Easter bunnies and cheep cheep!

Spring is here and the weather is brightening up! Daffodils and narcissus are sprouting and the fragrance of hyacinths fills the shop, competing with the scented candles we light everyday to create that sense of being in a garden.

Today, we have completely gone colourful with yellows, oranges and greens, not forgetting the ubiquitous pinks and lilacs. Everything says spring is upon us.

The table is laden with chocolate eggs, fluffy chicks and panacotta candles and the window has bunnies climbing cherry trees and generally having a good time.

We love Spring and hope you will come and see us at the shop. Cheep! Cheep!

I have been doing the sums - Mothering Sunday

'I have loved you since the day I came out from your tummy.' 'If you went to Mummy School, you would be top of the class!' 'Home is where mummy is.'
These are some of the beautiful sayings, which I am sure are repeated time and time again, in praise of motherhood.

When I was a child, I used to get very confused when she had to send me to school and leave me with the teacher until the afternoon was nearly over when she duly came and collected me. I used to think she did not like me any more!

Secondary school was better when I would go home and dinner would be ready. My mother would tell me about what happened during the day and even let me do the washing up and look after my brothers and sister when she popped out for her secret driving lessons! My father would not have a clue.

Time flies and we are all older - my brothers now have their own children and whenever we meet, we would recount the stories of mother and father to the young ones. Life is quite different today. Somehow, we all work too hard and there is never enough time to simply teach the children how to 'smell the flowers'. But luckily, we can all still revel in the thought that we all have, in some cases had, a mother and the memories of the many things our mums do for us will live on.

My favourite ode goes as follows:

Mum, I've been doing my figures and they are mind-blowing.
16,424 meals,
5,400 loads of laundry
14,700 hugs,
6,570 bedtime stories
18 birthday cakes,
and all from
1 Mum.

Wedding Bouquets 'I do!'

At The White Orchid, we are constantly asked if we do weddings and if we have any samples of the type of bouquets we make. I often think that brides should do a little homework by searching out the florists who reflect the style they like and then go see them.

Of course, by all means, bring some cut-outs from magazines, a mood board of the look you are aiming for and the flowers you like to incorporate. Otherwise, let the florist come up with some suggestions to suit both your preferences and budget.

The seasons should also be considered as the availability of certain varieties of flowers are never guaranteed. Prices vary too.

So, do check out the florist's website or blog, have your pictures in a folder, fabric samples and a good idea of what you are looking for before you even start to choose a florist. Budgets are important and most florists will work something out for you if you are flexible enough.

Enjoy your search!

The launch of a Wedding Cake Website.

The wedding market is definitely the place to be if you are a florist, a cake maker,a fashion designer, an events organiser and a milliner to name a few.

My friend, Krishanthi Armitt, has recently launched her website, www.cakesbykrishanthi.co.uk, and in the preparations, has asked me to arrange some flowers to accompany her cakes for a photo-shoot.

Her PR agent, Jo Kent at www.somethingbluepr.co.uk, co-ordinated the shoot and even took the photos herself. I am impressed by the look of the whole set-up and most of all, how my flowers complement Krishanthi's cakes.

Her cakes are not only beautiful and modern, but delicious without being too sickly sweet. I am very envious of her as she can enjoy her work and eat it!

Marvel at these photos and check us out!

Be mine! All my love. XOXO

With every bouquet comes a message. Although the bouquet says a lot, the handwritten message adds an indescribable element to the beautiful experience of receiving flowers. In Victorian times, admirers chose specific flowers to convey their feelings and this was well documented in books like 'The Language of Flowers'. Roses represented love, azaleas - romance, dianthus or carnations - pure and deep love, narcissus - desire, white lilac - first emotions of love, and purple viola, you occupy my thoughts.

Modern day bouquets generally contain flowers which 'speak' but the personal expression of the sender is still very much a necessity - who they are from and why.

Some of the messages we have to write range from the funny, serious, unexpected, to the weird. Our job is to write them in our best handwriting to conjure up the romance of a bygone era when there was no texting, emailing or tweeting.

What are your floral messages like? Do share!

What is love?

February 14th. A date which haunts and a date which brings back lots of memories - good, bad and ugly!

Remember the first boy or girl you set eyes on when you were at school? Remember the first letters you wrote to declare your feelings... remember your first time you held hands and felt a sense of excitement coursing through your veins, the first time you went out and spent ages doing your hair and smelling lovely. remember?

The world seems a thousand times more beautiful when you have someone to think about and someone who fancies you... Everything else seems to simply melt away. Life suddenly becomes an adventure and every gesture seems to denote some meaning.

Why do these feelings erode with growing up and having to live life in the real world? I say they never go away when you know where to look...

Recapture those moments. Make a date, get your hair done, put on your favourite dress and ask for... an armful of flowers! Not forgetting the chocolates and champagne.

Have a great night out and stare at the stars, but most of all, don't forget to hold hands.

Long live love!

Paris in the Spring Time

When I am feeling exhausted and uninspired, my first thoughts are always to take the Eurostar and head for stylish and elegant Paris.

Much as I love London, Paris has that certain 'Je ne sais quoi...' The buildings and boulevard transport you back to the sixteenth century and of course, the journey from St Pancras to Gare du Nord seems like nothing these days when you can be sitting in a jam for an hour not and get anywhere.

My long weekend was spent visiting the ever popular trade show, Maison et Objet, where the whole world congregates. Trends are displayed via rooms filled with desirable objects for the home and garden and a million other products that make our shops so inviting and irresistable.

However, attending a show like that can also be tiring and so, I generally steal a few hours away from it all to have my rendezvous with the usual old haunts. This time, I managed to take a walk to St Germain de Pres where bookshops and cafes featured. The famous Les Deux Magots is still there and I remember having breakfast there with a good friend, watching the world go by...

A short walk from the cafe, you will find the chic Jardin du Luxemberg which I must admit was looking bare with no green leafy trees and colourful flower beds. However, the consolation prize was the exhibition of some Cezanne paintings in the Musee. I have never seen Cezanne's paintings up close and in the 'flesh'. C'est tres beau!

Enjoy the photos!