If you saw our floral design workshop exclusive to Pollen clients, and wished you could take it, we have good news!  Pollen and The Flower Garden are teaming up to offer a hands-on introductory floral design workshop to benefit Les, The Flower Garden’s primo peddler of petals, to help with the costs of his recent […]

As a “thank you” to past and current clients, Pollen is offering a hands-on workshop in basic floral design.  This workshop is exclusive to past and current Pollen clients*, who may each bring one guest. The introductory two-hour class, taught at Pollen’s floral design studio in the Ravenswood Corridor, will cover: – flower selection, – […]

Pollen was lucky enough to be selected to display at Indie Wed not just once, but twice!  I have described last year’s display as “showing off.”  I created a bouquet, centerpiece, and boutonniere for three different looks, showing the range of styles Pollen can do.  Intimidated by a sophomore effort, and no longer feeling the […]

For the “modern” theme for Pollen’s Indie Wed display, the inspiration was a beautiful pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes.  The decor picked up the fuchsia color of the shoes with deep pinks, as well as pewter and silver, and conveyed simple elegance. I featured fuchsia phalaenopsis orchids in the centerpiece, bridal bouquet, and boutonniere.  These […]

I just love fall weddings.  Mostly because of the fall wedding flowers available, of course!  I’m a big fan of berries and branches, and fall is a perfect season to include fruits, berries, and branches in floral arrangements.  This post, I’ll focus on non-flowers. Ornamental Peppers (Capsicum annuum) Ornamental peppers are more diverse than you […]

Well, just in the nick of time, I’m getting in a September flower availability post!  I love fall, and I especially love the berries that become available in fall.  Here are some of the locally grown flowers that I’ve been seeing and using this September: Zinnias Tuberose Eucalyptus Asters Snapdragons Gomphrena Asclepias Celosia Gladiolus Dahlias […]

The quest to offer greener options to my clients continues.  Piece by piece, I’m trying to find eco-friendly wedding items as alternatives to  the less eco-friendly ones! Nothing beats the flicker of candles at a table for creating a warm and soothing environment.  For this reason, votive candles are often used as a part of […]

Creating a sustainable event can begin with one of the very first steps of planning a wedding: choosing the wedding date.  The process of selecting a date is a complicated one.  Season, holidays, availability of key people… these all factor into the wedding date selection.  Add one more factor–locally grown product availability–and you’re on your […]

Short profile of the allium plant, available locally in late spring and summer as a cut flower.

This time of year is exciting for me…  For these few warm months in Chicago, locally grown cut flowers are available!  In May, when the first peonies and lilacs add life to local farmers markets, it starts to really feel like spring. When I’m sourcing flowers for an event, my first choice is for organic, […]