art of flowers...a blog by The Bonny Doon Garden Company

FIRE

I cannot believe I'm even writing this...

I'm posting an entry about the current wildfire that is raging this afternoon, and evening in Bonny Doon.  I know there are a lot of you out there that cannot get ahold of us, so here's the update.  We have been evacuated, and we're in Santa Cruz   currently at my brother and sister-in-law's home.  I'm here with my daughters, but Nezih is still up there--waiting it out.  As of about two hours ago it was about 1/4 mile from our home.  The sheriff came to the house and pretty much pulled him and my brother-in-law out, so they drove down the road and they're sitting in the car and waiting...

Please keep us all in your prayers, all the friends we have and our neighbors too--our dear neighbors at Bonny Doon Farm--they are right in the middle of the fire trail.  Our animals- our horse has been kindly loaded into a neighbors trailer, and taken to a ranch on the coast...our goats, chickens, and sheep are all still there, but we've notified animal control and they've assured me that they will go in and get them out.

Hopefully my next post will bring better news- I am confident.

God Bless our Firefighters.

New York Times

Today, I'm in the New York Times.  I feel so honored to be included in this particular story.  Day in and day out, I go out of my way (WAY out of my way sometimes) to make a difference for someone, for all of us-by offering quality sustainable & organic cut flowers, personalized design consultations, a unique selection, friendly service, and even a song now & then! Although this isn't a new concept to me; I've always grown my cut flowers and greens organically, and searched for, and buy from people who do the same.  Believe me, as a buyer of organic or sustainably grown cut flowers, my availability of product has multiplied greatly in the last few years.  It's a wonderful feeling.  I love the fact it's finally catching on.
Check it out!
New York Times-To pull a thorn from the side of the planet
It would have been great if my web address had gotten in there-because we do ship some organic product out! But hey...I really am NOT complaining!

Mother's Day 2007

What a beautiful, and BUSY weekend! Starting on the Thursday prior to Mother's Day we were busy processing the gorgeous blossoms we were offering to our customers.  Fresh, colorful, fragrant and PERFECT! We filled quite a few orders with 'Designer's Choice' this year, and that is the really fun part-because you get to be really creative on a continuous basis.  I love floral design for many reasons, but mainly because you can get totally lost in it.  When you're trying to create something magical, extraordinary-it's just awesome- my whole heart goes in to it.  And when I'm finished with a design I always look real hard at it and think to myself 'wow, what is she/he going to think when they see this!' I always feel my heart flutter at that point, and then I know I'm done.  So much care goes into everything we do, and I hope everyone gets a little flutter in their heart when they receive our floral arrangements. 

OK...so the other really super exciting thing about Mother's Day this year was our 'World's Tallest Roses'.  These roses are unbelievable!  They are literally 5 feet tall-with huge heads.  We got SO many comments from people on the street.  Wow! what show-stoppers! And the best part is...they're ORGANIC! I'm going to have to keep bringing these in on occasion..we sold out almost before Mother's Day!

And here's Kristin standing in her 'forrest' of 5 foot roses!!

And here's our Nancy in her glory!-she's still smiling toward the end of the never-ending day!

And last, but not least, my Mother's Day present.  I was so surprised when I came home from work on Saturday-about 8pm and totally exhausted from a 14 hour day- and there she was....a new kitten for ME! Her name is Daisy (all my cats are named after flowers and herbs) Isn't she just adorable? My family is so wonderful to do this-they knew I've been wanting an indoor cat for a while, and I'm so thankful and happy they were able to get her for me...just in time for Mother's Day!

The 'Politician'

This week, we were called upon to provide a very special, very unique floral design for a very popular national level politician.  No problem! Here it is! AND I got to meet him at his door too!  He was in his sweats and eating peanuts!!!!

The Politician

$124.95

You Like???

You can buy it online www.bonnydoongardenco.com

Also of exciting news, check out the Home & Garden Issue of Good Times Weekly.  Its a great article but I'm very disappointed they didn't get our name exactly right.  Peter literally walks by our kiosk at least a couple times per week he says.  And they used the photo I specifially didn't want to use because I didn't feel right about not have BOTH my daughters in the photo, AND they blotched the name of Amy's book in the last paragraph...but hey other than that we're happy!

A Happy New Year

Wow, are we starting out 2007 with a bang! The book we have been featured in Flower Confidential, by Amy Stewart has been receiving an incredible response from the media.  Yippee! Is is a wonderful book for everyone to read.  And we've been included in some great media opportunities as a result of the popularity of the book.  Currently, you can find us in SmartMoney Magazine as a flower shop that offers some flowers that are 'unaltered, unique and 'fragrant' - our very own Bonny Doon Posies We will also be included in a story Amy is writing in the San Francisco Chronicle. And this week we'll be filming a segment with CBS Sunday Morning! We are SO excited and thankful for all the attention.  It's a blessing, and I'm more than happy to share our story of how the little green kiosk is making a difference, and getting attention in the big world of the flower business. I'll be writing more later, especially I'll let you know what it was like to talk to CBS, and Martha Teichner!! Dont forget to watch us on February 11.

Thank you Amy Stewart for having such a love for and devotion to our shop!

Studio Open House

Wow! Our new Squid Row Studio is opening on December 16th!!! This Saturday...Yikes!
Although we've actually been in the new location since mid-late October, we've just now gotten it 'ready' for retail and has that been fun! 

I'll post some photos from the open house...if you're around, by all means stop by and say hello!