Happy Valentine's Day

And Happy Chinese New Year, Korean Lunar New Year and Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year)! We cover all of them in our house so as not to leave anyone out. It's one of my favorite traditions in our family that I am trying to build as an annual holiday amidst our patchwork tribe in an effort to honor both Max and Molly's native countries. Plus, I always love to host a party and it's a neat opportunity to share our childrens' rich cultures with our friends and community!

Traditionally, for said celebrations in Asia - all marked by the same lunar calendar every year - people clean their houses, sweep out the old energy, clear a path for the new and honor our ancestors.

So I think it's little coincidence that I just happened to choose to open my little floral design business on the cusp of the Lunar New Year. Without doing so consciously, I've been clearing out the creative clutter (mostly in brain that shows up as writer's block or artist's block) and embarking on the new with enthusiasm and excitement. For once, it doesn't matter what other people think of me or if I'm doing it right. I'm just doing it - giving it a try without expectations or a demand for results. Of course, I will be happy and call it a success if I can cover the cost of my flowers and supplies!

A new venture for me, this business called Fleurish, and I feel like I've opened a brand new door. To where I'm not sure and the odd thing is I don't have to be at the helm navigating. I have to do what the captain says and so far that has been completely graceful and with ease. In fact, I don't recall doing anything so gracefully and spirit-led in my life THIS CONSCIOUSLY than what I am doing now. It's as if I am but a mere channel and the directions or creations come through me.

Philosophizing aside, I wanted to give a big thank you to the brave souls who believed in me this past week, placing the trust of their Valentine's Day orders in my green hands. I thank you for your courage and for your belief in me. During the process of every design I created, I consciously thought of whomever I was creating the flowers for you, thinking of what they would like in terms of color and style. Not every girl is a red rose fan but variety was limited, especially the close we got to Valentine's Day.

Fifteen orders later, I'm ready for a bath and a few days off cuz my feet hurt but the experience over the past week was fabulous. Thanks again, friends. Your trust is a healing balm for my soul.

Here are a few designs I did for friends/clients over the past week.

Here Comes the Sun!

It's a beautiful sunny day though only 29 degrees out. Molly just woke up from her nap and we're going to pile on our snow clothes and boots to go make an igloo (Max's request) and some snow angels. Then the obligatory hot chocolate when we return.

We lost power for about three hours last night around 6 pm. Thank you to the utility workers who braved the snow and cold to fix our power lines in pitch black darkness last night. Power was restored just around 9, about the same time my camping spirit "resolve" started to wane. Thankfully, our neighbors down the street, who are obviously on a different grid, offered to let us stay at their house last night, something we were very close to doing. It's one thing for Tom and me to brave the cold (couldn't be worse than when we were hiking around the Annapurna in Nepal) but I was concerned about the two littles.

The worst part of the power outage for me, and I write this knowing I have so little to complain about and so much to be grateful for, is not knowing. I have spent a lot of my adult life trying to learn how to be comfortable with not knowing and having faith in the unknown. I have yet to study the chapter on power outages and things that concern the welfare of my children. Should we pack up and go to my mom's house because she always has power but risk the bad roads to get there? Or are we safer staying put in our home, albeit cold and uncomfortable? Luckily, I never had to answer those questions last night and will continue to work on the faith part.

It's remarkable that this snow-covered winterland is the same garden that will spring to vibrancy in a couple of months. Keeping fingers crossed we don't lose any trees or branches. My next door neighbor lost two big branches off of her stunning and mature magnolia. (I'm hoping she'll let me have a few smaller branches.)

I'm getting pressure to go make an igloo. Must suit up! Here are a few photos I took when I went out to sweep the snow off of our heat pumps yesterday afternoon. Today you can't even see my tracks through the two foot snow!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We are reportedly in the midst of experiencing the biggest snow storm in the Mid-Atlantic in 80 years. Oh goodie! Lots of people are complaining about the snow but so long as everyone is safe and the power stays on, we are good to go. I kind of like it myself. Everything is so quiet and tranquil, even if it's deceptively so.

We had a small hiccup of a power outage tonight around 10 p.m. and it scared Max. He immediately wanted to find his flashlight in case it happened again and asked to sleep with both of us. Some night guard he will make!

Anyway, after everyone went to sleep, I stayed downstairs and did - can you guess? - made some flower arrangements. Well, truth be told it's after I found the emergency candles, matches and hand-crank radio. Just in case... While the weather folks are in a media frenzy over at the Weather Channel, I'm realizing that there may just be some substance to their usual attempt to make hysteria out of nothing.

Anyway, I had a bunch of flowers left-over from a nice job I delivered today and rather than see them go to waste, I played. Listening to our dear friend Sean Johson (www.seanjohnsonandthewildlotusband.com) sing and chant on his latest album, Devaloka, I puttered, clipped, taped and designed in the silence of the night. For me it's so relaxing and uplifting. It's like a meditation almost. Touching nature, things grown from our beautiful Mother Earth and feeling their energy is such a treat in our exaggerated technological world. Don't get me started on Nature Deficit Disorder. It's too late for that soapbox.

I fear that when my family wakes up in the morning, they will think that the forces of the blizzard and gale force winds have swept them away from Tunis Mills and moved them into a flower shop. They all seem to like it so far and are excited for my new venture. Even Max is excited and wants to show me a few tips with magnolia leaves and his phaleonopsis orchid.

I love this quote!

I was looking through one of my garden club handbooks the other day and stumbled upon a quote that I just think is terrific. I'm a quote collector though I couldn't tell you where my collection is. Anyway, here goes:

"The best way to get real enjoyment out of the garden is to put on a wide straw hat, dress in thin loose-fitting clothes, hold a little trowel in one hand and a cool drink in the other, and tell the man where to dig." Charles Barr

Going live!

Well, I did it. I just went live on Facebook with my own Fleurish page and am now technically a part of the growing social media animal. In an attempt to launch my humble little business, I thought I would post a few examples of floral designs I made for Valentine's Day next week. Of course, with my work, no two things are ever exactly alike. The materials I use are as organic as possible and the creative process is always organic.

Tom shot the arrangements last night and what a difference it makes to have a professional photographer shoot them with a real camera rather than me with my rinky dink little point and shoot camera. Thank you Tom for your help! I foresee many more to go.

One of my favorites of this group is the orange calla lilies with pink ranunculus (possibly my favorite flower if I was pressed to answer) and red tulips. I did my best trying to make a hand-tied bouquet and think it's so sweet. According to my favorite teacher at Longwood Gardens, orange and pink are the "IT" colors right now.

Anyway, I'm gratefully accepting orders for floral designs for Valentine's Day so feel free to call me if you want to order something. The sooner the better so that I can offer the best floral selection possible. The best way to reach me is via email at: SMMcCall@aol.com. Thanks for looking!

Snow Days!

While some people like to make snow angels, go sledding or play in the snow after a snowfall, I like to use the downtime to play with flowers. (I know, I know. I'm hopelessly addicted.)

We had a beautiful snowfall on Saturday - almost 8 inches when the weathermen reported 1 to 2 - and it blanketed our lovely little village without damage. There's something so enchanting about snow. It seems so cleansing and purifying. All the unnecessary clutter even looks lovely when covered in snow. Hiding what we don't want to see, the snow highlighted the evergreens, magnolias and bones of my garden. Even the birds stand out more colorfully against the white backdrop.

I should amend the damage statement above. There was some damage, minor but hugely upsetting for me. While trying to keep a path clear in our driveway, I inadvertently backed into one of my prized Franklin's Gem box woods, ripping off about one third of the shrub. Ugh! My heart sank when I saw the damage and have no one to blame but myself! I picked up the broken branches, apologizing to the boxwood for carelessness.

Both of my kids have runny noses-turning-into-colds so we opted not to go outside to play in the snow. They happily hunkered down to the Tinkerbell movie and I set about to play. I made about five different arrangements, clipping, cutting, editing, examining. All the while trying to create beauty with a few random materials at hand.

Of the five I did, the smallest was by far my favorite. It's the one with the two Gerber daisies in a rectangle shaped glass vase. The Gerber's are a sultry raspberry red with off white brushstrokes of cream and pink on the petals. Anyway, I took two branches of Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, bent them and crisscrossed them to form a structure. The Gerber's were placed on either side, bridge by a stem of buplureum. Not sure why but I really like it.

I used one of Sekho Behr's sculptural ceramic vases that I just got at her recent floral design demo in Oxford for three agapanthus, some asparagus fern and a few yellow mums. Sekho makes her arrangements look so effortless and I know I have a long way to go til I get her intuitive sense of artistry.

Influenced by a class I recently took with my floral design guru, Jane Godshalk, I made another arrangement in glass using a circle of curly willow under water as structural support for the goldenrod, asters and gerbera daisy. Designs in glass are so clean looking and of course much better for the environment because there's no oasis to toss in the landfill after the arrangement has died. Jane, who is a floral design teacher at Longwood Gardens, is a very accomplished and experienced designer. Much of her work is influenced by the hot European designers of today like Gregor Lersch. Anyway, she says it's a more European look - and natural - to show the flowers and stems in their entirety, hiding nothing.

Lastly, I made a traditional mass arrangement featuring blues, purples and white. The silver-plated Revere bowl I used was a recent "find" while treasure hunting in an antiques store last week. I love the serendipity of how things come together, especially when I don't have a clear intention of use when I buy something for a design. In other words, I stock up for future designs and inspiration.

I felt like I was getting away with something, having this unexpected break in the daily routine. Playing with flowers always makes me happy and I feel so grounded and uplifted at the same time. Now I await our next snow!