Picking Wild Flowers

O Christmas Flower! O Christmas Flower! 

Thy pedals are so unchanging; 

Tomorrow I am home bound! This week I wrapped up my LAST fall finals! I am looking forward to much needed time with friends and family! I have a break full of baking, camp preparing, and flower arranging planned!

O Christmas Flower! O Christmas Flower! Thy pedals are so unchanging;

O Christmas Flower! Oh Christmas Flower! 

Thy pedals are so unchanging;

Lisa, a co-worker and friend, asked me to design two arrangements. One is for her mom and the other is for a friend who is graduating from nursing school. I enjoyed creating both of them, but my favorite was the Blissful design (pink roses).

O Christmas Flower! Oh Christmas Flower! 

Much pleasure thou can’st give me; 

When Lisa and I walked into the flower shop we were saddened with the selection. I want PERSONALITY! I want WOW! I want FRESH!! I have found a gap in the market place and every day I find more and more motivation to fill it! Flowers are a instant breath of jazz. They might not last long but they make an everlasting impression.

O Christmas Flower! Oh Christmas Flower! 

Much pleasure thou can’st give me. 

After a little creativity and brainstorming we found the pink and white roses to be suitable! I purchased some evergreens and baby breath to use as fillers. The berries are actually fake but shhhh don’t tell anyone my secret. 😉

I really appreciate those who believe in me and all of the practice I have received in the last few weeks. I have picked out a few potential flower garden locations! I need to start thinking about what varieties I want to grow. I know fear is just a part of the process but it will be very interesting to see how this first year goes. It is a year of changes: graduation, job search, flower growing, and moving back. 🙂

Life is blissful!

This week has been crazy!! Not only is it dead week, but I was invited to my first vendor show! Curves, workout facility, hosts a Christmas sale every year and they invite local women to display their products. I applaud Curves, it is a really good outlet for small town women entrepreneurs.

I created two arrangements for the show: “Winter Wonderland, and “Candy Cane.” I heard about the show on Monday night and had to act fast. The show started yesterday and will last for a week! Tuesday was a FLORAL workday!! I was in my happy place 😉 #Goals!

The floral recipes have a more complex design than what I have done in the past and it was a learning curve for sure. I enjoyed the challenge and I am pleased with the outcome. The two are on display with a brochure and a few business cards. I am hoping to receive a few orders this week before heading home for break!

Step one: Purchase supplies; I need to look into buying flowers wholesale. Growing my own will increase profits, but currently my profit margin is very very slim. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Step 2: Layout supplies. I went a little overboard with my purchases this week, but I just got way excited and wanted them to be perfect!

Step 3: “Winter Wonderland”Recipe

Finished Product! The “Winter Wonderland” arrangement took some serious thinking. I wanted to create a table piece that shouted Christmas, but more subtlety.

Step 4: “Candy Cane” Recipe. The ornaments were a challenge all in their own. This was the first time I used non-floral ingredients in my recipe. I conducted a lot of trial and error and ended up securing the bulb to a wooded stick.

What do you think?? I love the richness in the final product! Below is part of the brochure I took to Curves. Read my story and be sure to stay tuned for more floral recipes next week!

At the moment I am sipping hot cocoa while watching Country Christmas on ABC! It is hard to believe we only have 2 weeks of classes before finals! This past week was a great whirl wind! Pardon me while I stop singing “Wish You a Merry Christmas” and switch gears back to Thanksgiving. I am feeling blessed and thankful for many things!

Two weekends ago Dad, Tyler, and Kyle came up to watch the Iowa State Game. Dad should have joined us for more! With that score I think he was good luck!

Man was it cold that day! But I am not complaining, this year has been abnormally warm. The rest of the week was fantastic! I had the opportunity to spend  a lot of good quality time with family. Including a workout session with Michael!! #PureTorture!

On Friday, Megan and I helped Pleasant Valley decorate Christmas trees. In return I took a few flowers home to play with ;).

The “Feeling Blessed” Flower Recipe is below! Follow the steps and enjoy!!

I started with an empty vase that is narrow towards the top. I chose to add twine around the lip but if you have a different color of ribbon feel free to add your own personality.

Dawn gave me a great variety of flowers to arrange with! For the first one I decided to try a simple rose bouquet. I learned through my research that alternation is key to a symmetrical and uniform arrangement.

Tyler and I enjoyed dinner with his parents on Friday night and I had the opportunity to take my flowers with me. 🙂

I created a second bouquet with the rest of the flowers and took them over to Grandma Pats; she loved them!

I am interested in growing my own flowers this summer. If you have any tips and tricks you’ve learned over the years please let me know!

Have a great holiday season! I hope to again make a weekly presence on Picking Wild Flowers! A month was way to long!

Remember to feel thankful for our many blessings everyday!

Happy Tuesday FLOWER Lovers! This weekend was crazy busy!! The orchard is in full bloom and the lines for the Cafe are beyond a comfortable limit!! Apple donuts, pies, and hot cider is pushing my fall fetish to full capacity!!

Side Note: I am playing on an undefeated intramural volleyball team!! Talk about a GREAT Monday! 🙂

Back to the post topic:  

Today we have an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Women in Ag Education Training Session and I get to supply the flowers!! I am so excited to represent Picking Wild Flowers during our meeting. I really enjoy the extra practice and opportunity to express myself!

I wanted to create a design that was professional but still made the room feel comfortable. I decided to cook up a pretty simple arrangement. A good center piece starts with a vase. I purchased 7 small vases with two different styles.

The focus flowers include Baby’s Breath and Daisies. I am currently IN LOVE with Fall and I wanted to represent the leaves turning. The Baby’s Breath made a nice neutral base. I added a brown vegetation (optional) behind the Baby’s Breath to help highlight the colors in the Daisies.

Daisies come in all sorts of colors! (Wink Wink: Red, Orange, and Yellow)

Always start with the base flowers!

Place the focus flower.

They all don’t have to be exactly alike but should be similar. It is nice to add a touch of personality to each one.

And I am off!! A bucket of flowers surely can make one’s day!! #FoodForTheSoul

My first floral recipe! I am so excited to share this Fall arrangement with you.  Grab your coffee, your favorite vase and lets cook!

I began by purchasing the following flowers: 2 Daisies, 5 White Roses, 3 Hydrangea, 1 bunch of Ornamental Grass, 5 Alstroemeria, and 5 Limonium stems. I also made sure to throw flower food into my cart (Top Fresh dissolves into the water and helps prevent bacteria growth).

I will try and let the pictures tell the story :).

Strip the flowers of all stem leaves. Conserve the plants energy to extend flower longevity.

Begin with the base and place the focus flowers aesthetically.

Enjoy!

“BE PATIENT AND PERSISTENT”

Tonight I attended a conference for women entrepreneurs called The Gathering. The conference’s slogan was “empowered women empower women.” Today I feel motivated, today I feel inspired, and today I feel empowered. I feel empowered to do what I love and to do it well. I have been thinking a lot about the floral industry and in what ways I may be able to disrupt the market. How can I differentiate myself from the HyVee flowers and Floweramas of the world? How can I enter a saturated industry and still be successful? I need to be different and I need to be unique.

200 inspiring entrepreneurs had the opportunity to hear from 5 business women. I soaked in many tips and trades and would like to share the top 5 I gathered.

1. Rippke Design, “Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you”
2.  Kinosol, “Always listen to customer feedback”
3. Kelsi Ziemann Artistry, “Start~Explore~Refine”
4. Peace Tree Brewing Company, “Be authentic”
5. Creme Cupcake + Dessert, “Be Patient and Persistent“

I am in the middle of creating a business plan for Picking Wild Flowers. What do I want my business to look like? How do I begin? In what ways do I want to direct my arrangements? How can I become more knowledgeable about the industry?

I am engulfing in research and practice. The process is a long one but I know if I am patient and persistent I will get there. I am excited to blog my first floral recipe this weekend! 🙂

I am very excited to announce that Picking Wild Flowers has a fresh new look. I have made a few changes to the design and mission of my blog. Picking Wild Flowers will now mainly focus on Farm and Flowers. There are few people around me who know of my love for flowers. I hope to bring the title Picking Wild Flowers to life by sharing my arrangements and horticulture knowledge through this online platform.

My goal is to work hands on and to bring joy to those around me. The floral industry is becoming very integrated. One top retailer owns majority of the market, but why not change the market with unique, local, and innovative arrangements?

I came to Iowa State wanting to pursue an Animal Science focus, but luckily God had a different plan for me. All of the animal science classes were continuously full and as much as I love livestock; I will be forever grateful for my first opportunity with horticulture. I have grown to love designing and creating floral arrangements. Here are a few of the fall arrangements I created last fall. I am anticipating the time this year when I can snuggle in my warm apartment with a cup of coffee and a whole list of possibilities in front of me.

I hope you enjoy the new direction my blog is heading. I am very excited to post future bouquets. Join me on this journey and see Picking Wild Flowers evolve.