Blog | Rose Red & Lavender

Valentine’s Day has begun for us and we just got in our first shipment of flowers. We stagger our flowers so that we don’t get overwhelmed and the roses always come first so they have a little time to open and be beautiful. I have hundreds and hundreds of roses waiting for me.

I love roses, I just do. I know they are a cliche for valentines day, but when a rose is done right, they are magical and last a super long time in the vase. There is a reason that they are a cliche and we mix ours with thistle and waxflower so that they shine and look dramatic. I always make something that I would like to get myself.

I take pride in my roses and book them months in advance for Valentine’s Day. This year we have a few varieties, Charlotte, Forever Young and Wanted. I am very particular about the farms where my roses come from and will only buy from veriflora certified sources and especially one farm in particular, because they always get it right.

Charlotte, is a nice, friendly red rose. The stems are usually not to thick and the thorns are small. The blossom is squat with a lot of petals. I like it mixed with tea roses and other flowers, it mixes well. This Charlotte always plays nicely with others.

Forever Young is the Cadallic of roses. These guys are available up to 100cm long, which is about waist high. They have thick, beefy stems and thorns that are mothers, IYKWIM. The blossoms are long and the petals curl back perfectly. They stand alone and look best when they are the main attraction. The classic rose for a box of roses or arranged in a vase.

The last rose, my personal favorite is Wanted. Wanted is a garden rose and has a high petal count. It looks like a peony and has really rich, deep reds that tend to be almost brown. I love mixing these with blackberries and other flowers, or using them in simple, small arrangements. They have a terrific texture and are very romantic.

We also have some beautiful peonies and anemones for Valentine’s day and along with our very popular Mason Jars with Burlap, we are also featuring Vintage Milk Glass and Mint Julep Cups.

I noticed that another shop in the area is featuring Mason Jars and flowers with Burlap and Blackberries with fern seems like she may have been “inspired” by last year’s photos? Even my dad had a chuckle over that. That’s ok, I get inspired by other people’s work too. Who was it who said that imitation is the best form of flattery? Notice the Three Roses Bourbon bottle in the back, do you see a trend here?

Milk glass is white, translucent type of depression glass. It was popular in the 50′s and 60′s and I have been snapping it up left and right. I love the textures and the shapes of the vases. It has a country type of feeling that is a little dressed up. The hobnail vases are just sexy in themselves, all those bumps…We are using peonies and romantic flowers with our milkglass, I hope it becomes a new classic for Valentine’s Day.

Mint julep cups are small, silver cups that are used in the south to serve mint juleps. I remember sipping a few at my sister’s Virginia wedding. The cup gets nice and frosty and you have to use a straw or your lip will stick to the metal. Anyone old enough to remember those old aluminum cups or metal ice cube trays will know what I mean. Being from the south, gives me a natural affinity for Bourbon and I couldn’t resist mixing the cups with berries, purple flowers and roses. By the way, Bourbon was invented in Virginia, not Kentucky.

I hope you get your orders in early, We always use the best flowers first and when we are out, we are out and we always sell out.

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