A Fair to Remember

This weekend the Country Living Fair came to town. I've been looking forward to checking it out ever since they announced it would be in Atlanta this year. It is always held in Ohio, so I was very glad they added a southern location finally!
Country Living Magazine is another favorite, especially the October through December issues. My November issue is still in its plastic mailer, and I am saving it for after Halloween.

The fair was held at Stone Mountain Park, which I must admit I've never had much of a desire to visit. In my mind it was always a big Confederate Memorial Carving and laser light show, nothing more. After leaving the fair, I decided to drive around and see what else goes on at the park. It turns out, a lot! It was very pretty, and I found a nice hiking trail around the lake that took about an hour. There are many trails, aside from the one that takes you up to the summit, and plenty of outdoor activities including fishing, camping, and golf.

View from the Cherokee Trail around the lake

Here are some photos from the fair itself. Although I was tempted more than once, I did not buy a single thing!

This huge pumpkin and gourd display would be

very impressive on someone's front lawn!


Hand-carved Noah's Ark- amazing!



Cute party witch hats, but clearly meant for a
smaller head than mine!


Sugar molds are a popular way to
bring candlelight into a room

Carved out of gourds



A quirky way to fill an empty wall




No more than one head per body, please

Beautiful handmade wool yarn

Yummy cinnamon-rosy Potpourri

One of many bird prints, a grouping of these
would be perfect!

What a terrific pair of chairs!

Collectible Canning Jars

Pilgrim figurines

Used originally for grain storage, these barrels
would make unique planters

Watering cans and buckets-
I can see them used as casual containers
for mixed wildflower bouquets




French market baskets

A beautiful old cupola

Repurposed lighting

Yarn spools

Dress form

Cozy outdoor fire

B-I-N-G-O

What would YOU do with clock parts?

Screen printed pillows

Vintage frogs, used in floral arranging

Napkin rings

Handmade coat

Mad for this Mag

Today I received my much-anticipated Fall issue of Flower, the ultimate magazine for all things, well, flower! I love love love this quarterly publication (although I wish it were a little more frequent than that!) out of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is also the home of Southern Living, Cooking Light, and another favorite (now sadly defunct), Cottage Living.

In one section titled Design School there are step-by-step instructions and photos on how to put together a particular arrangement. For this issue, they recruited Amy Osaba, a talented Atlanta floral designer, to create a beautiful "cornucopia of color".

Amy giving a demo

Pick up the magazine to see the gorgeous final masterpiece!



Also in this issue is a spread on the absolutely amazing outdoor fall "farm fresh" wedding of Elizabeth Shaw McWilliams, the daughter of Margot Shaw, Flower's editor. The floral designer for the event was Sybil Sylvester of Wildflower Designs who is also design editor of the magazine.




Again, pick up the magazine for more photos from this glorious wedding, along with fall florals by David Lavoy, and an interview with interior designer Bunny Williams (who has a knack for flower arranging, are you surprised?).

One more mention before I get back to reading... an article on the High Line, a public park created out of the abandoned and almost-demolished elevated railway on Manhattan's West Side. I've heard about this rail yard transformation elsewhere, but now I'm ready to take a trip to visit it for myself!

Awaiting Autumn

Something I've always loved about living in Atlanta is that we experience each season. It would really be strange for me to have Christmas in a warmer climate, although we are not quite lucky enough to have a white one here!

But what I love more than the seasons themselves is the change from one to another, and the transition between summer and fall is the most exciting to me. Yes, it's still climbing into the nineties these days, but you can definitely feel the approaching cooler weather in the morning hours.

I was lucky to design a wedding last weekend that was a palette of oranges, reds, yellows... a perfect color scheme for celebrating the coming season. These photos show personal flowers that accompanied the wedding party down the aisle.



This wedding really got me excited about autumn, which officially arrives Wednesday September 22, 2010 at 11:09 PM ET. I am a big fan of Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, so I'm listening to the "Autumn" concerto... listen to the 1st movement!

Is there a floriographer in the house?

In my previous post I touched on the fact that flowers can have specific meanings. Floral symbols have been used by the ancient Greeks, early Chinese, Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Indians, but the Victorian Era produced many books on the subject.

Also known as The Language of Flowers, floriography was a communication through flowers which allowed the expression of feelings that could not be spoken. In the Victoran Era, tussie mussies were the most popular way to send along a communication. Different flowers held different meanings, and it was possible to convey a lot through a variety of flowers in one bouquet.
However, it was important that the sender and receiver were both following the same dictionary, as there were differing ideas about what some flowers meant. A dictionary such as

The Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway (1884) can still be found today.

One example I found is the meaning of a hugely popular flower, the Peony. It could mean "Happy Marriage" or "Good Fortune", but on the flip side it could mean "shame" and "bashfulness". Big difference, right?

It seems, though, that a red rose has the same meaning across the board. No wonder they are so popular still to send for Valentine's Day. No mixed signals there!

Why do we do it?

Sometimes I get to thinkin', which leads to questions, which if I'm lucky leads to answers...

Why do brides carry bouquets? I mean, they're pretty and all and look good in pictures, but why do we do it? What's the history? A quick Google search produced a few good theories, here are some satisfying answers:

The first recorded use of flowers in weddings dates to the ancient Greeks who considered them a gift from nature. Actually, the early "bouquets" were garlands worn on the heads of both bride and groom. Herbs such as rosemary and marjoram were common in the bridal crowns of Greek brides, as well as other herbs, bulbs and garlic.

rosemary

marjoram

These elements were thought to ward off evil spirits. Nuts and grains symbolized fertility, happiness, and wealth. Dill was said to be the herb of lust and a bride would only lust after her husband if she carried dill and garlic together; Sage was believed to be an herb of wisdom and the bride who carried sage and garlic together was believed to learn goodness and gather great wisdom.

dill

sage

In the Celtic tradition, the bride and groom wore garlands made of ivy, herbs, and spices for protection.

In Sweden, the groom traditionally carried thyme in his pockets and the bridesmaids carried bouquets of aromatic herbs to scare away any trolls.

thyme

It was not until the Victorian Era in England that bridal bouquets consisted entirely of flowers. Until modern times, a bride would choose her bouquet flowers based on symbolism, not on appearance.

Another common English tradition was for a flower girl to precede the bride on the pathway to the church, scattering flower blossoms; this was said to bless the bride with a lifetime of happiness and flowers.

And why do we throw petals (or blow bubbles, or light sparklers) as the bride and groom leave the reception? Another ancient wedding tradition was the throwing of confetti over the bridal couple. Confetti means sweets in Italian but it was common to throw rice, grain, nuts and sweets as well as more traditional flower petals as confetti; the throwing of confetti was meant to symbolize good luck, fertility, riches and sweet experiences for the bridal couple.

In India, the groom's brother scattered flower petals over the bridal couple at the end of the wedding ceremony to ward off evil spirits.

It seems as though flowers and herbs and most anything botanical were not only for looks, but were highly functional aspects of a wedding. Who wouldn't want to get as much good luck, happiness, and wealth as possible while discouraging evil spirits from tainting the marriage?