_As you can probably already tell from the picture, our feature flower this month is  fun, interesting and has great texture. Green Trick Dianthus looks and feels like a small ball of moss. Newly introduced into the floral market, the popularity of this flower is growing fast and I can see why. With its bright natural green color, Green Trick Dianthus are long lasting, inexpensive and available all year long. Every time I have these on display, people will stop in their tracks and ask what they are. Brides love them because they are whimsical and out of the box.

Common Name: Green Trick Dianthus
Botanical Name: DIANTHUS BARBATUS TEMARISOU

Interesting Fact: Green Trick Dianthus are the same flower variety as Carnations and Sweet Williams.

_Flowers designed just for you, well that's my passion and if you hire Blooming Envy that is exactly what you will get. Whether you want to decide each detail or leave the details to us, having an idea of what your designs will look like prior to your event is important. After years of experience it is very easy for me to imagine a floral design in my head. I can imagine each flower, what colors they are and how the overall design will look. If you have trouble imagining your floral designs don't worry, Blooming Envy has access to a wonderful piece of technology that if guaranteed to help.

Blooming Envy is unique because we specialize in weddings and events.(We do not have a retail location) All flowers are order special for each event, so they are the freshest possible. The down side to this is, I am not able to go to my cooler and produce a sample of how your flowers will look. Instead, with the help of a computer program, I can create a virtual image of your floral designs. This sneak peak allows you to see what your flowers will look like before your event, eliminating unhappy surprises. And if your design are not what you expected, changes can easily be made. Check out the pictures below for some of our virtual designs compared to the actual designs.

If you would like to see a virtual image of your event flowers contact us for your free consultation.

_ Great colors, unique flowers, fun textures and a little sparkle, what more could you want? It's a great year to be a bride and an even better year to be a floral designer. I predict that 2012 will be a year with truly one of a kind, personalized bouquets that are delightful works of art.

If you haven't already heard the Pantone Color Institute has named Tangerine Tango as the 2012 color of the year. When it comes to wedding flowers you can expect this color to be staring at events in the very near future. Besides Tangerine Tango, Pantone has also named Solar Power, Bellflower, Sodalite Blue, Margarita, Cockatoo, Cabaret, Driftwood, Sweet Lilac, and Starfish as other hot color trends. My personal favorite(at the moment, because I am always changing my mind) is Cabaret. Please visit Pantone for more info and to see the colors.        

I have also been seeing an interest in unique flower choices and I expect this to continue into 2012. Brides still love the more traditional roses, hydrangea and calla lilies but want to incorporate a bloom or two that are a bit more unique and modern. Some of the favorites I have designed with are mokara orchids, anemone and tweedia. These flowers really represent the happy couples personality through flowers in the design.

Texture in the design is also pushing the limits, with the use of scabiosa pods, craspedia, eryngium, succulents and feathers. These materials and many others are great for creating that wow factor and can even make a stunning arrangement on their own.

A touch of "bling" is also another great way to add a personalized touch. My brides are liking small touches such as a rhinestone accent on the bouquet wrap, a small pendant tied to the stem or deco wire with small crystals within the blooms.

The hand-tied bouquet style is still by far the most popular. Brides like them because they compliment any dress and any size bride. Hand-tied bouquets also give you a clean look and a feeling like the bride went and pick the flowers herself.

So as we always say here at Blooming Envy, BE Beautiful, BE Unique, BE Yourself!

_So Monday morning I was sitting in awe watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on TV. This years theme was Just Imagine... As the announcer is describing each float and what they are made of, I am mentally taking each float apart in my head. Imagining the mechanics and labor that went into each detail. I was glad I set my DVR because I have since watched it 2 more times and I haven't deleted it yet. The few seconds you get to look at each float is just not enough for a curious florist. I felt like a kid in the candy store. Every inch of ever float held a new surprise for me. I can only dream of a day when I may get to see such wonder in person or even better yet, get to work on such a piece of art. The Tournament of Roses Parade is definitely on my bucket list.

Interesting facts about the parade:
*The Rose Parade dates back to 1890. The first Rose Bowl didn't     take place until 1902.
*The parade is always held on New Year's Day, unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday. Like this year.
*All materials used to decorate the float must be organic and plant based.
    - Some of the fun ones I heard mentioned were flowers(of course), crushed lentils, raw cotton, seaweed,             seeds, bark, vegetables, and rice.
*It is estimated that it takes 60 volunteers working 10 hours a day for 10 days to decorate one float.
*20 daisies, 30 roses or 36 marigolds will cover one square foot of a float area.
*Over 500,000 roses (in vials) are used in the parade.
*The Tournament of Roses is the largest consumer of flowers in the world. One float uses more flowers to              decorate than a florist would use in 5 years.
*Floats must collapse to no more than 16.5 ft high, to pass under a freeway overpass.
*The 2012 Rose Parade had 44 floats, 16 bands, and more than 300 horses and riders.
*2012 - Estimated attendance was 700,000 (with an estimated 70 million watching via worldwide television).