We Adore Flowers

10/11/2024

There is she.

I can see our growing season coming into harbor. A dot is out on the horizon, with frost on her tail. Maybe Monday, maybe the week after.

These gorgeous warm sunny fall days are filling up our sails. We still have lots of flowers. Plus we planned for it, we seeded lots of late successions to have blooms now. Oh and heirloom chrysanthemums! Watch out for these if you are a grower or flower lover, they’ll grab you by your heart. Our first buds are starting to open, they will continue to open til Thanksgiving.

It’s pretty dark at 7:30pm and it’s dark when I get up. We have the lights on in the kitchen in the morning now. Our daylight is running low. Am I sad? Ha, no:) Because it’s fun to run really fast and jump on the growing season merry go round, hold on for dear life. Just as it is to step off, and be dizzy. And stand still as the sky spins. Until it is quiet and still again and everything focuses a little differently, like something has changed and something was learned.

Plus well, I have my tulips - loud nasally French Hon, Hon, Hon!
And our freaking 7th Annual Winter Wreath Workshop - Yeehaaa!
And we actually have a task list of about a hundred things to do including some big weddings
And thousands of little plant babies to get the ground and protect
So we can run and jump in spring
Catch the wind with our sails
Take a spin on the flower sea.

(Which analogy are we using here?)

I don’t know which do you like? The season is a ship or the season is a merry-go-round?

(I don’t know but the French sound thing was funny. But I’d say merry-go -round because you do seem like you are spinning.)

Good! That’s the best part;)

Inner critic/confused reader voice aside, it has been another good year. I’m good. I’m grateful. I feel really strong and relaxed even, and it only took 8 years;)

Thank you for your love and support! Can’t do it without you!

Yes our Wreath Workshop is live, and tickets are selling like brunch at the Bellflower, Hon, Hon, Hon!

(Well you ruined it.)

HA!

10/01/2024

Two Announcements!
(Horns for the Queen) We present Tulip Club!

This is a royal scoop of gorgeous tulips coming this WINTER. 16 stems picked up or delivered to your/their door for Ypsilanti or Ann Arbor.

12 Weeks of Tulips-from January to April, you pick 12 out 16 weeks for your pick up or delivery.

6 Weeks of Tulips-starts on Valentine’s Day and every other week through April pick up or delivery.

So many varieties, all are stunners, most are peony types along with fringe, fragrant and parrots. Shoot! We are putting on a show!

We are growing these here, fresh, for you. A three step process that needs Goldilocks temperatures, moisture, humidity, light, time, and voila. We can grow tulips in Michigan in Winter! Yes it IS magical!

We have been planning for this for 9 months, we built another cooler, did years of research, and I am just so excited, well, for January;) Feels like we are having a baby;) Gawk!

More info and to sign up at the website.

And a warm apple pie applause for our good old Winter Wreath Workshop!

Yes! We are delighted to offer this freaking fun event. When people will be off buying crap, you can skip all that and come with us and get your hands on gorgeous greens and make something special, in community, with possible pizza and maybe a beer....(you had me a not crap).

We will be at Corner Brew for our Annual Wreath Workshop Dec 1st and Dec 7th. Start times will be from noon to 2 and 2 to 4pm.

We have made some improvements. All tickets will be presold, two kits per table so plenty of space, plus bigger bunches, more wire, good pruners. Plus all those heartwarming Ypsi vibes at good old Corner Brew-we’ll be there! Join us:)

Tickets and info will be on the website October 7th.

Cheers!

09/02/2024

Awe! Rondo String Quartet was a fellow vendor at a wedding we did at Wellers, the played like angels:) They had super kind words in their blog about us. Thank you for taking your time in share this!

Beautiful words of love and faith were shared by Megan McElroy OP of the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids during Natalie and Mac's wedding ceremony. Their day was held at Wellers Weddings in Saline, Michigan, a historic ten-acre Henry Ford property. This hidden gem has two very different banquet ro...

08/30/2024

It’s just been the most gorgeous Summer here in Michigan.

You can’t deny, it is one of the history books.

Mosquitoes are not too bad, cool nights yet warm enough to swim, a sweet spot.

Not the most abundant year for heat loving plants like tomatoes or dahlias but good enough.

I am outside every night, probably right now harvesting and tending, gettin er done.

Me, crickets, cats, cicadas and kids.

The kids in the cul de sac have a new game-Ghost in the Graveyard, tag meets hide and go seek I think.

Them- One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock...

Me-One aster, two aster, three aster...

Cats-one cricket, two...

All of us are hoping for one more round, to make one more bunch, one more catch before it is just too dark and time to go in and call it a day.

Summer 2024, mark it special.

Tonight I am harvesting for our event tomorrow. We will be for a Flower Bar. Get tickets on their website’s shop page.

All funds are all going to a family in Gaza, you can read more about them on the shop page Happy to be able to do this collaboration:)

Come! I think there are tickets still:)

08/07/2024

Bridal Bouquets are a shield. Protection from stress and from all the attention. They soften these awkward moments like what to do with your hands, what to look at when you are so nervous.

They say for you “It’s time, please take your seats.”

It’s Earth’s Beauty standing with you, grounding you. These plants we have been evolving with. Flowers and ceremony go hand and hand, that are right up there with food and clothing-I love that.

Yes I made this one. So proud! Gorgeous couple Ypsi couple, gorgeous photos by

Sigh:)

07/30/2024

She called to tell me I was a liar.

I don’t mind being called a liar because I’m not so need to panic.

Late, forgetful, idiot-ok you got me, that is sometimes true;)

It was my sister (Hi Gillie;) “You said lisianthus season was your favorite when I know it is ranunculus.”

Ok here it is Top 10 Favorite Flowers- by a flower farming florist who is a second generation horticulturist-ok, here we go, this is going to be good, in order of season.

Tulips
Ranunculus
Sweet pea
Peonies
Delphinium
Annual Phlox
Lisianthus
Dahlias
Grasses- not technically a flower but they have my heart.
Heirloom Chrysanthemums

Ok now but what is your very favorite?

You can’t ask me that, that is like picking your favorite child, it is really an impossible question-Tulips. (you must read that sentence and be filled with protest and immedaily say tulips totally dispassionately, ha, funny huh?)

Ha! Yes, tulips are my sweet darlings. And we are going all in on them and you should come with me. Choo Choo! I’m going run this Tulip train down and make it stop just for you:)

We are growing winter tulips again. To hold them in the snow, when it is dreary and cold. I love them for their strength, beauty, scent, and that they change from one day to the next, marking moments in time, an hourglass to remind us this is all passing right now and to reach out and take hold.

Sign up yourself and all your friends for Tulip Club- coming this January. God that feels good.

Ok! Your turn, favorites!? And because I love you, Saturday we will draw a name for a free Big Bouquet. Out the area folks if you win we will send it to anywhere local you’d like.

Photo by the lovely

07/10/2024

Hurricane rain falling.
We have 2.75 inches and counting.

Hi! I’m here, I haven’t been posting.
Seems obsurb to talk about flowers during a US funded genocide, a climate crisis and the coming election…
Our inability to take action and get results had me in a dark sad place.

Their death, our death, habitat death, impending future death…

So I went there, and I sat down.

For the month of June, I went to the woods everyday, alone.

To think about my death.

It was an art project/answering the call of my heart.

I have a million things to say about this experience, but I’ll just say one.

I’ll be so sad to leave this place, I don’t want to leave, this Green Good.
So grateful to have been here, despite all the terrible things. Deeply and wholly grateful to be among this beauty, that beauty, your beauty.
The only way to express that gratitude is with love.

Love for my little light I get to hold for now, this Earth and the other lights. The end.

‘Blah blah blah, love is such a boring answer, I’m so bored right now.’

No, not boring, simple is the word.

Simple and the most powerful.

So hand me my hoe, my shears, my pen, my can of spinach-gross, fine.

I know what team I am on.

Again.

And it’s ok if you take a shot and miss.
Like try to call your representative and they do nothing, talk to a racist friend in a loving way that goes nowhere, let the psycho driver pass you and you get a red light, write a post no one reads, try to eat more beans and it makes your family fart too much-whatever it is, give it a try.

We give A’s for effort on Team Love.

04/19/2024

The Bud Break.

This would be about the time when Anne first came to Green Gables.

The magnolia got their bloom this year, yay!

Maple seeds are checking their bags, getting ready for flight.

Oh human white legs with shorts, ha! Reflective for safety;)

Our Mother’s Day offering is online! Going to be so so pretty!! Including a Mason Jar Club subscription that starts with a delivery on Mother’s Day, what? That’s perfect!

We also teamed up with a local poet, , she wrote a poem for us, couple of free tulips if you can read it and not choke up, ha, good luck;) You can add the poem your order on our website.

We are tomorrow for crowns and plant swap with come, remember covid when we could not do stuff?

Spring Garden Tips!

W**d. Get them now, often and early and the rest of summer will be breezy. (unless you have perennial weeds then I would lay thick cardboard and mulch/straw and plan for next year.)

Establish clear paths. Most people can only reach 2ft when gardening so beds can be up to 4ft wide, but 3.5 or even 3 makes for much easier tending, especially for kids, older folks and flower farming is a lot of reaching, if you have space make more narrow beds.

Prepare your beds. Can’t skip this hard part. Your hand should be able to pretty easily slip into the ground. Plant roots need air and water filtration. We added sulfur since our Ph is creeping up from all the compost we use, so we needed to till that in this year. But plenty of times if you have already tilled one year you don’t need too again. Sometimes a good forking is all you need. Thrust your fork in, pull back to a 45 degree angle, pull out. (whoa, is this a dirty post? yup;) This is not a turning over of the soil. Keep your soil structure. Then lots of stabbing with your fork, and that very well could do it. There are lots of other tools but a digging fork would be my first choice.

More tips coming!

04/04/2024

He is kinda annoying.

Sometimes.

Well he enjoys being right in the way. He is super smart, very emotional. He needs to do exactly what he wants to do, and I hear that.

His name is Beak, Rimbold, Scribbles, when we got him he was Rutgers. He is a bro of a cat, a jock, a flirt, a total lover, lap cat, he turns into goo when he is sleeping on you and groans if you move too much.

We love our Beakie rug, even when he sits in my scene repeatedly;)

I loved this moment when I realized he could be a part of the shot. He fits the color palette, his stripes are like a wood grain and added some fun texture and height, ha!

This is my play in early spring elements.

I love the creamy citrus of daffodils and tart earthy colors in hellebores. Delicious.

Love the orange flame, with the kumquats. And the fire and wood and the blowout light. All related and joining hands.

It was my first shot putting a little tablescape together with what I had, it was fun, I made a huge mess.

I like wood here but it does feel a little 2018 when wood slices were the rage. I think wood is gorgous and fits perfectly in this early spring collection, but I lack the cool wood pieces of my dreams. I tried to make some glue bound mats of twigs to place the daffodils into, but it didn’t work, maybe I’ll have time to try again.

We are amazing here. Golly even organized. We are reaching out to subscription holders now. Did you get your tickets for our flower train? All aboard!! No you don’t need to pack anything just sign up on our website, join us on a monthly Mason Jar filled with the cream of the crop! Choo Choo!

Thank you everyone:)

03/08/2024

That’s me:)

And these are not just tulips. Oh nono. These are not the starving, single, short, shipped and sad tulips that smell of chemicals from Fresh Thyme or Trader Joes or ect.

These are Dreamer Tulips. These are blush peony type double tulips.

These grow, move, and open. They unfold to show their golden centers. Growing 5x larger and 3 inches taller, with a fresh ‘I’m alive’ scent.

And if you are like me you know their magical powers. They have charmed you to come close and you breathe them in. The next thing you know you are carrying them around the house with you, even cleaning up the room, calling a friend, sharing them.

Fresh farm grown flowers cast spell, one I am grateful to be under. It’s a tough time to be a human in lots of ways. I’m having a really hard time with the state of the world. And if anything is going to help it is this-beauty, love and magical joy in all the forms.

Little soldiers of love and joy, all of us.

Tulip Club is open again!

Subscriptions to our seasonal flower parade starts in just 5 weeks! Gack!

So freaking excited:) Join us!

(Website is getting updated, gonna be sweet but if there are issues check back or call me:)

Photos by my dear dear friend who is insanely amazing Laura Russel. Xoxo:)

02/03/2024

30 Helens agree.

Tulips are pretty!

(Anyone have the Kids in the Hall theme song in their head now? Oh it’s a good one, you’re welcome:)

Tulips are for the marshmallow kids. You know that study where they put a 4 year old in a room with ONE marshmallow alone. The deal is they get TWO marshmallows if the kid can wait 5 minutes without supervision and not eat the one marshmallow right in front of them. Delayed gratification, it isn’t for everyone.

Tulips are for mountain climbers, people who make bread, people who build stuff, people who invest, take vitamins, work out, people who do the work and lots of old ladies love tulips.

Tulips start as little walnut sized buds and over the course of the week, they open.

Their mouths expand, they look like tropical birds at the opera. Or little monsters in this crazy earth, plant and animal science experiment. And photos are lovely but those who have held them in their hands know that the photo isn’t half of it.

The wait and slow change over time, the freshness, the lushness, these beauties put on a show, the unfurl show. They are pretty special.

Test it out, ask any Helen she’ll tell ya, or just try them for yourself;) Maybe you like them, say more than like traditional Vday flowers…maybe we got a local alternative here…love to hear your thoughts:)

Thank you and for helping us get these beautiful stems into the hands of the people, pick some up there!

And thank you company for giving us space to for our Pop Up February 14th, 3:30-6pm, please preorder at weadoreflowers.com

Want lots of tulips in your life, sign up for our subscriptions and get our beautiful blooms all season, delivery and pick up available!

And if you’d love something artfully made for Vday order soon, that would be so nice of you:)

Hey it’s so nice outside, I saw a kid in a t-shirt! Weee the sun didn’t forget about us!

01/22/2024

Cold-i-lots and the three burrs.

Ha! That makes Dan smile, not laugh but smile. But it only works when we are both shivering running to the car door.

Yup it’s been cold, freaky cold, unbelievable cold, like it’s mean out.

Making THIS even extra magical.

Beautiful people of Ypsilanti and this IG community:

May I present our first tulips of the season, this is Marie Jo! She’s a golden double and she’s starting to open, well hi there!

Yayay! Applause, hats flying in the air, hugs, cheers and two lip kisses!

I’d like to thank Linda and Emily from the for creating a great course and for the active FB group surrounding this Workshop all posting all their success and failures-lots of both! Lots of learning:)

I’d love to thank Dan who brought lots of muscle to this heavy lifting adventure and is currently, at this very moment, drilling right now below my feet and it is really LOUD. He is building us another cooler in our basement for an improved set up for indoor Tulip growing next season. Not going to be growing in our guest room and living room next year! Or well probably not;)

And as always a big thanks to Kate, for making the spreadsheets look cute, planting the tulips all perfectly spaced and cute, heck she even made the cords for crap look cute. Oh but Kate is doing some heavy lifting too, she can deadweight something crazy like 130 pounds, but she does that like a badass. We are lucky to have her, thanks Kate!

If all goes well, we will have tulips for Valentine’s Day, and beyond, how special is that!! Can’t beat that, so excited! Bunches can be ordered right now on our website, weadoreflowers.com.

We will be getting these babes to the . And will be adding them into our deliveries.

We are already taking orders for Valentine’s Day, deliveries and picked up bouquets.

We will have our Beautiful Bouquets at our Pop up on Feb 14th from 4-6pm.

Our local flower subscriptions are extra special, get one of those too:)

Be a little Cupid and order early!

01/07/2024

Loved this extra lush, big stack of pretty we did for Elizabeth and her love on a magical summer night.

I designed this installation. Stepping away of what had been done here before, thinking there is a way to make this huge stately pergola to look like a Secret Garden without costing a fortune. Turned out like a crown jewel. Yes!

“Ginny, isn’t all that just growing on that arbor?”

Nope, it looks like it though, you are right;)

We had a screaming good time adding stems to reach 2+ft up and down and sideways, adding potted plants and vines for maximum impact, what a dream. One of my favorite weddings and turned out just gorgeous. Thank you Elizabeth for picking us!! Dang she’s a vision isn’t she:) And applause for Greg at City Club, everyone loves him, so pro!

Dear brides and marrying couples of the future, we are only taking 3 weddings a month so if you want to cross insanely, gorgeous, Earth loving, local, and fair priced wedding florals off your list, email us!:)

She’s got the shots, wowza

01/02/2024

My mom has some handed down sayings from her Irish mother, I’m just short of half Irish.

My mom is an angel, who has powerful prayers and is one of those real christians, who loves everyone.

She would say, “I gave you an inch and you took a mile.” Oh I got that one a lot as a kid.

And “Tell the truth and Shame the Devil.” For a born truth seeker, the word truth was powerful enough.

“Call a spade a spade.” Now this one has been ringing in my head for a month but I’m subbing the word genocide. Call a genocide a genocide.

Maybe it technically isn’t, maybe it is. But what I am sure about is I don’t need have every historical fact or context to I know what I’m seeing is wrong.

Let the aid and aide in!

Me harvesting delphinium before a rainstorm.
Me being a spaz, pushing my mom on my tire swing
Me and my mom on our way to get a Christmas Tree this year.

“Ginny why are you talking about this, this is an account about flowers, no?”

Yes! This is definitely about flowers. And celebrating the effort of change. Of trying to do better, aiming higher, trying to love more.

12/28/2023

Video of a wedding we did creating a super cool canopy.

Thank you to my bride Melissa and Daisy from Stone Chalet Bed and Breakfast Inn and Event Center