crosspollination

floratherapie: flower classes

2009-10-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that Carie Lawrence, Lynne Maphies and I will be teaching a flower class this holiday season! For developing details check out the floratherapie blog, or email me at brooke(at)pollenfloralart.com.

Sunday, November 15th (additional class in December will be announced soon)
1:00 - 4:30 pm
Zilker Botanical Garden
$250, includes all flowers and oodles of tea and scones

This class will focus on creating lush arrangements with seasonal cut flowers and foliage. Students will learn about the history of floral design, color theory, and construction techniques and will create arrangements to take home from beautiful seasonal plants and flowers.

We had a hoot walking through the Zilker Botanical Gardens in our boots, talking about what to include in our class. We can't wait to see you there!

purple and green bouquet

2009-10-17T12:54:00.000-07:00

I put together a sweet little bouquet for a portrait session out of purple hydrangea, dark purple callas, green cymbidiums, curly willow whips, scabiosa pods and galax.

Stay tuned for a post coming soon about flower classes! I was so inspired by Sarah and Nicolette's class in Brooklyn that it seemed impossible to resist doing one in Austin.

orange dahlias made the day

2009-10-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

As you might have surmised, I love orange, so this wedding was right up my alley. The orange ball dahlias mixed very well with ranunculus, orchids, Bells of Ireland and blue thistle. Unconventional but beautiful! I'll have to post the professional images soon. I can't wait to see the bride with her bouquet of hydrangea, thistle, dahlias and orchids.

brights and whites

2009-10-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week I created a fun bouquet with pincushion, ranunculus, freesia, dahlias, scabiosa pods, geranium foliage and leucodendron foliage. Love those ranunculus!

all local flowers

2009-10-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

This arrangement was created for a tasting event at Spartan and Bows+Arrows introducing Farmhouse Delivery, a wonderful service that will deliver local meats, produce and other goodies in the Austin area. At first I thought it might be a challenge to make something beautiful out of local materials, but I had so much fun sourcing and putting this together. Look for my arrangements of local flowers added to the things you can order for home delivery through the Farmhouse Delivery website soon!

Antique Haeger vase purchased at Uncommon Objects, aloe plant from Desert to Tropics, flowers from Arnosky and Waller Creek Farms and a friend's backyard, tomatoes and persimmons from local farms purchased at Central Market.

would you believe...

2009-09-28T13:54:00.001-07:00

Another blue and orange wedding? Here's a sneak peek at a modern wedding coming up later in the month.

blue and orange wedding

2009-09-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of providing Paulette and Doug with some beautiful garden-y wedding flowers this past weekend. Luckily the orange ball dahlias were still available, so I mixed them with orange ranunculus, lilies, crocosmia and mokara orchids, and blue delphinium and hydrangea. Bride's bouquet below.

And the bridesmaid bouquets, corsages, and bouts.

The cake turned out fun, with the croscosmia tips really echoing the icing pattern and color. Decorating cakes always makes me hungry, due to the wonderful sugary smell as you lean over them!

Ceremony arrangements with Bird of Paradise, the bride's favorite, mixed with kiwi vine, hydrangea, delphinium, lilies, orchids and crocosmia. I wrapped the container in coconut bark before resting in the glass cylinders.

And finally, simple little centerpieces. Thanks to the bride and groom for giving me such fun colors to work with. Stay tuned for more wedding images this October!

Rosehip Flora

2009-08-11T17:12:00.000-07:00

I just love all the new pics at Erin's website for Rosehip Flora. Also check out her blog. That's one talented lady.

austin designer: monique capanelli of articulture

2009-07-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm really intrigued by Monique's beautiful work - I recently saw some of her pieces around town and decided I had to know more!

"Articulture Designs provides sustainable landscape design and interior botanical arrangements" as well as innovative wedding and event decor. Originally from Sonoma County, but calling Austin home for 20 years, Monique's environmentally sensitive work has a very fresh and Austiny feel. Check out the Articulture website for more inspiration.

Top photo of succulent bouquet by Jennifer Lindberg. Quote from Articulture Designs website.

inspiring ladies

2009-07-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Denise at Little Pheasant, pictured below, for introducing me to the great podcast series Hey Brooklyn. I have to admit I was behind the times and didn't really know much about podcasts, but I hugely enjoyed listening to Denise and Lotta talk about their businesses. Check out Denise's interview here. There are plenty more great people profiled (new ones every Friday) at Hey Brooklyn's site.

I've followed Lotta Jansdotter for years, always intrigued with her pattern designs and simple, natural approach to products. I wear one of her linen aprons in my floral studio. So I was so happy to finally get to know her personality and hear about her upcoming projects. Check out her interview here.

In other news, it seems like I've fallen off the blogging wagon. I could blame it on the insane heat wave we've having in Austin, or on the fact that my husband finally arrived from New Zealand a couple weeks ago, but really I'm just having a very meditative summer. Sometimes you just have to sit and be quiet for a while to figure out which way to go.

seaside wedding on amorology

2009-06-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

This beautiful seaside wedding Heather posted on Amorology reminds me a little bit of New Zealand. What sweet flowers and wonderful details! Floral design by Rae Florae, photography by Paloma Images.

rosenow blog

2009-06-09T16:30:00.001-07:00

Erin at Rosenow Floral has a wonderful new blog. Also check out her website for some gorgeous floral work and unique boutonnieres. Image from Rosenow Floral website.

pink peonies are the bomb

2009-06-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Check out this beautiful wedding that Bouquets did last weekend.

radish bouquet on ritzy bee blog

2009-05-30T16:46:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that Kathryn at Snippet & Ink posted my radish bouquet on the always wonderful Ritzy Bee Blog. Thanks Kathryn! Funny thing, I just met with a bride who wants radishes in her bouquets.

wedding: vintage mexican theme

2009-05-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

I delivered some bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages today to a beautiful park here in Austin. The tables were being draped with vintage crocheted pieces and I heard that a mariachi band would soon appear and chase off the squawking peacocks. The bride's bouquet is a simple cluster of longstem cream French tulips with a magnolia cuff, the maids' have huge open burgundy peonies, and the bouts include mini callas and willow eucalyptus berries with magnolia.

austin neighborhood: south congress

2009-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

On my day off I headed down to South Congress for lunch with a friend. I went early so that I could eat at more than one place! For brunch, I ended up at CrepesMille, a retrofitted Airstream trailer with a small but tasty menu of filled crepes. I had the crab with fresh greens and peanut sauce. Yum. Later I had a fried avocado with coleslaw, wrapped in a tortilla, also served from a retrofitted trailer. Gotta love southern food, especially on South Congress.

The SoCo neighborhood has undergone quite a facelift in the last few years. I love the steel planters and low-water plants that have come to define Austin landscape design.

I also strolled through the San Jose Hotel grounds, for old-time's sake, particularly admiring the burbling waterlily pond.

The 04 Lofts (named after zip code 78704 - not just a zip code, a way of life, as the bumper stiicker says) are a great example of new, green, interesting living spaces.

Hope your week is filled with fun foods and sights.

mother's day arrangements

2009-05-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

Some yummy smelling arrangements that Pollen delivered for Mother's Day - top vase holds a king protea, orange pincushions, parrot tulips, purple hyacinth, ti leaves, curly willow, and very fragrant Soloman's Seal. Bottom vase holds a heliconia (cut stem smells like cucumber!), purple allium, parrot tulips, pincushion, ti leaves and willow. These were for some very avant garde moms.

And to my Mom - Happy Mother's Day, and your cards are on the way!

wildflowers

2009-05-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, so not all of these are wild flowers, but some of them are - the two Indian Blankets in the little glass vase, and the unknown white puff balls that oozed milky sap. The others are from my mom's garden - red honeysuckle, parsley flowers, hosta and vitex foliage, cottage yarrow and the strangely-shaped yellow flower. All free, all lovely. I might have to start growing that honeysuckle to use in wedding flowers... Thanks Mom for letting me pilfer your blooms.

austin florist: petals, ink.

2009-05-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love Austin. And I really love the people that live here... like Gretchen O'Neil, the owner of a new floral business called Petals, Ink. I met Gretchen last summer when I was visiting Austin, and she was so fun and nice. She's just started her own business and blog, and I can't wait to see more of her work...she also takes beautiful botanical shots. Thanks Gretchen!

Carrots and loquats with mixed flowers.

eggplant hyacinths

2009-04-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Here's one of the first arrangements to go out the door! Yay for echeveria, one of my favorite succulents. The arrangement also includes banksia, tulips, hyacinth, ti leaves and grevillia foliage.

pollen floral art is back in austin

2009-04-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you guys know that I'll be re-opening Pollen in Austin. So far it's kind of a 'soft-opening', just putting the word out that I'm back in town and that I am accepting weddings, events, weekly accounts, and delivered arrangements. Check out the Pollen website to see some past work... but there's so much more I've done in the past couple years that hasn't made it on there. If you'd like to place an order or set up a consultation, email me!

And on another note, thank you to all the amazing readers who have made this blog a pleasure to write. Crosspollination has had over 10,000 visitors and over 20,000 page views so far. Thanks for your support!

flora grubb interview on design*sponge

2009-04-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I'd heard about Flora Grubb, but didn't know anything about her... now I just want to live at her shop. Wow! Run over to Design*Sponge's guest blog and read it all.

Love this vertical wall of succulents. Wonder how much that would cost? Hmmmm.

succulent wreaths with mom

2009-04-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

Thanks for being patient while I got over my jetlag and re-integrated into life in the States. Last week I took the train (who knew Amtrak was so convenient?) up to Fort Worth to see my parents, and I got to do some projects with my mom. We made these awesome succulent wreaths from a wire wreath form, different kinds of moss and succulents, held together with fishing line and wire moss pins. They were so easy! I give my mom all the credit for picking out good succulents :).

tim and lauren in weddings mag

2009-04-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad MSWeddings chose Lauren's beautiful wedding to feature in their spring issue. Lauren has been my best friend for over 10 years, and her wedding was the most amazingly planned and executed event I've been to. And I had a blast (after the stress of getting the flowers set up was over)! I had some awesome help from our mutual friend Nicole, and lots of Lauren's other talented friends contributed by making the cake topper, decorating the get-away bike and doing lots of other important tasks. Getting to spend some time in New Orleans, a city I'd only visited once, was also very special, and gave me new insights into the bride and groom, who both grew up there. It was truly a magical night filled with magical people. Thanks Lauren!

the word on the street...

2009-04-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

is that the Spring MSWeddings is out (thanks Chelsea)! I'll be running for the bookstore as I step off the plane in LA, as it's not sold here.