Wedding at the Columns Hotel

For the bride: a hand tied bouquet featuring
blue hydrangea, green cymbidiums, white Oriental
lilies and white dahlias

Joie de Vivre Floral

My bride eloped Saturday at the Column’s Hotel in New Orleans.  What a romantic spot for that special day!  I was honored to be the one providing her flowers.  She told me that she wanted a strong contrast of bright blue and ivory with accents of green.  Of course, we utilized vibrant hydrangea for the blue and exotic cymbidiums for the green accent.  For the white tones, we added fragrant lilies (I checked—no allergies here), dahlias and ranunculas.  The result, a stunning combination.  I wish I could have stayed for the ceremony.  You plan these wedding flowers for so long-- you think about them, you dream about them, you stress about them.  Whether it’s large or small, when that magical day finally arrives, you just want to see your bride walk down that aisle and have her fairy tale moment!

For the groom: a boutonniere featuring a green cymbidium orchid,
blue hydrangea and lily grass accent


Louisiana Blooms

Joie de Vivre Floral

We’re finally settling in to our new life in Louisiana.  Of course we miss parts of our former life in North Bend.  We lived in a magical place—the river, the mountains, the snow, the wildflowers—thinking of it now is like a dream.  Of course I miss it at times, but then I think of all that wonderful vitamin d I get just about every day in this tropical paradise just a short drive from New Orleans.

Then, I look at the cool flowers and foliage can grow here.  Oh my goodness.  This girl could only dream of growing these successfully in the shadow of a mountain in the Pacific Northwest.  Here are a couple of my favorites.

Tigridia-a successful impulse bulb purchase

Gloriosa lily--my favorite!

Kew Gardens

Our final expedition on our family vacation proved to be the climax of the trip, in the floral department, that is.  While leisurely perusing a gardening magazine in Scotland, an ad for Kew Gardens grabbed my attention. This ad was the catalyst for changing our itinerary to spend a few days in London before returning home to Louisiana. The ad was titled An Explosion of Color: Ignite your senses at Kew’s Tropical Extravaganza. Discover amazing floral displays inspired by fire, air, water and earth.  Couple that text with a splashy tropical graphic and this fish was hooked.  This is one case where words simply aren’t enough to describe the beauty we experienced at Kew Gardens.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

London's Flower Market

I suppose our family vacation turned into a work vacation. Oops! Our walking tours always turned into flower shop tours when the opportunity presented itself. Upon touring a lovely London boutique, we learned about London's flower market--the place where shops purchase their flowers for resale. So of course, a trip to the market was added to our busy schedule.

What an educational experience it was. Unlike our markets where we purchase from one wholesaler, London's market is made up of numerous wholesalers all under one roof. As a buyer, it makes it so much easier to shop around for the best product at the best possible price.


The flowers--let's talk about the flowers. A lot of what we saw in London is what we see here. Most of the flowers come from the Dutch auction and man oh man--what amazing products. For brides wanting phalaenopsis orchids, Dutch is the way to go--the quality is outstanding. Here in the U.S., you might pay more for Dutch products, but I do believe in this case, you get what you pay for. I would have taken photos, but all of the delicate beauties were wrapped in plastic, water tubed and boxed. Curious as I was, I had to open the boxes for inspection. The blossoms were voluminous and flawless and also important, the stems were sturdy.

Another product worth mentioning were the amaryllis. Oh my goodness, I've never seen such a glorious collection. This is a flower I enjoyed seeing in designs throughout London and Scotland. For whatever reason, it seems that in the U.S. it's only used around the holiday season.  What a shame!

Valentine's Day--in Scotland

One advantage of being a freelance floral designer is that I bypass that craziness known to the public as Valentine's Day.  Believe me, having managed a floral boutique, I can say, been there, done that.  Analyzing previous sales, planning the massive floral purchase to cover all customer orders, organizing the staffing, processing the shipment (just think all those lovely roses you receive do not have thorns), those are just some of the things I faced leading up to that chaotic day.  Now the chaos, organized as it was, proved to be exciting, but let's just say planning and designing floral creations for events is better.

Today I had the pleasure of touring Edinburgh's Royal Botanical Gardens. You say February in Scotland can't be that exciting in a botanical garden; I say-- think again.  I can only imagine how lovely the garden will be in a few months; signs of spring were at every turn.  Whether it be the delicate snowdrops in bloom or the bulbs just emerging or perhaps the early blooming rhododendrons just starting to show color, if you take a close look, you know that spring is on her way. 

I must confess; however, the real showstoppers lived in the glass houses.  As we toured these vast collections, we observed plants from around the globe and what an experience it was.  I hope you enjoy a few of the highlights.

Bonjour Louisiana and Welcome to Joie de Vivre

Being from South Louisiana and having lived in the alluring city of New Orleans for many years, we recently decided that is was time to say goodbye to Seattle and venture home. So Covington is now the place we’re planting our flowers and I’m so happy to be here just a hop skip and jump from my beloved city.

A different approach to the floral business

I am serious about floral design and I am serious about taking care of you, the client. I choose the studio mode, because after working in a traditional shop for years, I knew that I was a floral entrepreneur at heart, but the retail format wasn’t for me. I wanted to focus on events and let’s face it, you don’t need a storefront to produce beautiful works of floral art; you need: a license, a cooler, supplies, dedicated space and let’s not forget the big one--talent.

It’s a smart idea, and given the economy, it’s a practical idea that is much less risky. The opportunity for longevity is by far greater with the studio model.

Most importantly, the client wins.

1. You really get the freshest possible product--purchased specifically for you (no shop surplus here).

2. More time for you--events-only business means we're not swamped with everyday orders, distracting us from your event.  We can focus on the most creative and appropriate one of a kind designs for you (no wire services here).

3. Savings--because we lack the overhead associated with traditional flower shops, we are able to transfer the savings to you.

Flower shops may sometimes scoff at us designers that opt-out of the traditional storefront mode of business. It’s probably because these Basement Betties (as many professionals refer to them) simply have no real floral education and flower shop experience.

About me

Just a little about me: floral design is my passion. In addition to having a degree from Loyola in communications, I studied at the Floral Design Institute in Seattle (now in Portland) and have taken classes in Vancouver and Seattle with famous designer, Hitomi Gilliam (in addition to managing a traditional flower shop for many years). Now that I am Louisiana, I’ve passed the LA Florist exam and have that wonderful license required by the state to legally sell cut flowers.

If you still aren’t sold, take a look at my gallery. You will see variety and creativity. It is my hope after perusing my work, you will be inclined to schedule a consultation. Whether you choose flowers to embellish your wedding, a special party or celebrate the life of a loved one, Joie de Vivre is blossoming here in Covington, Louisiana and we look forward to exceeding your expectations with flowers.

Au revoir Snoqualmie Valley (for now)

Our North Bend home's back yard

While I know that brevity is always appreciated, this is one entry that simply cannot be condensed.   After many years of talking about moving home to the New Orleans area, it finally became a reality.  We’ve talked about moving so much, it became a running joke in my mind and I finally accepted that this is home for now.  So I stepped out of my comfort zone and created Joie de Vivre, allowing me to share my passion for unique floral design with others.  Of course, once things are moving along peachy keen, the opportunity to move for a year presented itself.  That’s how life is, don’t you think?

So we’ve moved and Joie de Vivre will move as well—to an area where people can easily pronounce it and also appreciate its meaning.

Olallie Park, our daily hike

Leaving the valley was a bittersweet move.  Saying goodbye to friends is never an easy task and saying goodbye to the place we’ve called our home proved to be difficult as well.  But this blog is about flowers and the majesty of nature, so I will stay focused.

Over the past nine years, I have slowly been converted from city girl to outdoors girl.  The most expensive pair of shoes I own to date is a pair of hiking boots!  While happy hour is something this girl still enjoys, I have come to appreciate scuba and snowboarding and hiking, not to mention simply adoring the view in my own backyard.

Becoming a floral designer has opened my eyes in so many ways to the beauty of nature.  Part of me wants to say that this is God’s country, but you know, God’s country is everywhere.  You just have to adjust your perspective and open your eyes.

My budding flower girl

I’ve had the pleasure of walking two to seven miles a day with my puppies, husband and now my daughter.  It’s been fascinating to observe the rhythms of nature.  From getting soaked in the never-ending winter drizzle and gazing at the mountains trying to peak out of the dense clouds, to getting covered in snow, struggling to walk in snowshoes and hunting for Christmas trees in the forest (with a hot toddy of course), to observing the cherry blossoms of spring and hearing the birds chirping happily in the mornings, to the graduation to summer and the flood of vibrant foxgloves and daisies along the roads, to finally, the colorful leaves and berries of fall, there’s always something beautiful to behold. (My apologies for the never ending sentence.)  I am eternally grateful for this wonderful gift I’ve had to live in such an amazing place and the eyes to appreciate this myriad of gifts we enjoy on a daily basis.

Our first adventure in our new state

My blog is titled Ramblings of a Flower Girl for a reason, right?  Well, I am happy to say that my ramblings will indeed continue as I continue my journey with nature and exploration with flowers.  I hope that you will join me.