From their online gallery, bbrooks member Cebolla Fine Flowers in Dallas, TX, showcases a lush, textured all white arrangement in a unique white ceramic vase.  The use of hydrangea, amaryllis, star of bethlehem, tulips, artichokes, succlulents, roses and accents of magnolia leaves brings together a stunning winter-white display.

In her forthcoming volume, “Flowers”, Carolyne Roehm describes being so devoted to tulips that some years she plants as many as 10,000 bulbs.  Gardening is her passion, and her photographs of its blowsy stars are reverant works of art.

The West grows the most Christmas trees, but, it has also helped to spawn the artificial tree revolution.  One thing remains the same:  The choice of tree is an emotional decision.  Do  you seek robust A-line perfection, or does a forlorn Charlie Brown pine tug at your heart?  Perhaps this fascinating article in the December  2012 issue of Sunset magazine will help you to decide.

West Coast business owners, Tom Norby of Trout Creek Tree Farm in Corbett, OR, and Thoms Harman of Balsam Hill in Redwood City, CA, share insight into their real and artificial tree companies.

bbrooks membr Neil Leeson Decor

in Akron, OH, has been nominated for CBC Magazine’s

 Connectors Choice Award

“Floral Design Company

of the Year”!

 Cast Your Vote!

bbrooks member Centerpiece Napa Valley in Napa, CA invites all to join them on November 29th for a festive Holiday Workshop!

Participants will  learn to create three design elements- a wreath or swag, a centerpiece and a unique tree decoration.

The registration fee includes all supplies, as well as, expert instrucrion and assistance in crafting. To complement the evening, Venge Vineyards will feature two of their  fabulous wines.

For more information see Centerpiece Floral & Home Workshops.

Heather Pando of L.A. design studio, Little World Design, use botanicals in a whimsical fashion—a style translated to this wreath.  With her team—including Manuel Acosta, who put together this piece—she fashioned “blossoms” out of scallop shells and glued them to a manzanita frame that resembles driftwood. littleworlddesign.com

To get this wreath project kickstarted, Hank Jenkins of  SF Bay Area firm, Lushland, simply took a walk. “What’s here is what grabbed my attention in my own garden and on hikes.” Despite the fresh take on materials, he keeps the color palette traditional with green eucalyptus pods and red pincushions (leucospermum).

Zenaida Sengo of Flora Grubb Gardens and Susie Nadler of Cutting Garden in San Francisco, created this colorful holiday wreath of  kumquats, dried palm stems, red leucadendron, green citrus leaves.

As seen in December 2012 issue of Sunset magazine.

Cindy Wigglesworth, of the The Huffington Post, travelled to the East Coast despite warnings of an impending Hurricane.  She survived.

Her appointments were cancelled, her conference postponed. Yet she was glad to be there in Manhattan for the week.  Why?  Because it was a chance to experience (not just think about) life, and what really matters.

To read of her experience please see We Survived Hurricane Sandy. Now What?” as found online.

Flower arrangement  by bbrrooks member, Elan Flowers, in NYC.

Long time bbrooks member Robin Wood Flowers in Cincinnati is hosting a series of ongoing floral classes,  featuring seasonal design, through December.

In these hands-on workshops, students will be introduced to each topic with a demonstration by Robin and her design staff, as she shares her signature approach to floral design.

Students will leave with their own flower arrangement at the end of the evening. The cost for each participant is $85.  Refreshments and light bites will be served.

Easy-care items like sedums, echeverias, crassulas, Scotch & Irish moss, are used to accent  unique Marina di Chioggia pumpkins in this lush and textured outdoor table centerpiece.  As seen in October issue of  Southern Living.

These days, a stylish room isn’t complete without the houseplant of the moment.  Ficus lyrata (also known as fiddle-leaf ficus or fiddle-headed fig), a midsize tree (they can grow 50  feet high in the wild and can easily top 6 feet in an interior) with large, violin- shaped leaves is enjoying a design moment.

Mary Gray, owner of Potted in Los Angeles, traces the popularity of the fiddle-leaf ficus back to the 1950s and ’60s, when the specimens were ubiquitous in office design.

Davis Dalbok, owner of Living Green in San Francisco, gets lots of requests for the tree, but he advises buyers to plant with caution.  “They need a lot of water and light, ” he says.  “If you don’t rotate them, the leaves in the back fall off. They’re kind of finicky plants.”  That said, Dalbok thinks the beauty of the fiddle-leaf ficus has proven it’s roots have staying power.

As seen in California Home+Design magazine, May/June issue.