Poppies, Gingkos and Heart

I was so very fortunate to find my best friend almost ten years ago. More fortunate to finally celebrate our wedding with our friends and family under the gobos and curtains of a local theatre. With a tight budget and lots of moxy, we elected to make our own florals and decor. With flowers all being inorganic, we realized we could make ANYTHING we wanted.

We decided our main flora would be Poppies and Gingkos.

Poppies- California’s state flower and wild in nature, fitting for our wildly different backgrounds still originating in the sunny golden state.

Gingkos-  Originating from China, this “Living Fossil” of a tree has a fun habit of being in every neighborhood we have ever moved to including our current residence.

I took the reigns on the craft and its method and tested out colors and cuts to make our perfect floral scape.

Made lots of sizes

Made lots in quantity 

And made every adorned  detail

And finally

We were married

And surrounded by our community and hard work

We gave away the taken-a-part- bouquet, so everyone could go home with their own piece of our celebration.

But I found so much fulfillment building our story props

That it’s now become a staple in my career in the arts.

I really want to go to different places and make projects with the flowers and plants that speak to their histories and cultures. Maybe it starts with visiting other states and make work with the state flower with my developed skill. But the first thing to do is to hone this craft in my little apartment in California…

   …married to my best friend and fellow gardener.