White and Purple Bouquet

White phlox is combined with purple blue echinops in this fragrant bouquet.

Pink Roses Bouquet

Pale shades of pink may not be the most trendy color choice, but these soft blushing hues still capture many brides' fancy, and remain a timeless classic choice.

Green Kale Bouquet

Ornamental kale is one of my personal favorite material. It is really a foliage material, but takes on the shape of a big blossom. Whether it's entirely green, in variegated green with cream, or with purple, it is flexible to take on a bucolic or a modern appearance.

A Seaside Affair at Berkeley Marina

Chairs and Sashes: Especially Yours
Flowers: Grandiflora
Linen: La Travola Linen
Music: Joel Nelson Productions
Venue: Doubletree Hotel Berkeley Marina






Inspired by the ocean view at the Berkeley Marina, we used locally grown blue green hydrangea and white star fish as the main ingredients for this seaside affair.

Burgundy and Pink Calla Bouquet

A bouquet of pink and burgundy calla lilies framed by a collar of explosion grass.

Hanakubari--Part I

In modern western floristry, floral foam is a commonly used medium for holding the flowers in place, typically camoufloaged in an opaque container such that the oasis is not visible. For eastern arrangement like ikebana, a metal floral frog is used.

Yet natural botanical material and other industrial materials can be used to create structures to hold the flowers in place, and the mechanics used to hold the flowers together can be a design element in itself. Hanakubari is the precise art of this technique. One of the modern ikebana school in Japan, Mami Flower Design School, extended this concept and introduce it to a greater general public.

I recently attended a workshop conducted by one of the master teachers from Mami Flower Design School, Keiko Okada, and observed her magic in making hanakubari.

A wire frame topped with thin black bamboo segments as flower holders.

Segments of horsetail are bounded together to create a floating structure in the flower container. Because horsetails have a hollow straw-liked structure, flowers can be then added to the horsetails.

Another closer look at the horsetail hanakubari. This floating structure will turn with wind, making the entire arrangement dance with air movement.

Disposable chopsticks are attached to the rim of a martini glass vase by the use of tension of these chopsticks before the two halves are separated. Vine materials swirl around beautifully to finish this design, best appreciated from bird's eyes view.

Another look of the details, this martini glass arrangement is approximately 18"-20" across.

Split branch technique is frequently used in ikebana. If you ever wondered how a branch is held at a certain percarious angle in a vase with the opening much larger than the branch diameter, this is one of the few popular ikebana techniques utilized.
Noticed that the branch is splitted twice, one time to secure the branch to the rim of the flower container, and one more time to hold the blades of foliage and the flower.

A Bouquet of Orange Calla and White Roses

An orange and white bouquet of mango calla lilies and eskimo roses, accented by fuchsia gomphrena and pale green berzilias. Green ribbons of two contrasting textures provide the finishing touch.