May Flowers

A few weekends ago my husband and I, along with two of our friends, finally made the trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Everything was in high bloom: the cherry blossoms, the lilac, the wisteria. The poppies, ranging from stark white to that deepest, darkest purple, stood erect with their petals bowing backwards, allowing the sunlight to pool in their open blooms. I've posted some of the photographs I took on our Facebook Fanpage - please, go ahead and give them a look, and see if you can't also help to identify a few of the plants whose names escape me!

Following my multiple Springtime flower obsessions, I thought it'd be nice to give you a post featuring pictures of flowers that bloom (or reach their pinnacle) in the month of May. You remember that old saying about April showers. So, there. That's it! A bare-bones, strictly visual post about May flowers. Let me know if there are any varieties (or colors!) that you'd like to see included, if I've forgotten them.

1: anemone

2: bloodroot

3: chionodoxa

4: daffodil

5: dogwood

5: hyacinth

6: azalea

7: rhododendron

8: roses (shrub)

Fleurotica 2012, Finally!

It's amazing that it's already been more than a year since I wrote this post about Fleurotica 2011. Back then, I was still living in Chicago and working from the Flower Petal H.Q. in downtown Chicago, right off the river and across from the Willis Tower (formerly Sears). All of it seems so distant now. Writing about Fleurotica 2012 from my modest Brooklyn apartment seems a far cry from my visits to our flower shop in Chicago, where I might've wiggled my fingers into some of the almost-finished arrangements or spent a few minutes in the walk-in flower fridge. But Springtime has finally overtaken this city, and I am all the more satisfied to be able to write about this year's event, even if from hundreds of miles away.

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LEFT TO RIGHT: a tulip skirt, taken literally; one of the lovely arrangements at the event.

Once again the Garfield Park Conservatory sponsored and put on this bright and colorful event, although it was held at a different location (Venue One) due to the damage the Conservatory's greenhouse sustained after a hailstorm last year. So 2012's gala was a benefit for the G.P.C., which gave a deeper purpose to an already pleasing visual spectacle.

In the photos below you'll see our signature look for the runway this year, a floor-length gown in firey red petals and blooms. To see our other creation, watch this video from ABC7 Chicago -- we snagged some major air-time in this one! Eunia Rushing described this outfit as "modern day fairytale urban evil queen," a three-quarter-length jacket featuring oak leaves, Mokara orchids, and wood moss.

ABOVE: our model blazing a trail down the catwalk.

LEFT TO RIGHT: the dress; Susan (head floral designer), our model,
and Andrea (our design coordinator) applaud toward the end of the show.

I'm certain it would have been magical to have been there. After browsing through the complete design catalogue of the show (photographs by Brian Kinyon) I was nothing but impressed. Beyond this, the designers and their models seem to have progressed in a very real way, almost toward a certain modicum of haute couture that, althouh present in previous years, seems to be coming into fullness. For more photos, visit Candid Candace's web page. For even more: a Fleurotica-focused write-up by Candace herself.

Customer Testimonials, Round 27: All-Things-Wisteria

I spent part of my spring break reading the first-half of a collection of essays/letters/poems by and about F. Scott Fitzgerald. A particular image, though it is one amongst many, remains steadfast in my mind: Parisian and Viennese wisteria. The vine-covered trees themselves played only a passing role in Francis and Zelda's recollections of their youthly travels, but appear lovingly throughout the couple's wandering prose ("Wistaria dripped in the court of the Høtel d'Europe at Avignon and the dawn rumbled up in market carts" [The Crack-up 43].) --- and, of course, my own preoccupation with these dreamy, creeping blossoms was happily reintroduced.

L.B. SAID:
My daughter was absolutely delighted with the Orchid and immediately sent me a picture of the beautiful and delicate plant. Thanks for going out of your way for my last-minute color request. 

M.N. SAID:
Just wanted to let you know that the arrangement I ordered far and away exceeded my expectations - you could not compare the photo on the web site with what we got. The arrangement was on the table when we were seated and my wife was surprised. She has worked part time at a high end flower shop in her past and she said the quality of the flowers and the arrangement matched what she was used to. Thanks so much! 

G.M. SAID:
The flowers I ordered were absolutely gorgeous. By far the nicest roses I have ever purchased. Please forward me the name of the Florist. Thank you...you made a very special woman happy! 

B.P. SAID:
Thank you very much for making my mom's birthday special. Everything was perfect! Given the quick notice I would say exceptional! 

Amorphophallus titanum

My memory has served me well once again - a little while ago I posted a photo of a "corpse lily" (Rafflesia arnoldii) in the "Strange Beauty" album on our Facebook page, illuminating the uncanny feeling that arose when my boss sent me this link under the playful heading "interesting plant." I can even vaguely remember learning about such huge and stinking plants in Mrs. Gleaves' sixth grade Earth Science class and thinking what it might be like to stick my head down into one of their large, goopy bellies. And it just so happens that another of my retroactive intuitions was correct: Mr. Wilson's 40-year-old flower in the 1993 version of Denis the Menace is modeled after the titan arum as well! Check this clip below:

A little information would be helpful for those of you who have never heard of or seen this flower before. Its place of origin is Sumatra and it remains one of the rarest, largest, and most putrid-smelling flowers in the world (the scent it emits, described by many as bearing a resemblance to the rotting of a corpse, attracts the carrion beetles which are its primary pollinators). It does have around a forty-year lifespan but only blooms a handful of times, and even then only for a little over two hours. This short excerpt from the National Geographic's website explains a bit more:

First discovered in Sumatra's rainforests in 1878 by Odoardo Beccari, an Italian botanist, the corpse flower is a monsoon plant. During the dry season the tuber -- the fleshy stem of the plant, which can weigh 100 pounds or more -- remains dormant underground. When the rains come, it shoots up a single leaf that separates at the top (and looks like a palm leaf)...(And) if the tuber is big enough, instead of a leaf, a stalk-like structure called an inflorescence emerges.

There have only been about twenty supervised blooms in the United States since titan arum's stateside debut in 1937, which took place at the New York Botanical Garden - and not many people have seen the plant in its natural habitat, which leads many botanists to believe it to be endangered.

before blooming

the titan's frills

Just to think that such a flower exists happily explodes the bounds of my imagination. There is always talk about the unfathomable amount of natural species and phenomena that have yet to be discovered; in fact, a very recent estimation, also forwarded as the most accurate to date, was covered by The Guardian in August of 2011: "An astonishing 86% of all plants and animals on land and 91% of those in the seas have yet to be named and catalogued...(out of an approximate) 8.7 million (or more life organisms)." It's humbling to consider this estimate and almost sublime to know that it misses the mark. Just think of what else remains hidden in nature, perhaps more strange (and more odorous) than our beloved titan!

Customer Testimonials, Round 26: In Honor of an Upcoming (Green) Holiday

This Saturday marks my first St. Patrick's Day in New York City. I've found myself projecting, wondering whether or not my experience here will be the same as my one-and-only S.P.D. in Chicago: green river, green confetti, green beer, green people on the subway (green hair, nails, clothing, lipstick, footwear, food, jewelry). I suppose there isn't any real reason for it to be THAT different, but I am curious nonetheless.

In honor of this upcoming holiday, I present to you some oggle-worthy images of Bells of Ireland (moluccella laevis as it's known science-wise) - a perfect flower considering their coloration and their country of origin!

W.C. SAID:
I am BEYOND thrilled with this order. It was delivered on time, despite my requesting pretty much last-minute, and it was beautiful. Thank you so much! 

M.R. SAID:
Thank you very much. The flowers made the evening a special one - along with the champagne, excellent food and a great symphony performance. A memorable evening. Thanks again for your help! 

R.K. SAID:
I just want to thank you for your wonderful service. My sister got the flowers and balloon and thought they were beautiful. You made our day. Thanks again for the service and for letting me know. I really appreciate it. 

B.P. SAID:
John, I can't tell you how much we appreciate you taking care of this. It will mean a lot to Taylor on her first photography show to know that we were thinking of her. Rest assured that we will always use flowerpetal when we want to send flowers. 

G.R. SAID:
I personally would like to thank you and your delivery service for making my evening with my wife a complete success! She was just astonished with the flowers and the arrangement. Thank you again for making our evening spectacular! 

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Phew! With all that being "said" I just want to give you one last reminder that you should most definitely come to us for all of your last-minute flower needs (if you have any) for this upcoming holiday. Also, don't forget that Flower Petal will be participating in Fleurotica 2012 at the end of this month! Stay tuned for updates.