Flower Market Finds

Spring is in the air at the LA Flower Market...Lilac, Viburnum and Cymbidiums were my favorites for this Wednesday flower market trip.

My all time favorite flower market find was of course the amazing lilac (yes it is finally here!). I just love it's fluffy texture and scent it has to offer in all our arrangements right now. The vibrant tones of purple (such a hot color) and the classic shades of white are both in abundance right now when picking up a bunch of lilac. It's availability is short lived here in Los Angeles so you'll see a lot of these blooms in the everyday arrangements that go out from The Hidden Garden over the next few weeks.

The local green viburnum is another amazing spring time bloom that offers a great contrast against the beautiful lilac blooms. The pair together are a huge hit for any arrangement.

Just remember that both blooms (lilac & viburnum) have a very woody stem so they need to be properly hydrated in order to maintain a longer shelf life than most flowers.

The long stalks of cymbidiums were eye catching this morning. The Pink turned out to be my favorite while i never shy away from the celadon green tones as well. These blooms last for weeks so while they might be on the expensive side they will last up to 2 -3 times longer than most cut flowers.

Hope you enjoyed my favorite flower market finds for Wednesday!

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Making Low Arrangements Stand Out

Many of our clients at The Hidden Garden are concerned with keeping their dining table arrangements low enough for guests to enjoy the flowers but still ensure that the conversation across the table is not inhibited. It's something that you should always consider when choosing an arrangement...."low enough to see over or tall enough to see under". Often times, our clients don't want a low arrangement because they are afraid it isn't "substantial" looking enough when comparing it to a tall design. So the challenge you face...how do you make your Low Arrangements at a wedding or dinner reception a little more interesting? Try switching things up with "multi piece" designs that are still considered "low" but have more than one arrangement in the center of the table. This will give your guests the visual treat you hoped for. It can be a variety of different shaped containers, various heights, bouquets created in monobotanical groupings or monochromatic bunches. The options are endless really. Get creative...let those low arrangements stand out!

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Hidden Garden + Purple

We are going to let you in on the worst kept secret here at the Hidden Garden. Are you ready? Ok, here it is...we are partial to the color purple, and by partial, I mean we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the color purple, take a look at our website and our blog graphics and there's just some of the proof.

Whether it's a bright hue of amethyst on lisianthus or sweet pea flowers, a rich deep eggplant color on a calla lily, or a pastel shade on a roses, we will use it anyway it comes. We can't forget the ever elusive lilac with it's bright and cheerful hue that teases us for only a few weeks a year... We love this time of year when the scent of lilac fills the shop and your vases. Then we have the classics. Hydrangeas that come in various shades of purple. The makara orchids are always a beautiful sight as well as the tulips in their grape colored splendor...

Oh how we love purple here. We hope you do too, as we don't need much of an excuse to fill the shop with purple flowers!

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Today at Inside Weddings Blog - All White Weddings (Almost!)

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I am proud to be a contributor to Inside Weddings Magazine as a columnist and a blogger.

Today I posted a blog at Inside Weddings about a frequently asked question, which is "How can I add a little touch of color to my traditional all-white wedding?"

Thanks for visiting The Secret Life of Flowers, I hope you'll come back and post comments from time to time.

Did your Floral Sample Turn into Reality?

It is customary for many florists to do a sample meeting with clients before their upcoming wedding. It allows us to ensure that the bride and groom know exactly what they will be receiving on the day of their wedding and that The Hidden Garden is completely sure that you get exactly what you want on your wedding day! As you can see, we create the tabletop decor in our shop and have the clients adjust colors, size, shape, types of flowers etc. This process helps clear up any potential misunderstandings so that our clients can have the day they envisioned turned into reality.

We will showcase more of these "sample to reality" posts in the future for your enjoyment!

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TableTop Display Popping with Color

The Hidden Garden was recently featured in the LA issue of Ceremony Magazine with this gorgeous table top display done at The Four Seasons Westlake Village. Thanks to Michael from David Michael photography we just received a collection of photos that you might not have seen in the issue. As you can see these provide even more visual eye candy for you to enjoy! We wanted to tantalize you with all the rich colors and details that made this table top sooo stunning. We hope you enjoy looking at all the beautiful design elements as much as we enjoyed putting them together!

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Wedding 360 - Asiel Designs

Around every corner at Wedding 360 I found something to inspire me. When I entered into Asiel Design's showcase I was instantly impressed with the striking contrast that they had put together; clean and modern, polished silver with rustic succulents. Ironically, my favorite part of the room was that the only "living element" in the arrangements were succulents and that there was not a single "floral element" to be found! My other favorite part of this design showcase was getting to know both Jonathan and Linnae of Asiel Designs. Wonderful people and stunning work!








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Wedding 360 - Nancy Lui Chin Design Room

The past few days I've been at the amazing Wedding 360 conference in San Francisco. It was such an inspirational experience from all the speakers (Sean Low, Tara Guerard, David Beahm, Todd Fiscus, Rebecca Grinnals) to the amazing floral designers that had design showcases at the event. I can wait to share different posts with you all week on my experience from the event.

One of my favorite design showcases was this room designed by Nancy Lui Chin....my dear dear friend and florist extraordinaire in San Francisco. I was taken aback by her amazing talent as a floral designer (not to mention she is the cutest thing ever!). Her design showcase "popped" with color against the white backdrop. The display of hot pink phaleonopsis, magenta dendrobiums, rich pink ranunculus and raspberry tulips were a feast for the eyes. Nancy hit it out of the park on this one!!
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Wedding 360

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Asian Flare

Picture perfect Asian inspired tabletop display that The Hidden Garden created in front of The Four Season Westlake Village pagoda on their beautiful property. The black, white, and deep red decor truly set the tones with the use of white phaleonopis orchids, white dendrobium orchids, bamboo, and deep deep red roses. The black vases stood as a perfect contrast to the flowers, along with the black linens & custom chair covers. Each chair was adorned with with a 'chair outfit' (thanks to Wildflower Linen) that appeared to be a woman dressed in a kimono dress. The deep red votives flicked on the table to create a sophisticated yet elegant feeling. Simply amazing!

* Photographed by David Michael Photo*

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InStyle Wedding Cover Bouquet

We had the opportunity to provide a bouquet for the Jamie Pressly article in the last InStyle Weddings magazine. We gave the InStyle team several choices, in different looks, to choice from. Here are the 4 options we gave them:

{See below for the winner that was featured on the cover of the magazine!}

The Winner is:

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New Blog Post For Inside Weddings; Petal Patterns!

My post today for Inside Weddings is all about giving your aisle that designer touch with petal patterns. Paisley, diamond, or monogram patterns can all be used to elevate your ceremony décor to another level. Read all of my tips from what flowers work best for this treatment to what you should do to keep your petal pattern looking perfect by clicking here.

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Favorite Flower Market Finds

Spring is here and some of The Hidden Garden favorite flowers are coming into season over the next few weeks. I can't wait to share them all for you as mother nature unfolds them right before our eyes! This week we were off to a great start on the many wonderful blooms to come our way. I was absolutely LOVING the white & pink Pieris that was brought to us straight from Oregon. When you are looking for something to provide the drapey romantic look to your floral designs this is the way to go.

Another Spring time favorite that EVERYONE always loves is the blossom branches. They were in full bloom this morning at the LA flower market. They are such a stunning accent to any arrangement or even stand alone with such grace and elegance in a vase.

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photos courtesy of seeds, rpg dance, eliza domestica and c-ville camera club.

Terranea Wedding

Just like Jason & Molly from the Bachelor exchanged vows at the beautiful Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes...so did our beautiful bride & groom this past weekend. Although the clouds were looming overhead all day, the guests enjoyed a romantic ceremony & candlelit reception with all their family and friends. Stay tuned for pictures that truly captured the day from Docuvitae!

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New Blog Post For Inside Weddings; Leave It To The Professionals!

When trying to stick to a wedding budget the thought of saving money by enlisting a friend to do your flowers crosses a lot of couples' minds. My latest post for Inside Weddings talks about certain challenges a professional florist comes prepared for that would leave an amateur florist scrambling. On one of the most important days of your life my advice is to leave the details to the professionals and let your friends and family help you celebrate!





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Festival of Brides at Terranea Resort

This past weekend we had the pleasure of working with a few of our favorite vendors for the Festival of Brides event at Terranea Resort in Palos Verdes. Let me start by saying, if you haven't taken a trip down to Terranea yet...it's well worth it! The grounds are beautiful and the ocean views are breathtaking! Its a great weekend destination for your wedding.
Terranea Resort asked us to help adorn their showcase table with shades of all white florals incorporating roses, hydrangeam tulips and orchids. Thanks to Classic Party Rentals the table top was complete with gorgeous china, flatware and crystal.


Classic Party Rentals had a wide range of items on display for the brides to see at the bridal show. We accented their dining table collection with a touch of orange, peach and green...simple yet elegant!


Thanks to Mary Dann, The Hidden Garden has collaborated with La Quinta Resort (another great destination location!) for all of the Festival of Brides shows. La Quinta Resort has old world spanish feel with a pop of color so the elements in our booth helped create the same vibe that you might have if you visited the resort. The dark brown mahogany wood and flowing chiffon structure was adorned with florals in the peach, orange, celadone and white tones. Mary Dann provided a variety of story boards throughout the booth showcasing the different styles of weddings you might consider if planning your wedding at the property. The booth was a popular destination for all the brides with the added bonus of the Prickly Pear Margarita Table!


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