Hunt Party

A little TBT blog post.  We have been so busy this spring with many fun projects.  And here is one from last month where we had the pleasure of providing some beautiful flowers.   This special event was for the Orange County Hunt and the party was held at a private farm near The Plains, Virginia.  Not only did we provide the table centerpieces, but also a large statement piece for a coffee table.  We loved working with the cheery, spring color palette while still incorporating the hunt's colors of red and white.  

Photograph: Catherine G. Damewood, Purveyors of Fine Florals & Design

Photograph: Catherine G. Damewood, Purveyors of Fine Florals & Design

Photograph: Catherine G. Damewood, Purveyors of Fine Florals & Design

Edible Flowers, Part 1

Photograph: Catherine G. Damewood, Purveyors of Fine Florals & Design

Vanilla Cake:  Decorated with pansies

As a small child I remember a special, cylindrical box in my mother's spice cabinet.  It was decorated in a fine wallpaper-like pattern with an observation window at the top.  This was a very special box.  In it contained the most magical cake topper a 4 year old could imagine.  Sugar coated, sparkling, candied violets.  Fairy food.

It was my sister Catherine's first birthday and our mother being who she is, threw the most enchanted 1st birthday a big sister could image.  Let's face it, a 1st birthday is always for the family around the guest of honor.  And when there is an older sibling involved it is always extremely special for them in particular.    

On that day, I felt very privileged to be able to help my mother put the finishing touches on that crisp, white cake.  The impression that was left with me is how special flowers can be in the most unexpected places.  

The use of flowers in food create a huge impact, not only with their added visual beauty and enticing aromas, in a salad for instance, but also with their variety of flavors ranging from spicy to sweet.  That being said it is crucial to know which ones are safe to eat. When selecting flowers for consumption it is important to make sure they are non-toxic and not poisonous.

From Martha Stewart Living May, 2013, Edible Flowers article on-line, I pulled the following important information regarding flower selection, as well as a list of common edible flowers. For safety, choose only unsprayed flowers from your garden, farmers market, or other reputable sources that grow flowers for human consumption.  Be sure that these products are not from florist shops, garden centers, nurseries or retailers that are providing these flowers for aesthetic purposes and may have been sprayed with herbicides and pesticides.  When picking flowers in the wild it is very important you identify the species.  It is also important to avoid picking flowers along the roadside as these are contaminated by car exhaust fumes.  And with all flowers, it is important to wash them before eating.

Common Edible Flowers (Petals Only)

calendula
carnation
chrysanthemum
clover
cornflower
culinary herb flowers, such as basil, borage, chamomile, and chive
dandelion
day lily
dianthus
gardenia
geranium
gladiolus
hibiscus
hollyhock
honeysuckle (caveat: its berries are highly poisonous)
impatiens
lilac
marigold
nasturtium
orchid
pansy and viola
peony
primrose
rose
sunflower
tulip
violet

Spring is just around the corner, and Catherine's birthday is right at the start of this season. Inspired by all things blooming and that memory of her 1st birthday with the candied flowers, I decided to make her a wonderful, edible floral present for her gift this year.  Stay tuned this week to see what I have come up with!  And in the meantime enjoy these pictures of the birthday cake I threw together.  Just a few pansies thrown on a simple, white frosted cake can create so many oohs and aahs.

Photograph: Catherine G. Damewood, Purveyors of Fine Florals & Design

Vanilla Cake:  Decorated with pansies

03.01.14

A big congratulations goes out to this weekend's couple who were married on Saturday morning.  The bride and her mother were a joy to work with, bringing beautiful ideas about color and flowers to the table.  One afternoon, we even delved into decorating ideas for my dining room as we shared a cozy cup of afternoon tea!  Here we were, ready to talk about ribbons for the Bride's bouquet, and instead they talked me through making a decision on wall color.  (Preppy it is! I chose a blue somewhere in between midnight and navy over the much debated more modern, charcoal grey I had originally picked.)

They introduced me to a new variety of flower that was requested by the Bride's mother, Tweedia.  This beautiful light blue flower grown in Japan was the perfect compliment to the golden tones used elsewhere in the flower arrangements.  The flower is seemingly delicate, although the stems were quite hardy and needed to be cauterized to keep the milky white latex in their stems from making the other flowers wilt. I do this by lighting a candle and holding the tip of each stem in the flame for roughly 15 seconds.  This cauterization keeps latex from leaking into the water and clogging the stems of other flowers in the vase. The key is to do this once you have determined what length you want the stem to be, and not re-cut it again.  If you must re-cut the stem, then you have to sear the tip all over again.    Although this process makes it a little more time consuming to work with, Tweedia is so pretty that I will be sure to use it again soon!  

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC, Image of Brides Bouquet

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC, Image of Brides Bouquet

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC,  Image of Bridesmaids' Bouquets

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC, Image of Bridesmaids'  Bouquets

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC, Image of Silver Tray with Pin-On Corsages and Boutonnieres

Photo by Catherine G. Damwood LLC, Image of Church Arrangement