Nectar Blog

Happy Monday!  How were the weekends out there?  It was sunny and warm here, and I spent the bulk of yesterday weeding and turning soil over and generally building a crazy amount of excitement for this spring’s garden.  Right now the only thing growing in the savory department is a heck of a lot of garlic, but as I mentioned last week we have been enjoying the sweet greens of new bulbs pushing up, the rosy blush of a huge flowering quince nearby, and the tender new leaves of sweet woodruff.  We’d love to hear what’s coming up in your garden – let us know!

In other spring excitement, we know that many of you are planning weddings, so we’d love to keep covering some wedding themes that we been loving, and one of those is the natural wedding.  Driven by both aesthetics and their values, we have been thrilled to be contacted by many engaged couples about how to design a wedding that incorporates nature and reduces waste.  We absolutely love this challenge, and over time have found ourselves featuring unusual items like feathers, seed pods, grasses, and branches – both flowering and not.  Often the color palette is more subtle and richer than many weddings.  We use a lot of candlelight, the textures are wilder, the plant choices more herbal and seasonal.  We love this look and really enjoy working with clients who feel that this best represents them.

In terms of reducing waste, many of these weddings also make use of our plant rentals.  Any newly married couple can tell you that figuring out what to do with centerpieces and small bouquets and hanging arrangements is really the last thing on their mind at the end of their special day, and we often see these flowers meet the compost pile just hours after being so lovingly arranged.  So rather than use entirely cut flowers and greenery, we lovelovelove to promote our beautiful collection of plant rentals, from graceful ferns and palms to delicate potted centerpieces.  These in-house plants are cared for by the lovely Mara, Carmen’s right hand gal.  During wedding season you will find her carefully watering, dusting, and otherwise tending to these plants, so you can be sure that they will look their best at your party.  It doesn’t hurt that plant rentals are usually a very economical alternative to all cut flowers, so be sure to ask us about this option.  Vintage or natural, traditional or your own thing, we look forward to being inspired by your wedding choices!  Have great weeks out there. 

Note: the beautiful images on this page were taken by the very talented Jamie McPherson at Fine Day Photography.  Thanks, Jamie!

Happy February!!!  Has January flown by for you as well?  Seems we were just ringing in 2012 and already I am flipping the calendar to a new month.  It’s a Leap Year, and I can tell you that the Nectar Crew will be making full use of that extra day.

First things first: we want to make sure that everyone knows that our Annual Plant Sale will be held this year on April 20, 21, and 22.  This year we are thrilled to our tippy toes to be holding this event at the Museum of Arts and Science here in Macon.  Those of you who attended last year will remember that it was quite a party, and you know we aim to outdo ourselves so mark your calendars, bring your friends, and make sure there’s room in the trunk for some gorgeous plants.  We will share more details soon.

With this early spring weather I am guessing that there has been a fair bit of digging in the dirt out there already.  What is coming up in your garden?  We know for sure that many of you are already seeing early spring bulbs popping up – crocus, narcissus, winter aconite, hyacinth…to name a few.  The other day I found myself unable to remember exactly what bulb to expect (having planted a number of them that have not yet bloomed for me), and upon consulting my handy garden journal I was overjoyed to recall that I had planted calla lilies – chocolate and white with a touch of rose.  Before I profess my love for the calla, let me say here that a garden journal is a must have.  I gardened for years before I finally started doing this, silly me.  In my journal I keep track of what I planted, where I planted it, and when I planted it.  I also make notes about what worked, what failed, what pests I may have encountered, the weather that year…anything, really.  But let’s say you plant yourself some gorgeous sweet peppers, but those beautiful plants just won’t set fruit and at the end of the summer you find yourself with big bushy plants with maybe one or two teeeeeny little peppers.  Chances are that you planted your pepper plants too early (low evening temperatures early in a pepper’s life will keep it from setting fruit).  But do you remember when you planted your peppers?  Exactly.  Or in this instance I was thinking seriously about digging up a chunk of my front bed but a quick glance at my bulb map reminded me about those callas.

Speaking of which.  I have just loved these flowers since I was a girl.  Their shape is so elegant, they strike me as almost art deco in their lines.  A native of southern Africa, it is not actually part of the lily family at all.  They are easy to grow, although those in dry climates will want to take care to provide enough water.  They love humidity, bloom for a very long time, and can even survive a light frost.  And for those eager to get a jump on spring, these can easily be grown indoors as well.  But their real star power, in my opinion, shines when these are cut and arranged.  Their blooms will often be perfect for over a week, and with their tall elegance and color options they are a dream in a centerpiece or bouquet. 

We’d love to know: are you growing calla lilies?  Or thinking of having them in your wedding flowers?  We’ve put together a pinterest board of beautiful calla bouquets – take a peek here and let us know what you’re loving in a bouquet these days.  Happy February from the Nectar Crew!

As many of you know, we have been busy, busy, busy: decking the halls with boughs of holly.  Yes-siree, you heard me right: boughs of holly in January.  The Nectar crew was delighted down to its tippy toes to be invited to take part in another photoshoot for Southern Living.  We are set to be a part of their holiday content, and do do that for 2012 we had to do the shoot this month.  After being asked to be a part of the holiday spread, we immediately began brainstorming both the look and the location.  We were very honored to have been able to decorate such a gorgeous home...and our hostess even made us hot tea on a nippy day during the shoot! 

There's a lot of planning, skteching, measuring, ordering of props, emailing back and forth of designs...by the time we hit the location with a photographer we knew exactly what to do.  The Nectar team hit the ground running, from flash planting paperwhites to whisking away every stray leaf, branch, and grass clipping.  The Southern Living folks were just a dream to work with: fun, friendly, and professional. 

By the end of the week we had hung wreaths, decorated doors, planted a goodly number of plants, and pretty well worn ourselves out in the name of Christmas 2012!  We'll be sure to remind you all once it hits the stands later this year.  Thanks everyone!

Earlier this week we saw some downright chilly evening temperatures and the next day I came across this photo. It’s been dancing in my head ever since, spring visions of spikes of saturated colors. Who doesn’t love a snapdragon? I loved them as a girl and I love them now. Bright, hardworking, cheerful, tall. In fact, I love all snappy kinds of flowers and just in case you do too I thought I’d indulge myself for a second and make sure that everyone has met a toadflax. So, Linaria genus, say hello. These little snappers have been tickling my fancy for the last many years, after first discovering the magnificent Linaria reticulate via Annie’s Annuals.

Right? I mean, check that out. That is an officially insane display of gutsy, sassy, awesome color. Who doesn’t need a little bit of that? Let me say that I’d probably grow this even if it were finicky and short lived, but in a stroke of good fortune, toadflax is incredibly hearty. It’s drought tolerant. It smells nice. Some very nice pollinators go bananas for it. In warmer climates it will resow itself (in colder climates I would collect the dried flower heads and save those – the seeds are very small so this works best). Lastly, it loves a container. Lots to work with, right?  You can snap up these mini snappers here (click - apologies, our hyperlinks are very shy, we're working on this).

So. More with the vintage goodness. Some of the things I inherited from some of the lovely older women in my family were hatboxes! Well, and hats. But often the hat inside was a sort of mystery too me, too big, too small, too pink, too feathery. Obviously I need a few pointers in the art of headwear (I nominate Kate to be my mentor; girl can really rock a hat). All to say: often I found myself keeping these gems in large part because the boxes themselves were gorgeous. Beautiful floral papers, perfectly aged linen, lace that was still pristine after seventy years of age… I own a number of vintage hatboxes that could easily dictate the style and color scheme for a stunning wedding. Do you own any of these?

I recently did a wedding where the happy couple integrated items like these into an absolutely beautiful and really meaningful aesthetic. These two held an after party in the Terminal Station in downtown Macon. What a place for a party! You can really feel a deep sense of history in that space; a time when things were made differently, from top to bottom. This creative pair used vintage hatboxes and suitcases throughout their décor, but most impressively as their cake stands! How classy is this party?

Note: you can see more of this lovely wedding here, and the beautiful bride's bouquet that you can see above is lisianthus, majolica spray roses, seeded eucalyptus, ranunculus, antique hydrangea, hypericum berries, and scabiosa pods.

If you are interested in using these vintage items with your floral elements, there’s no reason you couldn’t use a hatbox or a suitcase for this too! Below are some inspiration photos. I love floral arrangements that accommodate potted flowers – that way you can either offer these blooms to your weddings guests as favors or plant them yourself as a garden reminder of your special day.

Here are a few links for some searches for vintage hatboxes and suitcases. Anyone have any other ideas for integrating vintage items into a wedding? I’d love to hear them, leave us a comment or tell us on Facebook.

Note: you can see more of Jenny Evelyn's talented photography here - I can tell you that she's a peach to work with!  Thanks for letting us share a few of your photos, Jenny.

Well, as you know, we love a good wedding. Hearing from brides and grooms just beginning to plan their special day is an honor. We thought we’d spend some time in this space talking about some of the kinds of weddings that we’ve really enjoyed working on, and first up: the vintage wedding! One of the things that made me realize that Carmen and I were peas in a pod was when she told me that it was her goal to get gals these days gardening like their grandmothers. Well, she is talking my language, since my Gran taught me everything I know about growing things – seems that inclination skipped my mom entirely. So I don’t think it’s surprising that a lot of brides these days have a strong desire to honor their older family histories when it comes time to plan their wedding day.

There are so many creative ways to do this. Some brides might wear something special that belonged to their mother or grandmother or great-aunt. Some grooms might wear the very same tie their grandfather wore on his wedding day. We all know that rings passed down the generations can likewise carry very special meaning. But we also love to see weddings incorporate iconic vintage materials into the very theme of the wedding: glassware, linens, cake stands, hatboxes, suitcases, parasols – you name it! Just choosing a few areas to go vintage – red depression glassware or hobnail vases or vintage cupcake stands – can take a wedding from beautiful to beautiful and memorable.

So. While some brides and grooms are lucky enough to be able to turn to their actual Grandmothers and Grandfathers for inspiration, we’d like to share some inspiration and tips for hunting down some of these gems.

Today we’ll talk about glassware (later in the week we’ll get to some other elements). From red depression glass to milk glass, both ebay and etsy can definitely get you rolling in both the inspiration and acquisition departments. It’s good to take a few minutes to think about how you intend to incorporate these pieces into your wedding, for example whether committing to doing all your florals in hobnail vases – which are often harder to find in larger sizes – will overly limit your choice of flowers. Of course finding these goodies at local auctions or shops will often save you a bundle in shipping, so keep your eyes on the newspaper for those auctions and estate sales.

In the meantime here are a few etsy searches to get your creativity flowing (these are links, just click the word): hobnail vases, depression glass, vintage punch bowls, milk glassware, glass cake stands, and vintage champagne glasses.  We'd love to hear your other ideas for incorporating vintage glassware into a wedding.  And stay tuned - we'll be looking and linens and other goodies soon!

Happy Almost New Year!  We here at Nectar and Company hope that all of our readers have had (or are still having!) the very merriest of holidays.

One thing we know for sure about this time of the year: a whole lotta lucky couples are getting engaged.  We just love hearing from brides-to-be...and grooms too!  A wedding is often an event that marks the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship we have with a couple.  From arranging the perfect bouquet to helping you plant a delicious kitchen garden many years, we grow with you.

We'd like to invite you to check out a tool that has lately been rocking our very socks off: Pinterest.  Pinterest is an online pinboard, or what we like to call an inspiration board.  You know when you're planning a big party or remodeling your kitchen or trying to find the most perfect wedding gown ever?  You probably bookmark things or tear things out of magazines or otherwise collect images that convey a sense of what you're going for.  Well Pinterest is like that, but you can share it with other people and it is easy-peasy.  It's great for so many things, but it is beyond great for planning a wedding, party, or garden.  Below is a preview of some of our Pinterest boards.  You can see that they are arranged by topics we chose, and if you click on a board you'll see tons more photos.  Thinking of going with a red bouquet?  Check out our Red Bouquet Board and get inspired by everything from Ranunculus to Anemones.  Are you as excited by Tangerine this year as us?  Take a peek at our Color of the Year Board.  We'd love to hear suggestions from you or follow your Pinterest if you're using it, so let us know what you're up to.  In the meantime, have a safe and happy New Year - we can't wait to work with you in 2012.

Hello, hello Nectar Friends!  We are just hopping on here to wish you the very merriest of holidays.  We are so grateful for your support this year - we could not do what we love without you!!!

The holidays have definitely been keeping us busy this year.  We have been climbing ladders and stringing lights and snipping blooms - generally just helping to transform houses and porches and gardens into holiday visions.  Working with folks to brighten their homes this time of year is one of our favorite things to do.

We have also been honored to help throw some truly spectacular parties this holiday season.  The challenge of taking a raw space and transforming it into an inviting and thematic party environment is really where our crew shines.  Below are some photos of a party we recently worked on - what fun!  Taking our cue from the blue-whites of winter, Carmen chose white peonies, white tulips, hydrangeas, and thistle.  We balanced these flowers with some of our favorite seasonal greens - this time of year we love to use juniper, cedar, pine, and magnolia (to name just a few).  To keep things from feeling too chilly, we strung the room with beautiful candlelit lanterns and illuminated flower arrangements.  The effect was truly mesmerizing.

We wish each and every one of you a warm, safe, and merry holiday.  We look forward to hearing from you - and stay tuned to the blog here, we plan to use this space to share inspiration, do-it-yourself projects, and general Nectar News.  Don't forget to check out the other ways of keeping up with us - click our links in the upper right corner for our facebook and twitter!  You can also follow us on our new favorite thing ever: Pinterest.