Holidays & Festiveness, Part I

Good sunny morning all! Though it has been a dry, bitter cold the last couple of days, I am thrilled to see the bright sun again. The recent crispness reminds me of winters back in Alberta (oh the frigidity!) and subsequently of Christmas. Please remember to place your Christmas orders by December 11th to have them by the 18th. You can email you orders to tomlinsonplantdesign@gmail.com, drop me a line on my Facebook page, or stop by JJ Bean and have a wee chat with me! Below I have a few pictures of some of the things I have been preparing for the holiday season, though do remember that I love to take custom orders as well. Keep checking in over the next couple weeks or so to see what other lovely holiday trinkets are available!

Lotus, $60: Huck, lotus pod, eucalyptus, baby's breath, aeonium, leucadendron.

Wild, $70: Eucalyptus, craspedia, baby's breath, leucadendron.

Gilt, $75: Cedar, myrica, baby's breath, cotton, cucomis, hydrangea, crassula. Some sections are painted a champagne gold for extra festive flare!

Gilt, $75: Get it lit! Silver wire with soft white lights, takes 3 AA batteries (not incld.), $16. Blue-white lights on brass wire (below), takes 2 AA batteries (not incld.), $7.

Tropical Holiday, $60: Simple, but fun. And a great way to be festive in small spaces! Asparagus ferns a great stand-ins for Christmas trees! Lights sold seperatly($16 for soft white, $7 for blue-white), batteries not included.

Tropical Holiday: Little handmade mushrooms help set the scene!

Tropical Holiday: Just as enjoyable in the dark when purchased with a light set!

Growing & Changing

Exciting changes are happening with TPD! I've finally set up a PayPal account so my customers can pay via any major credit card, but I've also opened a shop on Etsy! Very exciting indeed. I will continue to make terrariums to order for the Etsy shop, though now you can see a price. I am also now able to ship products, though I must state that due to the tender organic nature of the product, I remain hesitant to ship across the country. That being said, if you do live outside of Vancouver and would like to order from me, send me a wee email at tomlinsonplantdesign@gmail.com and we can try to work something out. In the meantime, please click the link above and check out the shop!

In other news, I am already taking pre-orders for the holidays so if you have someone you think would love a terrarium, feel free to place your order anytime! If you forget however, do keep an eye on my Etsy shop as I will be stocking it up for the holiday season. I will have plenty of inexpensive sweet little tillandsia terrariums, like those pictured, available for the holiday season. At $25+shipping (can be waived if I am dropping it off, just send me an email), they are perfect for hostess gifts, Secret Santa, co-workers (especially Secretaries)...you name it! I've also booked another wedding for next summer! That is very exciting. It's a way out yet, but the couple and /I have already started working together and I think that it is going to be the most intimate and romantic wedding ever! Super excited. Spending way to much time on Pintrest... 

That's all for now. Check out the shop, and tell you friends!

Updates & Adventures

My laptop, one of my most cherished belongings that got me through all those undergrad papers and into life beyond post-secondary, has died. Hence why there has been no posting in quite some time. But I am back! On a temporary computer that I can't upload my pictures to unless they are taken on a phone and emailed to me. Ah technology....

Huge pots of my beloved pitcher plants.

Life has been pretty busy! I have a new roommate, I have been painting my house, I started a new job on top of working full time for JJ Bean, and am still making terrariums! I love it, but I do miss the Nursery and being in the garden all the time. I have plenty of pictures of my recent work for you, but alas, computer problems.

As business has started to pick up, I am happy to announce that I can now accept all major credit cards through PayPal! This will hopefully make things easier for my customers, especially as the holiday season creeps ever so much closer....

Speaking of the holidays, I am now taking orders for the Christmas season! It seems early, but holiday parties start only a few weeks from now and a terrarium, big or small, is perfect for the holiday table or a hostess gift! I have some exciting plans for holiday goodies, including (hopefully) a product line collaboration with my incredibly talented plant-soul mate/BFF over at Parallel 49 Palms and Exotics. I shall keep you posted, but trust me, this is very exciting! 

One of these almost came home in my bag...but it was too big.

But for now, as autumn only just sets in, I think I'll share some of my pictures from my recent visit to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, which is located just between Oak and Granville on 37th. It is one of the two great botanical gardens in Vancouver, tho other being the severely under-rated and under appreciated Bloedel Conservatory. I have been to their amazing plant sale and toured the gardens before, but it was quite enchanting to wander about on the first day of Autumn and take in their Touch Wood exhibit.The gardens themselves are always worth the trip, but it was quite interesting to see all the wood sculptures scattered about. I loved the Fern Dell most of all, and the presence of the white-washed abstracted humanoid sculptures gave it this fantastic eerie/sacred vibe. 

But of course, I am always drawn to the colours and textures and over-the-top showmanship of tropicals and plants that would never happily survive on their own in Vancouver without serious tender loving care. 

These bananas were huge! Too bad red leafed bananas are not hardy here...

Brugmansia/datura flower, deadly but lovely. And the fragrance!

Such beautiful agaves, so big too!

Such a cute flower! And the perfect colouring for the first day of Autumn.

Beer & Coffee

Green wall!

There are few things that I love more in life than plants, but a good beer and amazing coffee definitely rank up there. After busy month of wedding prep, job changes, new relationships, and crazy heat, I was more than ready to disappear for a couple days and hide out in wonderful beer and coffee Mecca of the PNW: Portland. It. Was. Wonderful. But it was 35 degrees while I was there, so it wasn't so much of a reprieve as an intensification of the conditions back home in Vancouver.  Oregon has long been one of my favorite places to venture off to when I only have a short window of leisure time, though generally I find myself in tents along the coast, trying to avoid as many fellow tourists as possible. I've passed through Portland a couple of times, but have never spent more than an hour or two on the outskirts of town, in Powell's. This time I wanted to enjoy the city and spend some time there. The hotel was booked, Hotel Modera right downtown (randomly it had terrariums--with sad fake plants--in the lobby and a lovely exterior green wall to welcome me), and all other plans put aside. Vacation! 

Me, playing with the lovely foliage

It was lovely. I went with one other person, and we pretty much just ate and sauntered around the downtown core, and of course did some tax free shopping. There was even a showing of "Grease," the sing-along version, in Pioneer Square the night we were there, so of course we sat down and enjoyed the show. And sang. I don't sing well, so perhaps be thankful you weren't there. By sheer chance, the Redhead Event was happening in Pioneer Square on our second day. My people were calling me. For those of you who may not know me personally I am a Ginger, born and raised, so of course I had to go check it out. The Redhead Event was a mass gathering of fellow natural Ginger's in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for number of natural redheads gathered in one place at the same time. The number to beat was 1255, and from what I last heard the unofficial count was between 1300 and 1600 Gingers. Unfortunately I was unable to be counted officially because I did not have a photograph of myself as a redheaded wee child, but nonetheless it was neat to see so many of my kind together. 

The remnants of a stop by Stumptown

But here's the thing: I spent too much time wandering Powell's, eating at food carts, drinking coffee, frolicking through flea and farmer's markets, ogling the vegetation (seriously, always a major distraction, as anyone who travels with me knows oh-so-well), and sipping on tasty wines...that I had not one delicious drop of beer. Not. One. And I am a Deschutes girl, so please understand that my heart broke a fair bit over my absentmindedness. Oh well, guess I'll just have to go back. Shoot darn! Next time, Hawthorne. 

Carrots, in such wonderful rich tones. Makes me want autumn!

Unknown plant! Help! Hebe or para hebe I presume: soft hairy foliage, small profile, geometric

Dahlias were EVERYWHERE! And I was happy. 

Beautiful coral tones.

Almost impossibly hard for me to leave this pitcher plant behind. Look at that colouring!! Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

I have never seen a carnivorous plant like this before! 

Crazy carnivorous plant. Little hungry bubbles...

Beautiful trees.

Everywhere!

The hotel entrance. 

Artichokes in the market. 

Love & Marriage

If you have been following my  blog, you know that I recently had the opportunity to do the flowers and decor for a wedding for some friends-of-a-friend of mine. I had such a blast doing it, and everything came out beautifully! I took a few pictures of the prep and behind-the-scenes set up and have posted them below. Hopefully they tide you over until the professional photos are ready. Special thanks goes out to Curt, Daniel, Lou, Jaron, Melissa, and Carissa for all your help and inputs; to West Coast Wood Slabs and Jason for their beautiful pieces and the use of their shop; to my incredibly tolerant roommate Tyler for letting me turn the house into a flower shop/craft factory for the past two months; to the folks down at Southlands, the Flower Factory, and Whole Foods; and to Sarah and Wayne for letting me take part in their special day. Alright, now for the pictures. Enjoy!

Cuttings for the bouquets and button holes: sedums, echevarias, flowering origanum, senecio greyii

The flower selection: lisianthus, seeded eucalyptus, dahlias, native sword fern, dusty miller, freesia, baby's breath, eryngium, echinops ritro, gerba daisy, roses (defoliated for petals).

Wiring up the bridal bouguet: lisianthus, dusty miller, succulents, eryngium, echinops ritro, flowering origanum, dahlias, freesia, and a monster tillandsia xeographica. 

A fern frond and dahlia for the ladies in the wedding party to hold, and the bridal bouquet. A happy bucket!

The groom's button hole: tiny tillandsia, echinops ritro, seeded eucalyptus, senecio greyii, succulent cuttings. Backed with hand coiled silver wire, and wrapped in jute twine.

A more feminine look for the female friend who officiated: flowering origanum, seeded eucalyptus, echinops ritro, echeveria cuttings, and senecio greyii.

For the men in the wedding party: eryngium, echinops ritro, echevaria cuttings, seeded eucalyptus, and senecio greyii. 

And the same ingredients for a handsome man on the bride's side.

Setting up the ceremony site! The small and intimate gathering of about 25 friends and family took place at the gazebo on English Bay.  

Two arrangements, set atop stunning salvaged yellow pine side tables flanked the alter. White organza drapes gentle billowed in the sea breeze, really adding to the beachy-and-vintage romantic vibe. 

Alter arrangements: lisianthus, dahlias, gerba daisies, sword fern, eryngium, seeded eucalyptus, passion vine, dusty miller, succulent cuttings echinops ritro.

Cute bunches of sword fern, baby's breath, and eryngium wrapped in jute adorned the aisle-side chairs.

The guestbook table, a.k.a. my potting table, all cleaned up and and staged with various ferns and an agave from my collection, a succulent terrarium, and a few trinkets from home. 

Some antique window frames and old orchard crate planted with ferns and pennstemon welcomed guests to the wedding. 

A close up of the plants in the crate. 

The ceremony.

The view.

Part of the centerpieces, inspired by Studio Choo's "Flower Recipe Book." Craspedia mounted in small slices of salvaged arbutus.

The craspedia cuties from the side.

Last minute details for the reception! Recycled San Pellegrino bottles stuffed with seeded eucalyptus and leucadendron joined the craspedia pieces and small mason jars with LED tea lights on the tables.

Another picture of one of the alter arrangements. 

And the other....

A close up of the flowers and textures.

The guestbook table, a close-up.