A Closer Look at Winter Color...

a sweetgum grove of winter shades 

It's  January, the month where everyone seems to have self diagnosed themselves with Seasonal Affective Disorder; we're all just SAD. It's no wonder we are because for every month leading up to January, we have experienced such visual sensations in the landscape that we cannot help but feel a bit more invigorated. There has been the bright blooms of spring, summer greens, and a decadence of yellows and reds in the fall. Yet, come January and our fall landscape colors are now brown leaves crunching below our winter boots, the glorious lights of the holidays have faded and we simply seem to be holding our breath for Spring.

Despite its reputation as a hum drum, dull month January actually offers a wide palette of shades, tints and hues of all colors....you just have to look a bit closer. In fact, set amidst the browns and grays of winter, January's colors are quite vibrant, quite spectacular, and quite invigorating.

a january blue sky 

"Good luck with that." I heard my dad voice as I announced we were off to photograph the colors of January.  It was the weekend following the polar vortex, which took everyone's SAD to the next level by a touch of frost bite and bipolar disorder. This particular Saturday offered a day of temps in the 50's and a sky so blue that the lyrics to The Allman Brother's Blue Sky come alive. I decided to get outside and challenge myself and see if we (the Pegs and I) could discover a sample complete of every color on the color wheel....a ROY G. BIV sample if you will.

commons.wikimedia.org 

If you recall the color lessons of elementary school, ROY G. BIV stands for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Variances in these hues (original color) are value (brightness), tints (white added) shades (black added), and saturation (color's intensity).

shades and tints demonstrated on this fence post

So without further adieu, here are the hues of January, brought to you by Carroll County. 

Red: 

berries of a sumac

a lingering red maple leaf 

 Orange: 

an oak stump 

some fungi 

some orange moss

Yellow: 

a yellow bamboo leaf 

yellow/green moss

Green: 

green lichen

green honeysuckle leaf 

green and white fungi

green needles on a bed of leaves

eastern red cedar

Blue: 

blue lichen

blue lichen

Indigo: (a bit of a stretch, but again...a different shade)

a leaf with indigo variegation

Violet:

purple branch with peg's purple boots

bamboo 

purple leaves

purple leaves

Each season offers us different variations in hues in/on/around different parts of our plants. Although winter doesn't offer the brightness or intensity of leaves and blooms on plant material, it portrays the softer tints and shades of plant components that often get overlooked. Winter allows the overlooked parts of plants to shine, the bark, berries, and smaller details that are overshadowed by the bold a beautiful flowers and leaves. 

More than likely, you're not going to have stumps, lichen or a few colorful leaves scattered about your landscape during the winter...but if you do, fantastic. If not, look a bit closer to what our most common landscape plants can offer during the winter months.

 berries of a nandina

Our most common landscape plants can offer some of the greatest visual treats in the winter. Consider the red berries of Hollies (Ilex) and Nandinas (Nandina domestica) or the bluish black ones of Ligustrums (Ligustrum japonicum, not Ligustrum sinense) or Indian hawthorns (Rhapiolepis indica). 

ligustrum

indian hawthorn

Set a midst a deep evergreen backdrop, these berries have a chance to add a much needed color pop in the winter. 

gold brown foliage of a miscanthus spp. 

Continue to look past our evergreens and bright berries to the features of deciduous and perennial plants. The golden brown foliage of our ornamental grasses glistens in the winter sun. The bark of our beloved Crepe Myrtles and Oakleaf Hydrangeas offers not only deep red and brown color, but varying textures as well. 

When it comes to our landscape designs, it's critical for one to not forget about the potential the winter has for visual interest in  our landscapes. Just because the intensity may be less, doesn't mean that winter lacks in color in our landscapes. Color is a major component of our landscapes and should be closely looked at throughout all seasons of design. 

mass of nandinas

When it comes to winter color, the components of color are often smaller (berries, bark, leaves) and should be massed to create an impact. 

Hang in there, although there's another mini-vortex with no chance of snow...which is a redeeming feature of winter, there is still beauty to be found in your landscape....just look a bit closer! 

An Early Fall Affair

Side-note: Let's start by ignoring the fact that my last post was in April of this year, and jump into the fact that fall is almost among us! (Let's just say that I only blog if the temperature is tolerable....tolerable enough to sit inside and type).  

Anyways, what better way to kick off a new season than with a post about a wedding, the ultimate celebration, starting point, and new beginning. I was fortunate enough to be asked to help Anna Gregory with the flowers for her wedding this past weekend. Now, Anna is unlike any other bride we have ever worked with...as in the coolest, laid back bride (and person) that I know. If I were to have a full time floral design business, I would create an "Easy Bride" discount...Anna would have gotten two of these discounts. This weekend offered a chance to dive into design roots of floral design, a passion that is uncapped only a few times per year, but a true love of mine. 

the backdrop to the ceremony

We worked off of about 10 different pictures (not 10 different editions of 10 bridal magazines) to create Anna's story. The setting was the Memphis Metal Museum, a treasure tucked along the banks of the Mississippi River in Memphis. The entire event overlooked the Mississippi River as the sunset in the background. I must give props to those who designed the layout of the museum because it works flawlessly for events. 

The story line was based upon Anna and Terrence's love of bikes, a theme that was carried throughout the weekend. We (I use we because my partner in design for the weekend, was my very talented mother, who graciously agreed to help me on this) started with the centerpieces for the table. Consisting of  recycled bike parts, three colors of roses, stock, dahlias, thistle, billy balls, pink sedum, hydrangeas and artichokes, the arrangements were set on burlap toppers and surrounded by votives. 

entrance arrangement

 dessert gazebo arrangement 

The bike parts were carried off the tables and into the larger arrangements that accompanied the rest of the setting. I put my own metal sculpture skills to use to create the entrance and gazebo arrangements' base of bike parts. These arrangements also consisted of our three colors of roses, stock, billy balls, thistle, hydrangeas, artichokes, seeded eucalyptus, pink sedum, and an assortment of greenery. Yes, the greenery creating the dropping effect around the base of the entrance arrangements is amaranthus, or pigweed as most farmer's in the Delta refer to it. 

 The pew markers served dual purpose for the event, as a pew markers and bar toppers. While these didn't have any bike parts, they carried the same combination of flowers throughout the setting. 

As a designer, nothing is more exciting than the chance to work with something new and the succulents of the weekend provided a lot of excitement. The one flower, or plant in this case , Anna requested was the succulent. We used them on the bistro tables, tucked away with some sheet moss, in the boutonnieres, and on the cake and dessert table. If you're ever in the market for some, visit : http://thesucculentsource.com/, yet another great vendor, with which I had the pleasure of working. 

 Maid of Honor Bouquet

 Bride's Bouquet 

 Mother's Bouquet

 Entry Table Bouquet

 Moss Basket for Flower Girls 

The handwork mimic'd the fresh out of a garden look with roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, dusty miller, thistle, pink sedum, and scabiosa pods with stems wrapped in moss and copper wire. The boutonnieres (although I failed to get photos) consisted of thistle, rosemary, seeded eucalyptus and dahlia blossoms. The flower girls wore halo's of rosemary and thistle and carried moss petal baskets down the aisles. 

 The wonderful part about an outdoor wedding is letting nature serve as the backdrop to create the setting of the event. Saturday, the glorious Mississippi River created the serene setting of the entire evening by offering one of the most majestic views of a river sunset that I've seen all year. Needless to say, the river did the work for me. All we had to do was to simply frame the ceremony, which was done with these arrangements of roses, dahlias, hydrangeas, lisianthus, stock, amaranthus, bear grass, and artichokes. And although, I cannot take credit for the rose colors (as Anna handpicked those), I'm not sure if any other rose would have imitated the colors of the sunset that day as well. 

No bride could have asked for a more perfect setting or perfect early fall day for her wedding. It was a true joy working with Anna to make this event come to life with flowers. These photos only hint at the beauty that was present that evening at the metal museum. As it turns out, wedding flowers are truly meant to be viewed in real life, when they offer a sample of all senses to a wedding party and guests....Congratulations Anna & Terrence! 

 A very special thanks to Mamie Shannon,wedding coordinator extraordinaire of Classic Party Rentals and Ameila Timms, caterer extraordinaire of Graze Food Truck (http://grazefoodtruck.com/), two joyous souls who helped make this day perfect and were a delight to work with.