Christmas with Flower Magazine

Last December, FLOWER Magazine reached out to me in mid-December to do their “In Bloom” section. Since this is always the first place I flip to the minute I pull my magazine out of my mailbox, I was absolutely freaking out with excitement. Mom and I set to choosing the container, flowers, and scene to set this creation that I would create step by step for the shoot. Mom’s beautiful orchids got tossed out of her enormous entry-way urn, I ordered my most favorite green and white flowers from Mayesh and foraged evergreens while my 9 year old made gold-leafed place cards.

Editor Alice Doyle and Photographer David Hillegas drove up from Birmingham for the shoot, arriving just after Victoria Fraley did my hair and makeup (I can arrange flowers but certainly not my own straight-as-a-board hair!). Having never been part of a photo shoot I had no idea of the fun ahead. David scouted out the best place to shoot the step-by-step while I went around our house turning off all the lights. As a daughter of my mother, I love lamp light and was surprised to learn that artificial light interferes with quality photos.

While we polished off a tray of Sausage Pinwheels (a Christmas season requirement started by my grandmother), David took detail shots of each step as I built the huge urn arrangement. Since it was 2019 and Christmas, I wanted to create something big and lush! Turns out 2020 when this was published was not the year to go big, but it was still inspirational for a white Christmas arrangement with lots of green texture.

Once Alice had recorded all the steps and helped style all the photos for David, we packed that big old arrangement and headed up the hill to my parents house, where the table was set for Christmas and to get the urn to her rightful place on their foyer table. We ate a quick lunch from the Cafe on the Corner because the light was fading quickly.

I was most in awe of the talent of the FLOWER team when it was time to capture the “beauty shot” of the final arrangement. I am not exaggerating to say that by that time it was dark, and again, all the lights in the house need to be turned off. David and my dad rearranged the table to get what little natural light remained coming from the front and side of the foyer. Alice effortlessly arranged a spread of my mom’s silver and Herend pieces to add interest. But the blank space under the foyer table needed something. My parents standard Poodle was the perfect something, but the exposure needed to be 30 seconds with so little daylight left. That Percy sat this still for a full 30 seconds for this shot! He didn’t even blink! All of us were just so proud of that beautiful poodle and you better believe he got a fancy dinner that night. One year later, we now have our own poodle (a Maltese Poodle my mom couldn’t resist at the Cashiers-Highland Humane Society). I could settle for no less after witnessing this poodle’s good manners.

Click here and here to see the two online articles and photos. I’m so grateful to Alice Welsh Doyle, David Hillegas, and FLOWER for this fun experience!

Winter Foraging for Holiday Designs

It’s the dead of winter and the shade trees stand gray and bare. The only new green emerging is on the glorious hellebores a.k.a. Lenton Roses. Here in Tennessee there is still plenty to forage to create characteristically winter designs. Here are some images for inspiration on what you can forage and buy to warm up your home on these cold days.

Here you can see my favorite flower, Lenton Rose, which you may find blooming in your own yard. The green base is made of cypress, boxwood, and holly berry (trimmed of some leaves when needed) as well as dried seeded Eucalyptus brightened up with a can go Gold spray paint. Why not use fruit, especially gorgeous pomegranate in the dead of winter? Flowers purchased from the wholesaler include quicksand roses and scabiousa.

Here are apples and oranges mixed in with foraged juniper berries, nandina (a winter favorite, especially the berries), magnolia and loves of roses, lisianthus and berries from the wholesaler (and usually at the grocery store too).

Don’t just toss out that poinsettia when it starts looking sad. It makes a great cut flower. It does release a sap, so ideally, they will drink from a separate cup of water before arranging with other flowers (just like a daffodil). A little pot of gold leaf paint amped up this vase as well as added some shimmer and shine to dried seed eucalyptus and tiny hemlock cones. I think the magnolia may be the star of the show here though.

When that huge Amaryllis starts to fall over or only a few blooms are left, use it with a cut flower. Green and White Parrot tulips are some of my favorite Christmas flowers too!

Here’s a time lapse showing a base of foraged winter greens including branches of Carolina Cherry Laurel, White Pine, Juniper, and Holly with mini green hydrangea, spray roses andAmaryllis, I love growing several amaryllis bulbs in my home each advent season because it is such.a joy to watch them grow and then open into gorgeous blooms. When a few start to fade or they get too tall to stand on their own they make the loveliest large cut flower as shown here.

Can you tell I love Christmas evergreens? This step in the arrangement show the green base of magnolia, curly pine, and cypress branches with Amaryllis inserted early on in the design to make sure they were secure in the chickenwire and fully in water. To see the other steps go to https://flowermag.com/home-for-christmas-k-wakefield-designs/

Greenery and Green grapes will alway shine:

Christmas green and white with place cards made by my 9 year old :)

And if I can get my hands on juniper berries, score! They were my favorite feature in a January wedding I did earlier this year. I hope these photos from December and January inspire you to create beautiful floral designs even when it seem the whole world has frozen and browned. Keep your eyes open for the beauty this season holds.

Laura + William at The Honors Golf Course

It was such an honor to have Laura ask me to be a part of this beautiful ceremony and seated dinner for their wedding. Here are some of the details captured via iPhone. Can’t wait to see the professional photos!

Planner: The Social Office

Rentals: The McCabe Company

Tent: Chattanooga Tent

Linens: La Tavola Fine Linens

Ginger Jar Escort Card Table

Beautiful Escort Card Table with Chinoiserie Vases

Champagne Table with Garden Style Florals

Cut Glass Footed Glass Urn with Dahlias and overflowing blush florals.

En Masse Lilies for Terrace Bar

A bowl of Limes balances a huge design of Lilies, the brides favorite flower!

Another Bar with Blush Flowers and lots of Texture

The wedding planner, Dori Waller of the Social Office, had all of these fabulous Chinoserie vases we were thrilled to fill with our designs.

Classic Spiral Brides Bouquet

Nerine Lilies, White Cloud Garden Roses, Dusty Miller and so much more fill out this traditional white bouquet for the sweetest bride, Laura.

Floral Swag

First impressions are everything. This gorgeous swag by Natalie Huffaker greeted guests at the front door of The Honors.

Smilax and Floral Tent Tie backs

Adorable little blue and white party favors!

Such fabulous details with rentals from the McCabe Company and these adorable party favors found by the wedding planner.

Floral Garland

Filled with Garden Roses, Ranunculus, Delphinium, Eucalyptus, and dozens of other types of flowers. These dinner guest had more than the food to feast their eyes upon.

Overflowing Table Garland

Why have flower only on the table when they can also flower off the table too?!

Florals for Guest Book

Instead of a guest book, the guest signed a matt to be framed…of course it needed flowers until filled.

Two of these extra large planters flanked the bride and groom for their tented ceremony.

Smilax Draped Bar Shelves

Light and airy but just right!

What Flowers are Available in August?

This post might be a little selfish, but I’ve been meaning to start pooling photos of floral arrangements I’ve done by month. Then I can quickly consult my past work and see what I foraged and what kind of flowers that I personally love are available in that month. So now that August is drawing to a close, here are some of my favorite August arrangements from the past. The plan is to make this post every month, but we’ll see about that!

I’m seeing pokeberries, foraged grasses, Golden Rod before it gets too yellow (love it at this green stage!), hydrangea at their most beautiful multi-color stage, knock-out roses, and Japanese maple for texture. August’s unique flowers are zinnias, Dahlias, queen Anne’s lace, and golden rod and almost always available of course roses, lisianthus, and ranunculus.

My favorite foraged element at this brow dinner party was the autumn clematis. I love when some of it is not yet budded out with its green and white little buds. Larkspur and Autumn clematis together are a lovely pair. Plus ferns at this time of year will hold up, you can tell when a fern is hard enough to use in design by whether it has the brown spores on the back.

Don’t forget sedum this time of year! And Cosmos, Scabiosa, and Shimmer Rose (always lovely!)

I think anemones are on their way out usually this time of year, but obviously not impossible to get. The Gomphrena and dahlias were local and there’s some mountain laurel buds for texture. These ranunculus are looking particularly stunning in August.

All Grown by Creekside Flower Farm in August!

I almost forgot about Snow on the Mountain Euphorbia! I love this stuff!! And locally grown foxglove in August? Is that right? I think so, but I’m surprised. Hope this was as helpful for you as it will be for me!

And these beautiful people, photographed by Christan George, got married in August. Morgan wanted wildflower bouquet and this hand tied was all local. August, you can deliver!

It's Dahlia time!

Oh how I love rainbow of colors in dahlias. They are so special because they are hard to acquire any time of year except for not through November. Here’s a look at a few projects centered around this lovely flower:

For a Cashiers Designer Showhouse Demonstration, I went to Scotland Yard, just off highway 64 in Cashiers. They have 4 huge Dahlia patches and you simply cut what you want and leave $2 a stem in the box. It felt a little like heaven! Wear shoes you don’t mind getting dirty

Here are more lovely Dahlias bought at a roadside stand on the way to Cashiers and from the Chattanooga Club cutting garden:

And here’s a late season November arrangement I did for a garden club demonstration of white dahlias with a mix of dried grasses, roses, chocolate scabiousa, ranunculus, chocolate Queen Anne’s Lace, Japanese maple, and berries:

Don’t let this season pass by without getting your hands on these beauties. In Chattanooga, Southerly Flower Farm, Creekside Flower Farm, and the Market on Sundays at the Tennessee Pavilion will have them available by the bucket!

A Bright and Lush Microwedding at Home

Like so many brides this year, Elizabeth was planning on a large summer wedding, but shifted to a beautiful family wedding at home in February. She wanted none of the details spared, but paired her guest list down to only immediate family. We were so thrilled to execute her vision for a bright and bold winter wedding.

First can we focus on this bouquet? We layered colors and textures in a wide asymmetric garden style. She knew she wanted billy balls and bright colors and left the rest to me. I can’t decide if the spilling clematis or or dancing light pink sweet peas are my favorite! Of course the very best part is Elizabeth’s joyful smile.

Fabulous Wedding Planner, Lee Easterly, helped coordinate all the furniture being moved out of the living room so that we could create a lovely reception using my own wedding china, my mom’s wine goblets, and the bride’s family’s special jewel toned cut glass high boys. Because the groom’s family is Scottish and the thistle is the flower of Scotland, these fluffy specialty thistle were a focal point. Epting Events served a delicious brunch and cocktails. Originally we had planned on having a fire on a cozy February day, but opted for a fireplace filled with candles to keep the heat down and add some glowing ambiance.

Now let’s step outside to the deck of this home hanging off the brow of Lookout Mountain. Can you believe this view? We couldn’t resist creating a light and airy floral arbor with this expansive landscape. Unique and beautiful textured flowers including glorious lilies, eucalyptus pods, and berries amped up a simple cake. Other details not pictured are poppies dancing in a very special engraved family silver bowl belonging the brides grandmother in the foyer, gold cuffs for the mothers, and a floral wreath of grapes, clematis, hydrangea and vines hanging on the front door. Congratulations Elizabeth and Jack! You showed us how an intimate wedding with family should be done!