Table Scapes

December lends itself to endless ideas for table decorating.  I was searching the web tonight for new ideas to decorate my table for Christmas dinner.  I was drawn to this video clip from The Nate Berkus Show.  There are 4 tablescapes to draw inspiration from.  Enjoy.

I love how he incorporated not only natural elements, but fun ideas for the kids, metallic and glitz and even flowers.  The arrangement they featured is Teleflora's Park Avenue Centerpiece.  Soft and subtle tones.  The silver mercury glass dish can be used through all December, especially for Hanukkah or Christmas.

 It is stunning in creams, white and sage green hues, but also consider other color palettes for the holidays.

A couple candles and this centerpiece is ready for dining.  Traditional and classic.

If you are ready to push the color button, consider adding purples to shades red and creams. Try a head turning arrangement this holiday season.

This arrangement is bursting with orchids, roses, dahlias and chrysanthemums.  These are just some of the many ways the mercury glass bowl can be used this season. What are some ideas for your table?  

Happy Hanukkah!  Merry Christmas!  Enjoy this week with family and friends.

Poinsettias

I visited Kube Pak to select poinsettias for the Christmas season.  What an extraordinary experience.  There is over 1/2 mile of poinsettias of all colors.  My "tour guide" Rob took me around on a golf cart and showed me color after color of beautiful plants of all sizes.

After I chose a few of my first poinsettia Rob and I sleeved the plants and added them to the cart that followed the golf cart from greenhouse to greenhouse.

This year we have selected a few new colors to share that we have taken a fancy to:

Ice Punch

Sonora White Glitter

Winter Blush Marble

Poinsettias are timeless.  The red Prestige or Freedoms are classics, but why not try a fun natural color this year.  Stop by Flowers by Jennie Lynne to pick up a head turning poinsettia.

Toys for Tots 2011!

Flowers By Jennie Lynne is once again teaming up with our local Bucks County radio station, WBCB to collect toys on behalf of the U.S. Marines for their annual Toys For Tots program.  Toys for Tots has been collecting and distributing toys to needy children all over America since 1948!

Heather and I have been so blessed that our children have never had to experience Christmas without toys under the tree.  We would like to share our blessings with those less fortunate.  We will be hosting a live broadcast on WBCB 1490am at Flowers By Jennie Lynne on Tuesday, December 6th from 2-4 p.m.  During the broadcast we will be giving away two of Thomas Kinkade's Christmas Caroler Bouquets by Teleflora.

So stop by with your new, unwrapped toy 

and make this Christmas season a little brighter for a child in need and experience the Spirit of Giving.

Out and About

We are out and about this holiday season - 

sharing our flower knowledge and demonstrating holiday floral design techniques.  

I was invited by my friend Johanny Manning to perform a floral arranging demonstration at Long and Foster's Holiday Open House in Yardley, PA this past Friday night.  I showed the guests an easy Thanksgiving arrangement that they could even design themselves, using wheat, and a pillowing technique with fragrant carnations.  Then I explained that with a few easy changes the arrangement could quickly be transformed into a Christmas design that would look fabulous for the entire month of December with the use of evergreen, pinecones and permanent botanical berries or Christmas balls.  












Don't be afraid to have fun with some of the beautiful materials God has placed outside of your home!  With a little design help from Flowers By Jennie Lynne you'll have your home or office looking festive without breaking your bank and without spending a lot of your precious time!  Happy Holidays everyone!

Thank you to our Veterans

This year our Flowers by Jennie Lynne family has gone military.  Both the Buck and Towne families had sons go to boot camp in January 2011.

Kyle Jackson ABH (Kelly Buck's son) left first for the Navy and has completed his schooling for Aviation Boatswain's Mate Handler and is now serving on the USS Harry S Truman Aircraft Carrier stationed in Norfolk, Va.

Private Corey Towne (Heather's stepson) left a week later for the Army.  Corey is currently stationed at Eglin AFB in training for EOD and in transition for Military Intelligence.

We are so proud of our young men in uniform and pray for their safety always.

Thank you to all who are serving and have served in our Armed Forces. We are forever grateful for your sacrifice and for our freedom.

Fall into Christmas (behind the scenes from the design program)

On Tuesday October 25th and Wednesday, October 26th Heather had the opportunity to design with Tim Farrell AIFD, PFCI, AAF from Farrell's Florist, Drexel Hill, Pa.  Tim came as the Education Specialist for Teleflora's Penn Jersey Unit holiday design program.

We created seasonal fall and Christmas arrangements.  It was exciting to design with other local florists.  We were able to share ideas and critique one another's work.  This way we are able to grow in our knowledge and design skills.  In the following piece Heather Towne (Penn Jersey Unit President) used a monochromatic color scheme in lime green and the techniques of shadowing and framing.  Shadowing is depicted in the anthurium on the left and the bells of Ireland on the right.  This means that two identical flowers create a heavier visual weight when one mimics the other's line and placement.  The "framing" occurs around the empty space in the middle which creates visual interest.

In the next floral design Heather used the Teleflora Glitter and Shine Bouquet.  The lid of the candy dish is hanging "Cindy Lou Who" style from a branch of cedar wrapped in lime green wire.  The white roses draw your eyes down to the center of the arrangement and tie in the white from the glittery lid and the white glitter accents on the red ornament bowl.  Feathers are added as accents in red. A fun way to change the original design.

The final arrangement was designed for the registration table for the Penn Jersey Unit.  It incorporates red ginger, steel grass, lime green cymbidiums and red ornaments.  Again Heather chose a Teleflora Christmas keepsake piece to showcase the design.  The steel grass encircles the design with lime green beaded wire.

Even though we feel it is way to early to be playing Christmas songs on the radio.  It was fun to begin exploring different techniques and texture combinations for the upcoming holiday.  Although, with the snow they are predicting for this weekend, it may seem as though winter is on its way!!

Compost Galore!

Flowers By Jennie Lynne made an interesting purchase this past summer...  We had been noticing the amount of our trash and noted that it was mostly "green" waste.  80-90% of what we are throwing out is stems, leaves and flowers.  So... Heather and I started researching compost bins online and we are now the proud owners of the Aerobin 400!  The Aerobin is a 113 gallon composter with a revolutionary patented aeration core that promotes aerobic breakdown of organic waste into beautiful compost! 

Our new Aerobin Composter allows us to take our waste:

and turn it into useful compost for our gardens!

In about 6-8 weeks our flower waste becomes this rich brown compost that our vegetable gardens LOVE!
Another added benefit to the Aerobin 400 is that it comes with a leach tank at the base that collects liquid compost extract.

This stuff is like black gold!  It is potent so it needs to be diluted 20:1 with water and then it can be used to fertilize gardens, trees and flower beds.  It is chock full of nutrients.  The Aerobin Composter was definitely a smart purchase for us at Flowers By Jennie Lynne.  We have significantly reduced our dumpster waste and had VERY bountiful vegetable gardens as a result of the compost and liquid extract. 

Flowers By Jennie Lynne is going green!

Pumpkins and Pumpkin Heads

There is something about fall that excites me every year.  Maybe it is the warm fire roaring in the wood burning stove, or the cool breeze so I can start wearing sweaters again.  But today I am reminded with the wind blowing that the fall leaves are here. Autumn arrangements with cattails, oak leaves, beautiful mums and sunflowers.  All those colors just revive me as a designer -golden yellows, rich bronze, creamy butterscotch and warm browns. Pumpkins and gourds are the trademark symbols of the season. And do we have our share! The showroom is full of fall and Halloween accents.  There are  wrought iron pumpkin candle holders with pumpkin pie votives and creepy pumpkin trees. 

          

Vines creeping, leaves cascading and gnarly tree trunks are scattered around in the show room.  Pumpkins of all sizes  - some are so small 2 large handfuls can fill a vase for flowers to sit on top.  So many fun ideas to play with.  There are pumpkin ornaments for large and small Halloween Trees. Carve-able artificial pumpkins (perfect for saving year to year).  We have unearthed so many fall home decorations it is hard not to be excited to show them all. So we will entice you with just a few.  

Even the scarecrows are donning a pumpkin motif.  Soft plaids in fall tones, a straw hat and and jack-o-lantern face - so cute.  This character is nestled in with the  NEW Thompson chunky candles and berry vine candle rings.  

 Fall scents include: Oatmeal Cookies, Toffee Crunch, Apple Dumpling, Pumpkin Pie and Harvest Spice. Yummy!  Thank goodness they are wax because they smell so awesome I could just eat them.

Stop by Flowers by Jennie Lynne to enjoy some fall trimmings

and all this season brings!!