On a rainy Sunday at the farmer’s market this week we weren’t expecting to find anything too exciting. With the weather as it was, we weren’t sure if we’d find anything at all. To our surprise we found buckets of sunshine under a soggy tent belonging to Bill, the self-proclaimed Bulb Baron of the Central Coast. Bill has a passion for the narcissus genus and sells his flowers at local markets (and for those not lucky enough to visit in person his amazing bulb varieties are available to purchase through his website). He was also kind enough to identify each of the flowers we purchased. The smaller heavily fragrant flowers such as Paper Whites and Early Splendor are often referred to as Narcissus, where the larger varieties like The Bride and Tonga, are commonly referred to as daffodils.
These perennials are ideal candidates for potted gardens, but grow amazingly well almost anywhere in the garden with little attention and can continue to bloom for years (keep these sun-loving beauties out of the shade and they’ll be happiest). The varieties that Bill the Bulb Baron grows happen to be best for growing in our area of California, in a Mediterranean-like climate, but traditionally daffodils or dutch bulbs are very cold tolerant and actually need a “freeze” treatment in order to flower, so don’t despair if you live in colder climates. The daffodil recently became the official flower of New York City and thanks to the city’s Daffodil Project, begun as a commemoration of September 11th in an effort to replace the city’s neglected open spaces with flowers, nearly four million daffodils bloom in New York City annually with another 500,000 bulbs being planted each year. If these flowers can live through an east coast winter and still come out swinging, then we think we can endorse them for almost any garden.
If you’re getting flowers from your own garden make sure not to damage any leaves as these tender greens store the energy that will be required to produce next season’s flowers. If the plant’s leaves are cut before they naturally die down, the bulbs won’t get the nourishment that they need. If you plan on using daffodils with other flowers in any arrangement, make sure to separate them in their own bucket of water for a few hours beforehand to help leach out some of the sappy toxins that can quickly clog the stems of other flowers.
We gathered an armful of Bill’s offerings combined with some larger varieties from the flower market to make daffodil hills, small round arrangements that work best with lots of tightly packed blooms. We thought these fun little mounds would be great centerpieces for a spring brunch and look great combined with single stems in bottles and jars. Start with a few stems of different varieties, forming a round shape on top. While holding the stems tightly, add a row of more flowers very close together under the first few stems. The second row should help push up and support the heads as they sometimes like to look down. Continue adding rows to your bundle until you have a tallish, round mound. You may need to feed in a few stems from the top to fill out the shape. When you are happy with your hill, rubber band the stems together at the bottom of the stalks, then slide it up to the very top to keep your tightly bunched shape. Then cut the stems really short and rest them on a shallow vase or dish of water to display. Use a floral frog if your hill is too tall to remain upright and balanced on its own. In cut arrangements or given as potted bulbs, these sunny flowers help take the gray out of any day.
CLICK HERE for more beautiful daffodil images after the jump!
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February 25th, 2010 - 01:00pm
this couch from photographer kristin eldridge really grabbed me for some reason. the new look is so pretty and feminine and fresh- and it doesn’t hurt that kristin sure know how to take a good photo. kristin loves to rehab old furniture to use in her work, so click here to check out more of her photography. thanks, kristin!
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]
CLICK HERE to see kim’s office wall calendar after the jump!
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February 25th, 2010 - 12:00pm
i’ve been trying to convince my friends to go to brooklyn bowl with me, so i’ve got bowling on the brain. so when i saw ryan brown’s reclaimed maple bowling lane top table, i was instantly hooked. a bowling table turned table? so fun. click here to read more about ryan’s bowling table project.
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]
CLICK HERE for pei’s headboard makeover after the jump!
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February 25th, 2010 - 11:00am
this before & after is dedicated to a beautiful bedroom and living room makeover from charlotte designer bryn dunn of bryn alexandra interiors. bryn made over these two rooms in the back of a home with really sophisticated, dramatic results (i love the black floors in each room). even though that woods wallpaper has made the rounds, i still love it every time i see it. great work, bryn! click here to check out more of her work.
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]
CLICK HERE for Bryn’s living room makeover (and 2 extra bedroom shots) after the jump!
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February 25th, 2010 - 10:00am
today is before & after day so i thought i’d start us out nice and easy with some fun and simple paint + fabric makeovers. first up is ana’s bookcase makeover. orange is probably my favorite accent color for almost anything, so i loved seeing this simple makeover on a piece of furniture that just needed a little love. for another great orange bookcase look, check out this gorgeous piece in bonnee of studio bon’s home. thanks to ana for sharing!
[have a before & after you'd like to share on d*s? just shoot me an email right here with your images (low res, please).]
CLICK HERE for briana’s telephone table makeover after the jump!
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February 25th, 2010 - 09:00am
over at the d*s guest blog suann put together what has to the be most adorable, creative, budget-friendly children’s party ever. i don’t even have kids, but this party makes me want to invite my friends’ children over just to arrange something this cute. click here to check out suann’s full post on the guest blog and her great ideas for a fun outdoor party.
February 25th, 2010 - 08:00am
i’ve been on a mission to bring more green things into my home – growing more plants and visiting my local flower shop more often! even though it’s been a trend for a while, i still can’t get enough of science-y stuff (beakers, test tubes, etc.) in the home. so for this simple project, i used test tubes to create little bud vases – perfect for the delicate jasmine that just came into the flower shop this morning. spring is on the way! -amy a.
CLICK HERE for the complete project instructions!
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February 24th, 2010 - 01:00pm
[today i'm thrilled to welcome brett bara of manhattan craft room to d*s with a special guest column. you've been asking for more sewing how-tos, so brett will be joining us for a sewing 101 primer, covering all the basics for getting started with home sewing. welcome, brett!]
Hello there! I’m very happy to be here at design*sponge to spread a little sewing love. I hear a lot these days from folks who want to learn to sew, but don’t know where to start. I’m here to tell you how EASY sewing can be—especially home décor sewing. There’s so much you can sew for your home that requires only the most basic sewing skills, from curtains and duvets to pillows and slip covers—so that’s what we’re going to explore in this column.
I thought the perfect place to start would be with the one home accent that is by far the easiest to sew and the most impactful on a room: curtains!
If you love textiles and want to incorporate a little DIY action into your life, there’s no better place to begin. Curtains can instantly give a room a facelift, and you can sew your own in a mere afternoon, with literally the most basic stitching skills.
CLICK HERE for the full curtain how-to (and Brett’s tips on sewing machines and how to choose a fabric) after the jump!
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February 24th, 2010 - 12:00pm
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