Still Smooching after 25 yrs

The Flourist recently was given the opportunity to decorate a home for a 25th anniversary celebration.
What an honor...

The couple in question are lovely - and really that word does not even do justice to all they have achieved in 25 yrs. Sweethearts they were and still are, judging by the jokes, jibes and hugs they still give each other. We were witness to that kiss... WHOA! if thats anything to go by, they must be doing something right ;)
They have lived in several countries, raised two amazing girls...oops i mean ladies, run great careers at different points in their lives, handled ups and downs so gracefully, developed an amazing network of friends in all the places they lived, and still maintained a great family connection with their far flung extended family.

As we were given a free hand to design whatever we want, The Flourist decided to go with a naturally exotic look - We used Heliconias - to be specific the Richmond Red and the pendant Crab Claw. The choice of flowers completely fit the nature of this family - beautiful wild and majestic.

Recognise the hoops?
we wanted to draw attention to the lovely exposed roof in this house, so by hanging the hoops with the heliconias strapped to them, we moved the eye focus above, to take in the architectural beauty of the home. Also as there was going to be lots of family catching up, we did not want tall arrangements hiding faces etc...

So, to complement the hanging pieces, we had low arrangements, once again keeping it simple and natural, this time coupling the monstera leaves with the pendant Crab Claws. They looked amazing, almost like they were growing out of the tables ;)

This is a great way to use these lovely blooms in a natural way without too much manipulation, and you don't need too many to make it look amazing. Beauty in simplicity.

Purple Madness

Our last few brides have loved the colour purple and white, which is lovely... but why not try pairing purple with other colours - like pink, or yellow? or even different shades of green.

The brighter yellow lifts the purple and makes the look pop and is very trendy

 Or leave the purple on its own with different shades of green - the above are two very modern takes on a very traditional purple theme...

Or mix purple with pinks and deep reds to get a more sensuous, romantic look...

Its all fair in purple and colours... so feel free to let the passion show.

Sneak Peek - photo shoot at GardenAsia

Hi everyone,

Just in case you had not heard, we are now the selected few vendors who have partnered with Extraordinary Weddings (Singapore), an online wedding website for all your wedding planning needs.
So to commemorate this new partnership, The Flourist was roped in for a quirky photo shoot out Kranji Way in a lovely green lung called GardenAsia.

While we wait for the official photos, I thought I would tempt you with some sneak peaks...
the theme was relaxed solemnization, a touch of vintage with bright cheery colours. The fun part was that we used very different flowers than the normal roses et al, which was a welcome change.

I just know you are loving it and are already planning for these colours for your big day! Go for it - this is a perfect example of less is more - the budget can be easily kept low for a set up like this, and is so effective - though I would recommend it for the cosy laid back touch of retro couples.

PSSST!!  by the way Extraordinary Weddings has a promotion for couples planning the knot, with a promotional card filled with discounts and goodies from selected vendors - pick yours up now!!

the legend of 9 suns - HKflowershow

This next display was based on a chinese legend about a warrior in the Yao Dynasty who shot down 9 suns, leaving just one to serve the earth and its people. when writing this story I found so many versions -  only one kept me interested...
It goes like this...


Long ago, during the reign of Emperor Yao, Di Jun, the eastern emperor of the sky and his wife Xi He had 10 sons--er, 10 suns. Each day the ten suns would travel with their mother, the goddess Xi He, to the Valley of the Light in the East. There, Xi He would wash her children in the lake and put them in the branches of an enormous mulberry tree called fu-sang.From the tree, only one sun would move off into the sky for a journey of one day, to reach the mount Yen-Tzu in the Far West. Much like a bus driver might tire of the same route after a few centuries, the boys grew bored and decided to take their celestial walk all together.
When Di Jun and Xi He found out, they were horrified to see their 10 sons in the skies. On Earth, crops were drying out, forests were bursting into flames, and the seas were boiling. If the ten suns persisted in their promenade, all living creatures on Earth would die.
To prevent the destruction of the Earth, the emperor Yao asked Di Jun, the father of the ten suns, to persuade his children to appear one at a time. They would not listen to him, so Di Jun sent the archer, Yi, armed with a magic bow and ten arrows to frighten the disobedient suns. However, Yi shot nine suns, only the Sun that we see today remained in the sky. Di Jun was so angry for the death of nine of his children that he condemned Yi to live as an ordinary mortal in the earth.


this display reminded me about why i started doing floristry in the first place - using everyday stuff, or stuff that we used to use everyday before microwaves and electric steamers and fastfood came in to our lives - to create design...
this was my style - IS my style - unfortunately in trying to build a business, sometimes not everyone's vision is the same, and sometimes I have to sacrifice my style for the sake of a happy client somewhat...


and the colours!!! sunset related colours - my favourite kind ;)


i love the use of the traditional steamers here - they have been modified a little and only the shell remains - better here than in the rubbish heap ;)

yellow yellow lovely flower

was at my suppliers today, and early in the week it is usually quiet - and i love it - cos it means i can spend my time with the flowers, get to know them - walk around multiple times and not worry about getting in anyones way.
it means I can linger with new flowers and foliage and think of ideas in my head and experiment with the broken flowers on the ground just to file away in my head for another day.

so anyway - today they had the loveliest golden yellow calla lilies in stock - imported of course but it is so rare to see them so beautiful. really they were almost singing!!!
found some field daisies going cheap (this is singapore everything costs money ;) ) and got some for my dining table.

created some napkin rings - these are perfect for a garden wedding, and you can dress it up as much or as little as you want. you can virtually do this with any flower - just the greens you have to get something sturdy like bear grass or acorus (which is just a fancy name for local bear grass) - dont use wild lalang you will cut your hands and it will tear when you knot it.

you will recognise the biscuit tin from charlene's book launch - the yellow of the callas really pop and the pink just brings out the psychadelic in me ;)