Farewell to our Faithful Friend

With heavy hearts and soggy eyes, we said farewell to our faithful shop dog in early November.  Shadow was the designated manager, because she would sit at the top of the shop steps where she could see each of us working.  It wasn't until later in her life that she began watching us work.  But when she discovered the perch at the top of the steps, nothing could tear her away from it.  No matter the temperature indoors or out, we left the door open for our furry supervisor.  She watched intently as we processed flowers, designed, and cleaned.  There was something about her companionship in the shop that added a calmness to our hectic wedding weekends.  Her steady gaze of approval was often just what we needed to keep on.  On certain days she requested to come into the shop.  Since she couldn't walk down the steps, this required a trip through the front door and into the garage.  She stopped to sniff each bucket of blooms and requested a head pat no matter how many stems were in your hands.  She plopped down, right in the line of traffic because she just needed to be in the middle of the action, and I imagine the cold cement floor felt good on her belly those hot summer work days...

The shop will never be quite the same without sweet Shadow girl watching our every move.

succulents + wedding bouquets

-via-

image by Kyle Bergner

     Yes! Succulents are still beautiuful as ever and in high demand as interior plants, or in bridal bouquets.  One thing I realized lately, is that I didn't know exactly how to care for them.  I know what you're thinking, "you're the daughter of a flower lady and you don't know how to care for a plant that is near impossible to kill?!"

     I took an afternoon to do some research so I can confidently bring them into my home knowing I wont wake up to a sad shrivled succulent.

>Water LESS!  Eventhough these beauties are made primarily of water, they really don't need much additional water.  Their growing season is in the Spring and Summer, this is the time they need regular watering.  Give your succulents a good soak once a week during this time.  Their soil will dry out between watering and thats good!  In the winter they become dormant so scale back to watering once every other week or even once a month.   The leaves will give you signs of under or over watering, pay attention!  If over watered, the leaves will turn white and wilty.  Underwatering will cause brown spots to appear on the leaves and they will stop growing and shed their leaves.

> Bright light!  These guys are desert natives and like bright sunlight.  Keep them in a window, or whichever room recieves sunlight(south facing windows are best!)  Again, pay attention to the plant, they will tell you what they need.  If they're not getting enough light, they will stretch and their leaves will be farther apart.  If they are getting too much light, their leaves will appear to be bleached.

> Temperature.  Succulents are surprisingly adaptable to cooler weather as deserts usually have a drastic temperature change after the sun goes down.  Succulents can tolerate 50-55 degree weather but prefer 70-80 degree weather and can be left outside during the Summer months.  Just be careful about direct sun exposure!

>Planting succulents: Succulents prefer fast draining soil.  Add rocks or packing peanuts on the bottom of your pot, and soil on top when planting your beauties.  The rocks will allow adequate drainage to prevent the roots from rotting.

> Succulents only need to be fertilized with ordinary liquid fertilizer in the Summer months when they grow most.  No need to fertilize in the winter.

     Overall, these plants really are nearly impossible to kill (yay!)  Just pay attention to what they leaves are telling you and adjust accordingly.  Now go grab one of these lucious plants and give your green-thumb some exercise!  .

-Clancy