Jenny and Randy

Way back in February, when I was living an alternate life in England, yegwed shared Jenny and Randy's wedding from last August. I was lucky to work on this wedding with Nicole from Breathless Moments. What strikes me now is how trusting Jenny was - her dream wedding was very personal and intimate, but she gave me free rein with the flowers. The only thing she really asked was that I incorporate wheat she had grown, and one of her favourite flowers, lavender. The freedom she gave me meant that almost all the flowers I used were from the garden - the perfect complement to her beautiful wheat, especially in the boutonnieres (my favourites!). 

Photos by Brandi Guzman Photography

Jess and Alex

I am terrible at French. I took it for five years in school and I'm pretty sure my participation grades were due to proximity to the best kids in the class, not my accent or confidence (since I had neither). Always make friends with the smart kids - the only reason I passed math as well. Anyways, in Grade 11, our french teacher Mme Tremblay despaired for me. At the same table she had Morgan, Charles and Jess, who were well on their way to fluency, and me, hopeless. Over the year she became fixated on my future in particular: "Amy, what are you going to do if you get a French boyfriend? What will you say to him??" "Amy, your boyfriend Pierre, he cannot understand you, how can you let him down?" "Amy, focus, think of Pierre!" 

It's become clear that the tactic would have been much more effective on Jess, who, I'm delighted to tell you, married her Québécois boyfriend Alexandre in August. Getting to know Alex in the past few years, over roadtrips and dinners, ramen and poutine, in Edmonton and Canmore and Quebec City, has been a lot of fun (often at Jess's expense - sorry Jess...). I couldn't ask for a better guy for her, so it made it really special to be able to help the two of them and their families celebrate together, in Quebec City and Edmonton. 

If you've met Jess, you know she has this sparkle to her, a vividness that comes through in her manner and conversation, she's always quick to laugh and warmly generous, occasionally quite silly, prone to singing; I wanted her flowers to reflect this joy with bright colour and lightness. Watching her walk down the aisle with Alex, whether I succeeded or not wouldn't have mattered - the flowers were joyful from mere proximity to her. 

All photos are by Junophoto

Pop Up Shop and Workshop

I'm excited to once again host a pop-up shop at habitat, etc. on Saturday, August 27th from 10 AM - 3 PM. I'll be selling sweet peas and mixed bouquets from the garden. Should be good times!  Last year I sold out of sweet peas by... 10:30 AM and everything else by around 1 PM so probably better to come early. 

If you would like to make your own arrangement, then you can join us on September 1st, at habitat, for a workshop on growing and using garden flowers! I am getting heaps of dahlias from BC as well, because it's the season and one can never have enough dahlias. Vase and other materials will be provided. Sign up is here.

Hope to see you soon!

This year's roses

It's been an astonishing year for roses. The mild winter, combined with a hot spring and wet summer, have allowed tender roses to survive and put out flush after flush of blooms. It's meant I can actually make bridal bouquets with local roses - a dream. 

What draws florists to these particular varieties are the different tones in each rose. 'Koko Loko' has unmatched shades of beige, tan, and brown which drip into lavender. 'Julia' has copper, caramel, pink, to mustard and fawn. 'Distant Drums' starts out with vivid pink and caramel but fades to blush and peach. New to me, 'Carmella Fairy Tale' is a lovely butter yellow with an apricot undercoat, the edges melting into cream. Even 'Anne Henderson', in all her bright glory, is a multi-hued orange. Each rose has subtle differences, each is important to the arrangement. It makes it all so much more interesting! 

In the States (well, really only California, Oregon and Washington) there are a few growers who've been in the game for a long time and a few more who have recently taken up the gauntlet to get these particular garden roses to the wedding industry. They can be frustrating because they weren’t bred specifically for the cut flower industry, but instead for the garden. They have uneven stem lengths, are usually carrying multiple buds on each stem, and require more delicate handling. Unsurprisingly then, these roses aren't available as cuts in Alberta (or indeed most of Canada as far as I know). It makes me savour each stem and dole them out with the utmost intention. And you don't want to see my phone - there are two million rose pictures on it. 

In case you're curious and/or I've tempted you into buying your own roses, I get mine from Palatine, Botanus or from local nurseries (Greenland always has a nice selection).  

'Julia' and 'Koko Loko' roses

'Distant Drums' roses

'Koko Loko' in the garden

'Koko Loko'

A bouquet with 'Carmella Fairy Tale' and 'Graham Thomas'

'Carmella Fairy Tale' in the garden - new to me and a favourite for the blend of pale yellow and apricot tones

'Anne Henderson' is vigorous and I've been cutting from her like mad for bright bridal bouquets and deliveries. She shines in the soft evening light.

A winter at Great Dixter

I'm always acutely aware of the shortcomings inherent to being a prairie gardener - our knowledge of trees, shrubs and perennials is warped and limited by a harsh climate. Visiting English and East Coast gardens made me desperate for an impossible plant palette and a temperate winter. So I decided to pursue winter plans elsewhere - truthfully I only applied to one garden because I was so set on going there. For in the plant world, Great Dixter looms large for its innovative use of unusual plants and its support for students of all stripes. Perfect. 

When you arrive at Great Dixter, in rural East Sussex, UK, there’s an overwhelming number of people you’re introduced to and they’re seemingly all curious to know how you found them and how you ended up living amongst them. In my jetlagged state, I could barely muster a coherent response – I would bashfully mumble about reading plant catalogues online as stress relief, and garden blogs, and eventually Christopher Lloyd, and then sending a few naïve emails into the void. Everyone hums knowingly. And then after a few weeks you hardly ever encounter anyone who asks you, and you’re just another student, enfolded into the Dixter family, and it’s easy to forget the rest of the world exists.

I'd never worked in a garden, so every day seemed slightly miraculous. Yes, everyone did know more about plants than me and didn't mind talking about them all the time. Yes, I did prune an 80 year old hydrangea. Yes, we did weed under a hedge while it rained/hailed on us, for a week. Yes, yes, I was surrounded by all the snowdrops, crocuses, primulas and fritillarias my spring-loving heart could desire. Succession planting is no joke.

Gardening practice at Dixter is idiosyncratic, as one would expect at a garden created by intense individuals living in the middle of nowhere, England. Four months in the garden has infused me with a new confidence in plants. There are so many forces acting against them – clay soil and poor drainage, clumsy students, neglect, badgers, competitive neighbors and rampant self-sowers, etc., that some days we joke about how they have to really want to live to make it at Dixter. Fergus also emphasizes being patient when coming up with new planting combinations and to take the time to trial plants, to just try things. 

Leaving a place where I've been more happy than I thought possible, and that will soon sink into a dreamy haze of memory, has me melancholic but optimistic for the next few months. I'm still a few weeks out from coming home, but I'm getting excited about trying new things in the garden this year and using my knowledge to grow better flowers and foliage for cutting. Cheers to surviving another winter and all the best for the growing season!