Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Wadokahatchee Wetland 2

One picture of the walkway around this little treasure.

Delray Beach

Wadokahatchee Wetland Preserve.
I have been visiting in laws in Delray Beach for a few years and this
wonderful reserve is literally across the street from them. It is free
and really worth the trip. More pics to follow.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Aloe Farm

This Rosa's aloe farm. So many little plants have come from this one
mother.

New Zealand peonies

They just get better and better and I cannot resist showing them
again. They never fail to bring a smile to my face or gladden my heart.

Parrot tulips

These are "French" parrot tulips from Canada.

Princess Irene tulips

It always amazes me that tulips arrive and flurish in December.

Eucalyptus pods

I just love the sinus clearing perfume from these delightful pods.
They really bring the winter frost to any floral design.

Dutch red peppers

Lady slipper orchids

It has been a busy December and so I did not get to upload any of
these pictures. Now I am supposed to be on vacation I am sitting in
the winter sun and catching up. It feels good not to have to be
layered up to keep warm.

Tulip bulbs

I forgot about these little beauties. They were from the begining of
December. They would be fabulous used en mass along a farm table for a
wonderful winter dinner.

Christmas cactus in Boca

Vacation

Finally get to have some time off. Now in Florida, it poured here
yesterday many places flooded. Thankfully it is in the 70's. A little
windy but not freezing and no snow.
Let the peace reign.
Merry Christmas to all.


Peter Cunningham
Absolutely Wild Event Design
peter@absolutelywildeventdesign.com
www.absolutelywildeventdesign.com
http://ayearintheflowermarket.blogspot.com

Friday, November 27, 2009

Wreaths in the sun

A beautiful sunny morning shines on this stack of hand made mix pine
wreaths.

The Man from Del Monte, he say not yet

Miniature pineapple plants in late November, how very fall...

"The fabric of our lives"

Fresh cotton plants.

Holiday madness

So this is 6am Monday morning, the winter greens arrive in full force.

Amaryllis

Today is "Black Friday"...another shopping day conspiracy from the big
companies. What does this madness have to do with the spirit
Christmas? Absolutely nothing. So that is my very short social comment
off the day.
Thank God for flowers. These forest of amaryllis plants in bloom were
sitting on the side walk of the flower market just being.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Ranunculus

These are just fabulous.

Brassica pink

Another spring morning, oops, I mean November morning. Cannot believe how warm it has been this week. So in November like.
Sorry no Monday post but it was my birthday and decided only to work half the day. I was feeling a little tired and decided to go for a bike ride along the Hudson River.  Just the tonic to pick me up.
I will send some pics from the market later today. Thanks to my family and all my Facebook friends for calling and emailing me best wishes. It is much appreciated. Another year wiser.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Peony Red Charm


Peonies come in two forms "Herbaceous" and "Tree Peony". The first are the more common varities that you will find in your garden and florist. The Tree peonies tend to be shorter stemmed and take a longer time to grow. They have many varieties and more interesting colour combinations,

Red anemone

The Anemone is part of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. There are
about 120 species in this familly. The name means "wind flower". They
come a variety of colors : white, purple, lavender, blue, pinks and
and sometimes yellow.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Cotinus

Also known as Smokebush or Common Smoketree. I just love the smokey
brown leaves with the red tinge.

Gloriosa Lillies

These beauties are from Japan. They are about 30" tall.

New Zealand Peonies

More stunning coral peonies arrived this week.

Dahlias

These are the last of the season golden Dahlias. They have had a good
year.

Rosehips

Ilex berries

You know winter is on it's way when these berries from Holland start
to appear. Now they are lush plump berries. They are quite expensive.
The local varieties will not be available until later in the season.

Classic hydrangea

Could not resist this one.

Tulips are back

It's early Thursday morning and I cannot sleep. So thought this was a
good time to update this weeks "new and noted".
The season is getting cold and Tulips from Holland are in the market.
The photo below shows how the are packed and shipped to the US. It is
amazing how the flowers travel so well.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Capriccion garden rose close to a true gold colour.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Winter Peony season

Today is the first Monday in November and we have the beginning of the
New Zealand peonies. For those with Uber budgets.....

Monday, October 26, 2009

Horizon on fire

Just had to share this sunset with all of you. Have a lovel evening.

Monday Monday

 




Another beautiful Monday morning in Manhattan. 53 Degrees and no wind. So now that I can upload pics directly from my Iphone the market wanderings have even more importance to yours truly. Here a some of todays stand outs.

I just love the texture of the long stemmed Artichokes.

These local brilliant orange Dahlias are really beautiful. However I think the season is coming to an end. It will all depend on Mother Nature.



I have had the chance to travel to South Africa when I was teenager and the King Protea's have always been a favorite of mine. I love the structure of the petals and at the same time the softness of the interior.


This is for those who care to stop and enjoy. Many people rush by the flower market and if the care to take a moment they will find many unusual things below there feet or at least under there noses.

But isn't that always the truth.

I could not resist this amazing garden rose called "Capriccion". Unlike many other garden roses this one seems to hold up longer than most. I guess for many this looks like a golden cabbage rose. It certainly is big enough.











Below you will find my surprise of the day: Tree Peonies. They look like roses but they are not. They come very short and very expensive. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. That is it for today folks. Take care P.


Amaryllis double nymph

Fall in Central Park

Michelle and Troy this is for you. It is 5 am I am in the flower market.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Ask and you shall receive

After I complained about the difficulty of editing this blog and not being able to move photographs around I have found the answer, actually two answers. One was to update the layout and the other was to sign up for mobile blogging. This one I love because now I can blog from the street. When I am in the market at 5am I can send photographs directly as I pick the flowers. Not sure how that will work in the depths of the dark winter mornings but for now it will do.


Pink "Dinner Plate" Dahlias from 28th September. This is the height of the Dahlia season. At the beginning of the season in early September the stems are very fat and the flower head tends to be smaller. Not the ideal combo for flower designing. As the season move along the reverse happens, larger blossoms and slimmer stems. This allows you to get better control of the flowers and does not take up to much stem space in the vase. It does also mean that the heavier head will have a tendency to easily break off if you are not gentle with your flowers. That is really annoying...

These are incredible large Dutch hydrangea. This photo was taken on the 5th October. Dutch "Hortensia" come in two groups: 'Fresh' and 'Classic' . The Fresh group is generally available from April to June. They tend to be brighter colours, strong pinks, great pale summer blues and wonderful bright green as well as incredible whites. In the past few years we are seeing new varieties that have multiple petal counts on each little branch. They almost look hand made.   The Classic group starts to show up in the auction houses from June until November. These colours, depending on the season tend to be more muted and a little muddier to reflect the cooler temperature of the changing seasons. Deeper pinks turning into pale burgundies and touches of mossy greens. The green varieties, such as "Magical Opal" have a depth of colour that makes you want to lay down in the them and fall into dream land. The Blues turn dusty shades and are great for drying.

The one thing to remember is that The Dutch Hortensia tend to be more expensive than the Ecuadorian varieties. This is due to a combination of market availability, the exchange rate and the demand. The Dutch varieties also are longer and so are heavier and cost more to ship. However, they are truly incredible and if taken care of properly will last from seven to fourteen days.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Test 2

So this is the second test to see how I can send photos quickly from
my iPhone .
These are a fun selection of gourds for the fall.

Local Celosia from 9th September Local Miniature Peppers on the stock 25th September.

My dear friend Michelle has asked me to get a move on basically so I will start with the days I have missed or the photos that should have been posted. I always need a little gentle suggestion to get started. It makes you feel wanted...

This has been a strange fall season in NY. The global warming has mother nature laughing at us. In mid October we had early December temperatures. It just reeks havoc on the plants, never mind the humans.

Hanging Amaranthus 25th September. Local Chocolate Sunflower. Good enough to eat, well not actually. I guess I should be careful just incase anyone does try to eat them.

I love the Amaranthus but I am extremely allergic to it. Once it touches my skin I break out in a not so nice itchy rash. The sunflowers on the other hand have no such effect on my skin, I love them. They make you smile and the sun shines from their inner core to the extremities of their petals.
As my wonderful friend Yoko says: "I don't like sunflowers, they are just too damn happy..." I wish I could add in her wonderful Japanese accent, it sounds so much funnier.



28th September Ornamental Cabbage "Cafe Au Lait" Dahlias... drink up.

I am watching the sun set as I type and thinking how lucky I am to be able to share my wonderful world of flowers with, at this moment two great friends. Lets hope one more joins tomorrow. We are working on our Absolutely Wild Facebook page so when that comes up I will be passing that along every human who has a computer.
I also need to find out if there is an easier way to edit the layout. I hate every time I upload a new picture it starts at the first line and not where I left off... aaghhh. Any tips...
Till tomorrow my petals..