Catherine's Royal Bouquet

Well, it was tradition with a twist!  Catherine's bouquet to me, at first, was a little bland.  But the more I looked at it the more I LOVED it.  It had class, it was the perfect size, and it followed the 'Language of Flowers' as origined by Queen Victoria.


Here's a formal Royal press release about the bouquet:  "The bouquet is a shield-shaped wired bouquet of myrtle, lily-of-the valley, sweet william, and hyacinth.  The bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly and draws on the traditions of flowers of significance for the Royal Family, the Middleton family and on the Language of Flowers."


You will never believe how much this bouquet actually ties into the Royal Family and their traditions...the bouquet featured myrtle extracted from a bush planted on the British Isle of Wight by Queen Victoria in 1845, as well as a sprig from a plant grown from the myrtle used in Queen Elizabeth II's wedding bouquet!


The lily-of-the-valley was featured in all ceremony flowers of the bride and attendants - a flower that was used in Carol Middleton's bridal bouquet.


In keeping with tradition, the Duchess of Cambridge will be placing her bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a practice started by the Queen Mother in 1923.


Now, I mentioned the 'Language of Flowers'...so what do all the flowers in her bouquet 'say'?  Well here's a breakdown:


Hyacinth (white) - loveliness
Lily-of-the-Valley - sweetness; return to happiness; humility
Myrtle - Love
Sweet William - Gallantry; Finess and Perfection (and I think a tribute to Wills himself)


What I loved about this bouquet was it's reflection of Kate herself.  This bouquet was demure, suttle, and well thought out - a true representation of the new Duchess.  It was perfectly proportioned to her tiny physique and followed the simple rule that it should NOT outshine a bride's dress and NEVER be larger than the bride's head.  It was definitely a modern twist on tradition.  It stepped away from the heavy, and overdone bouquets that we have seen royals carrying in the past.  Rumour has it, Princess Diana's cascading bouquet weighed 6 lbs.  That's a heavy bouquet to be lugging around, along with the weight of one's dress!


This bouquet was a perfect fit with the 50's style that Kate wore - mimicing the look of Grace Kelly's dress in '56.  Everything about Kate was perfect today.  A true beauty.


I don't doubt that future brides will be requesting bouquets similar to that donned by Kate today.  I don't doubt that she has just set a trend!

The Sights & Scents of Spring

Spring is definitely showing signs of it's arrival. But, before we can enjoy the ability to flit around in flirty shoes and wear amazing white bottoms, we have to endure what remains of the white blanket that once covered our streets - BROWN COLOURLESS GRIT!

Yet, while I look at all the colorless surroundings of Edmonton, I think of all the amazing scents and sights of Spring blooms that we will soon be in the midst of. The fluorescence of the new buds and grass has to be one of my most favourite parts of the season.

With the onset of Spring, we see such amazing blooms, most of which I do not see often in our local gardens. But, fear not, they are accessible to brighten up your home and bring in the fresh light scent of the season. As we know, our neighboring province to the west, luckily, has a milder climate than us and can supply locally grown fresh product to remind us of springs' arrival - as early as December. Yup you heard it....tulips are available the same time we're draping cedar garland outside our homes.

So, if you are in the need of brightening up your surroundings....if you need something more than BROWN in your life....talk to us, or if not in the Edmonton area, your local florist. We can get you all the spring blooms to brighten up your home and office.

Here are some ideas for great scents and sights of Spring:

Peonies
Tulips
Freesia - very sweet scent
Anemone
Ranunculus
Daffodils
Iris - did you know you can get these in yellow?

Ask for an assortment in a nice European twist for your table, or throw a mono-floral loose bouquet in a vase. Whatever you choose, these delicate blooms of the season are a great and inexpensive way to bring you out of the sunless winter funk!

Happy Spring!