Fall Home Show: A bouquet workshop with a local twist
Credit to Author: Mary Beth Roberts| Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2019 13:22:59 +0000
If florist Michelle Hodgson has her way, consumers will soon start incorporating the concept of “buying local” into their bouquets.
“We have one of the largest growing markets in the world—it runs 12 months out of the year, with growers on Vancouver Island, in the Fraser Valley, in Pemberton,” says the owner of Blossom & Vine, who will offer a bouquet workshop at the Vancouver Fall Home Show. “We have the biggest Dutch-style flower auction in the world, outside of Holland.”
She rattles off a long list of items grown locally: chrysanthemums, dahlias, zinnias, roses, salal, boxwood, strawflower and all manner of grasses, foliage and textural components. In addition to supporting growers and businesses, Hodgson says, customers might benefit from buying locally because they could access fresher, more unusual products. Café au lait dahlias, for instance, only have a three- to five-day shelf life and don’t travel well; it makes the most sense to only offer them locally.
In her workshop, Hodgson will show attendees how to make bouquets using only locally grown elements. She takes a very modern approach, using a wide range of foliage options and lots of asymmetry, and prefers to avoid round or very structured bouquets.
“I want to teach people to ‘bridge’ from one colour to another, to make the eye dance over a bouquet,” she explains. “For example, with yellow and orange, I’d use some very bright yellow and orange flowers, and then other ones that were softer shades of yellow and orange, maybe an orange flower with yellow centres. It makes it more cohesive and soft, instead of each colour fighting for attention.”
Hodgson’s work will also be featured in a massive hanging plant feature in the middle of the show floor. The lush green backdrop is sure to be a popular photo location, and to prompt people to consider vertical arrangements in space-challenged Vancouver homes.
Plants are very popular. Hodgson says her millennial customers often joke about not being able to take on the responsibility of pets or children, but that plants seem manageable. Even so, she cautions against the popular succulents and miniature cacti seen all over Instagram, since they often die in Vancouver’s damp climate.
She instead recommends tropical indoor plants like pothos or even orchids. Monsteras, fiddlehead figs and birds of paradise have been top of the trend list for years, but Hodgson believes the next trend is for variegated species, including variegated monstera and variegated allocasia. And, she says, she’s ready for whatever questions showgoers might have for her.
Local Fall Flower Bouquets workshop is offered Friday, Oct. 27, 3 to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.