:34:00.004-04:00

Here at inbetween greens, we are a fan of little flowers that makes us happy!
" muscari " also known as " grape hyacinth " would definitely be one of those. They are rarely the main focal point because they are so small, but they can definitely be! Isn't this pot of muscari here lovely?
Sarah pointed out to me recently that they smell like grapes, and indeed they do! Like a sweet grape candy scent and I never knew that! Another charming point for this heavenly blue little friend.

kaz@ibg

ranunculus 3

2010-04-17T09:38:00.010-04:00

This lovely hot pink ranunculus was a part of a wedding few weeks ago!
We've used few ranunculus with our spring events, and enjoyed all of those opportunities.
I've posted them in 3 different colors, but they do come in quite few more ranges of colors.
White, cream, lemon yellow, yellow, oranges, corals, pale pinks, hot pinks, red, plums, and even in greens!

Wouldn't you be tempted to befriend them?
They are all so wonderful!

kaz@ibg

ranunculus 2

2010-04-10T19:53:00.005-04:00

Here they are! More fabulous colors of ranunculus.
This particular group of colors has always been my favorite. (though all of them become my new favorite when I see them! They are just so beautiful in all available colors!! )

I keep seeing these coral groupings with delicate fringed edges this year. New discovery always excites me at the flower market!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the wonderful spring weather!

kaz@ibg

ranunculus

2010-04-04T19:12:00.008-04:00

Made of multiple layers of beautiful light weight petals, colorful, and playful, " ranunculus " possesses so many qualities that I love in flowers. It is definitely on top of my favorite flower list!

Ranunculus is beautiful in a bouquet and in compact or loose arrangements. They are quite versatile and that's why I love them as well.

My very favorite way of arranging ranunculus is showing the playful side of them. I feel the movement of the stems are what makes them especially charming!
Don't they look like they are dancing?

Next time, I will introduce you to more colors as they do come in beautiful range of them!

kaz@ibg

plum

2010-03-27T17:18:00.011-04:00

I love flowering branches in general, but this year the plum became my personal favorite!
The small clusters of pink blossoms are just so delicate and lovely.
We've had few cases in the past where a bride wished for flowering branches for her wedding, but they were completely out of season for her event date. Flowering branches are definitely "highly seasonal" material. So if you know you can't do without flowering branches for your event, March and April are good choices as more varieties of flowering branches are available during those months! (in NY area)

kaz@ibg

scented geranium

2010-03-26T19:34:00.001-04:00

"What am I looking at today? "
So you might say. This is a scented geranium. As the name indicates, it is a very fragrant type of green and Oh how I wish I could "attach" the scent for you here! The scent is so fresh and soothing, it reminds me of a garden in the summer time. It certainly adds the surprise element when the bouquet smells just so good in your hand and it's not coming from a flower!
Here at inbetween greens, we really love using greens in our works. ( no surprise!)
I feel it brings all the flower colors together harmoniously.

Though the main feature is the leaf, scented geranium does flower.
Here it is in a pretty hot pink!

kaz@ibg

spring bride

2010-03-20T15:35:00.004-04:00

This collection of luminous spring flowers were for a wedding yesterday.
Sarah made this bridal bouquet with lots of beautiful spring signature flowers.
Isn't it simply charming? I feel like it says " happy! "

Congratulations to the wonderful couple!

kaz@ibg

"fringed" tulip

2010-03-13T12:25:00.001-05:00

There are several different shapes of tulips available in the flower market, but recently I've been fascinated with these "fringed" ones!
Fringed? Yes, the edges of petals are irregular, like this below.

One may think that such small details would not make any difference in an arrangement, but very often, small details will become the key element in making an arrangement with extra charm and personality.

In season, beautiful colors, and unique details... that's already a winning combination we would all enjoy I think!

kaz@ibg

tulip

2010-03-05T13:51:00.012-05:00

What a wonderful thing to be able to feel a definite sense of "spring" in the air these past few days! I even found tiny tiny heads of tulip greens showing in my garden today and I can't stop smiling!

Tulips are available almost all year around with exception of summer perhaps, but spring undeniably is their time to shine. Many different types, length, and in colors, they cheerfully awaits us at the market.
On a personal note, flowers have always been my very favorite gifts to give(even before I became a florist!) and for spring, I especially like choosing flowers that will show a progression. It's like giving a cocoon of future joy and I really enjoy that notion.
I also think tulips at this young stage are just as beautiful as when they are in full bloom. They are bursting with such wonderful spring energy!

kaz@ibg

daffodil

2010-02-26T13:21:00.009-05:00

"Daffodil" (which is the common name for Narcissus) to me is one of the symbol of spring.
They are one of the first flower to greet me in my garden when the spring finally arrives.
So, I feel simply joyous when I see this flower in the market!
There are many different shapes of Narcissus, (which we hope to post on this blog gradually ) and they are all very cute!
To start the Daffodil posts, I chose this very classic shape in happy yellow. There is always something very special about being the "classic" !

Accumulated another 12"+ of snow today!!
Image of happy spring daffodil definitely was necessity for me on a day like this.

kaz@ibg

hyacinth

2010-02-15T11:01:00.010-05:00

What to put on our first blog page... this is not an easy task since I have a lot of "favorites"!
Spring flowers are some of our very favorites at Inbetween Greens. They remind us of the beautiful season approaching. (even though we are currently under the snow and it's bit hard to imagine spring will come to us!) Hyacinth for one, they are wonderfully fragrant and very charming flower that are available as potted plants and as cut flowers. An interesting arrangements can be made showing the bulbs and even roots! Some of the available colors are: gorgeous purply blue, purples, white or creamy white, and pinks. My current favorite is this pink one. Aren't they simply charming?
I hope you'll have a chance to get to know them at home or enjoy them at one of your events!

kaz@ibg