i’m working on a roundup of affordable vases for this afternoon and stumbled upon this lovely pear-shaped terrarium at viva terra. i have a soft spot for anything that lets me grow a tiny garden so this guy become a quick favorite. click here for more info and to shop. ($49 without plants, $79 with)

Hello! Are you prepared for the nuclear winter that might blow through your household on February 15th? Survive and prosper! Consider preventative options:

1. Box of chocolates? As in I don’t really know what you like, so here’s an assortment? There is a map on the back of the lid! You can pick the ones you like, but save me the maple creams.

2. Lingerie? You have to be very very very very careful with this option. One word: Sizing.

3. Dinner out? Oh, perhaps at Chez Jardin de Olive? NEXT!

4. Teddy Bear? As in OH HELL NO. Girls don’t want teddy bears, unless it’s dressed like snoop dog and stuffed with cash and diamonds. And, oh, maybe you squeeze it and it plays “Gin and Juice.” I’d take that bear actually…

5. Flowers? [Jumping up and down fingers pointing, 21 gun salute, fireworks exploding in the sky] Proven to be your best option, in part because getting flowers says :
- you, unlike lots of men, DID NOT dismiss the fact that every girl LOVES TO GET FLOWERS. EVERY. GIRL.
- you braved it all the way out to Red Hook to stand in a studio full of girls listening to Ace of Base
- you navigated what may have been perhaps an uncomfortable conversation about something very beautiful and delicate. {awww, like you…}

God Speed, and Good Luck -Sarah

As Valentine’s swiftly approaches we find ourselves surrounded with dozens of red roses, $6.99 per bouquet, and other predictable offerings from the corner store. To take the edge off all the reds and pinks swirling around our heads this week, we offer an alternative Valentine’s with deeply dark arrangements of succulents and black flowers.

These black flowers aren’t really black, but have been bred using the darkest reds and purples from the garden to create hues that fall far from the pink carnations and baby’s breath on the flower spectrum. Black flowers sometime look maroon or brown. Calla lillies, roses and orchids have been bred over time to achieve deep dark hues that work just as well with other colorful flowers in arrangements as they do on their own. In fact, when paired with brighter colors many “black” flowers actually appear darker, adding more mystique to their appeal. Pairing black flowers with purples, red and other dark jewel toned flowers make ideal them ideal for evening cocktail parties. For winter brides, a black and jewel bouquet is guaranteed to be a heart-stopper.

In our arrangements we like to pair our black flowers with succulents. At times icy and at other times earthy, succulents help keep black flowers grounded in the real world and help remind us that these flowers are as wild as they are regal. If you want to give a bit of deep dark love this Valentine’s and there are no black flower to be found, a simple selection of succulents will do the trick quite nicely. Paint a terra cotta pot a darker shade of black, and give someone a nicely planted selection of resilient and colorful succulents. Add a personal note and ribbon, and remind someone how resilient your love for them is.

CLICK HERE for more beautiful black flowers arrangement ideas (and a lovely gift tag) after the jump!

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i’ve got garden stakes on the brain this week, so i was instantly smitten with these sweet ceramic garden stakes from alarna at little jane st. in australia. her herb markers come in 10 different styles/names and are sold for $7 a piece, or in packs of 5 for $30 or 10 for $60. i love the vintage feel to them- they are right up my alley. if you want to pre-order you can click here to check out the series and make your pick, or you can click here to check out alarna’s full site thanks, alarna!

last week when amy and i were at terrain we saw some adorable blackboard stakes for sale. inspired to try our hand at making our own version, we made a mental note and headed home with a car full of plants and soap that smells like fresh tomatoes (my favorite home smell). so today this weekend when i was downing my second popsicle i decided to save the sticks and use up some of the leftover chalkboard paint i had from my last blackboard project. it’s the perfect simple afternoon project and the possibilities are endless (colored chalkboard paint? using studs to add a border? it’s all up to you).

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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amy and i took a trip to terrain last friday to stock up on green things, so i’ve got terrariums on the brain. so i was excited to hear from lauren at litill about these beautiful terrariums they’re selling. the glass structures themselves are a wide variety of organic shapes- the perfect structures for housing tiny growing things. litill makes 9 different types of terrariums, ranging in price from $125-$375. so if you’re looking to have a tiny garden delivered to your door, click here to check out litill’s collection and place an order. [thanks, lauren!]

*click here to watch tassy from sprout home show us how to make a terrarium from the soil up!

Avoid adding to the glut of office chocolate and candy hearts this Valentine’s Day by bringing a bit of of the outside in. You don’t need to be head-over-heels in love with someone to add some sweetness and color to their day, and these bite-sized arrangements are guaranteed brighten up any cubicle.

We recycled a heart-shaped box to use as our tray (spray-painted white) and mini tins as our candy cups (we found ours in the baking section of Bed, Bath and Beyond and spray-painted them gold). Once your paint has dried, arrange the cups in your box the way that candy would sit in a candy box. Add a small amount of water to each cup, enough to keep your stems wet but not so much that they’ll spill over on the drive to work. Choose a few scoops of your favorite flowers to artfully distribute to the tiny cups. The nice thing about this project is that you can use smaller flowers that are sometimes too small and delicate to work into large arrangements. Cut short stems and sort them into the cups. We used narcissus, quince blossoms, and ranunculus but any small flowers will do fine. Add the lid and secure with a ribbon. Be careful transporting them and be sure to keep the box level (that’s why we kept the water low).

Pass out the mini-arrangements or let your coworkers choose their favorite ones. The arrangements may only last a few days, but that’s a few days more than a box of candy would last and with so fewer calories. Don’t forget to save one for your desk, too!

CLICK HERE for more lovely images after the jump!

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Six more weeks of winter, blah, blah, blah. One morning last week, New York awoke to a surprise snow storm after several heavenly days of non-freezing temperatures. It could have been a heartbreaking reminder that we’re still in the dead of winter but instead, I decided to make this F.U. winter wreath. Wreathes are a touchy subject. Evergreens are nice at the holidays, but feel out of place after the main event is over. Fake flower wreathes send terrified shivers down my spine and dried flower wreathes aren’t too much better. Yet, as winter lingers on, I feel compelled to gussy up the front door, pseudo-spring style. Wild and branchy wreathes, devoid of the terrifying “country” connotations, are a much needed reminder that winter will soon be on the way out. -amy m.

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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when it comes to west coast garden style, i can think of few places i admire more than flora grubb. the first time i visited this incredible san francisco nursery/shop was with heidi and i think i would have stayed all day had their not been the promise of a delicious lunch on the horizon. so i was thrilled to hear from susie nadler at flora grub about her new business venture ‘the cutting garden‘, a cut flower studio at flora grubb gardens.

susie’s husband is flora’s business partner and after talking and working with flora, they all decided that fresh flowers would be a great way to expand the services offered at flora grubb. the cutting garden designs a wide range of beautiful arrangements (made from seasonal, california-grown materials) or your home, special events, or offices, and also runs a beautiful floral blog on the flora grubb site. one of susie’s goals is to help people become comfortable with cutting from their own gardens and arranging stems themselves, so susie will be helping customers with tips and tools of the trade for keeping the look of cut flowers going in your home. i’m so excited to check out the cutting garden in person, but until then i’ll be staring at these arrangements on a regular basis. if you’re in the area, drop by flora grubb to check out the new cutting garden, or visit them on the web right here. looking for valentine’s day gifts? flora grubb has a great online v-day selection right here.

*click here and here to check out more work from the cutting garden and flora grubb! thanks, susie!

The return of one of our favorites to local farms here in California makes the cool and rainy month of January (and we’ve had some rain this week!) a bit brighter. When ranunculus come back into season their size and color variations can’t be beat. Sometimes there are flowers within one family that have such a wide range of personalities that they can play a variety of venues. The ranunculus is that flower for us. They can be as dense, intense and petal-packed as a garden rose, or as light and airy as tissue-weight poppies. Their arching buds and frilly leaves make amazing additions to any arrangement.
The ranunculus is from the same family as the buttercup and a relative of the anemone, but has a more complex petal pattern and comes in a wider variety of colors. They are a tuberous-rooted plant and the most common variety used as a cut flower is the Ranunculus Asiaticus, or Persian Buttercup. The name comes from the Latin “rana”, meaning “frog” (after the moist environments where many members of the Ranunculaceae family typically grow). We raided our image archives for some of our favorite ranunculus arrangements and to show you the wide variety of colors these beauties come in.

Ranuncs from the farmer’s market are perfect (and inexpensive) for creating easy displays around your home. A bright row of jewel toned clusters makes a beautiful centerpiece substitute- create bouquets in your hand by lining up the blossoms, cut short, and place in your favorite small cups. For a more gardeny feel leave them long and leafy and showcase individual stems in a collection of clear glass bottles.

We love that these flowers can be just as at home on the kitchen table with a few sprigs of green as they are with some more unusual pairings, such as succulents or citrus fruits. A cluster of pristine white ranunculus could easily be mistaken for garden roses upon first glance, and the multitude of petals, sometimes 25 rows deep, adds amazing depth to a bouquet. As an added bonus they usually last for a couple of weeks, and like us they get better as they age.

CLICK HERE for more lovely ranunculus images and arrangements after the jump!

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