Palm Springs meets Scotland in Toronto

We had a wonderful opportunity this past month to completely design a rooftop installation for one of our corporate clients' own home. 

 South West exposure....... thinking......desert..... dry, hot.  It is SO not cottage garden flowers and plants for this terrace. This is extreme territory !

 We needed to compile a list of plants that could survive a drought tolerant, wind exposed position. We also wanted both drama and tropical in an extreme sort of way......hence Palm Springs meets Scotland.

 Plants: a knotted pom pom Scots pine, aloe vera,  various succulents, bougainvillea (totally love), lava rocks, various cactus and other sun loving gems.

It worked very nicely!  We are so pleased with the results.....

And the client was very happy also.  We received an email this morning saying they spent the evening on their terrace enjoying their Palm Springs meets zen like garden, in Toronto.

Flower Class was so much fun !

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Sunday flower class. What a blast ! Check out some of our photos below.

 The studio and flowers before the students arrived.

 We had some very lovely Spring flowers; tulips, sweet peas, ranunculus, hyacinths, but also garden roses, guelder rose, freesias, peonies (yes, early peonies !) and some nice foliages.

 That would be me, waiting nervously for the students to arrive. Sorry about the goofy look on my face.

 I'd like to introduce you to one of the loveliest people I know...Kathy MacLachlan. Kathy was one of my very first customers (10 years ago) and has been a great client and friend ever since. 

Thank you Kathy !

 The ladies starting to muck in. And also have a bit of a giggle.

 Totally focused on the task at hand.

 Choosing flowers for their compositions.

 I think everyone was totally into their creations. And by the way, doing an AMAZING job.

 But still having time to crack jokes, relax and have fun.

Everyone seemed to like the choice of mossy urn for their arrangements. Something they would definitely use after their flowers had expired. I heard talk of planting with herbs for the kitchen counter. Nice one !

If you like to check out our flower  classes email us at flowers@wildthyme.ca

Bespoke Country House Parties

So, last year I stumbled across this company that throws bespoke country house parties in the beautifully charming Cotswolds. It just so happens that one of the partners' in this retreat is  Sophie Conran (yes, that Conran, daughter of the great Terence). Man, it must be in their blood to be so entreprenuerial and also so talented. This family rocks !


And so does this place ! Temple Guiting is actually owned by a fellow called Steven Collins. Steven decided that he wanted to convert this family property into an investment. Smart man. Together with the famed Sophie Conran they have created this gorgeous retreat for anybody (which is semi affordable if you don't mind saving for a year and not take another holiday for another year --- the weekend rates will make you gulp a little) to hold your own private country party (just like the wealthy Edwardians did). 


Sounds good to me.You name it. It can be organized. They have experts from a varied and wide set of backgrounds. Hmmmm.....want to do a little fly fishing ? No problem. Always wanted to spend an afternoon baking artisinal breads ? No problemo. How about hot air ballooning, wine tasting, jam making, shooting, learning to play bridge/poker ?  It's covered. And of course, my favourite......the floristry course.


All this, and in the most gorgeous setting. The accomodation is to die for. Heck who cares about the activities. I just want to go and hang out....go for long country walks, read by a roaring fire, eat wonderful meals, drink great wine and sleep in the most sumptuous bedrooms ever !

Of course, there's always the  National Trust  or the  Landmark Trust  if you're not in need of so much pampering but still want to have that great country house/manor  experience. I think this is more my speed and more of what my wallet can handle. But if money were not an object........ then here I come Temple Guiting. Just for the weekend only.

More pictures and definitely more info on their website.

Thank you Style at Home !

We are absolutely thrilled and so happy that the fab editors at Style at Home, one of Canada's best lifestyle/home decor magazines, has selected Wild thyme flowers as a gift option for The Holidays. And I couldn't agree more. There really isn't much that compares to receiving a beautiful, whimsical, romantic bouquet of fresh flowers, delivered randomly each month, with a secret message nestled deep inside beautiful blooms. Send hints ladies (see our link bar below).....We would love to hear from your better half !!!!

And.... as it is the season of celebrating, we can also help you with any of your decorating needs. Front Door Wreaths.....got it. 
Decorated trees......call us.......NO, really........Call Us.
We love nothing more than a gorgeously trimmed Christmas tree ! 
Parties....We're there.... that's really what it's all about. A wonderful excuse to get together and see friends and spoil ourselves !

Life.... truly is beautiful.

Mmmmm....I love the holidays.

To happy, beautiful brides......

To our beautiful bride Bryn......thank you for being so delightful to work with !!!

Weddings can be pretty stressful events. Even when you're marrying the man of your dreams, planning such a festive occasion can take its' toll. And no wonder. You've basically decided to celebrate and share something extremely intimate and special with maybe 50, 100, 200 or, as in our wedding today with 350 guests. Many of whom, especially beyond 200 guests, you really don't know, if at all ! The details (and believe me they are endless) can overwhelm.

The bottom line is you want your party be a roaring success. You want people to leave your reception and say "what a wonderful evening and by the way, didn't the Bride look beautiful" (sorry Grooms, it really is about the bride).

So, when I meet with couples to talk about their wedding I always remind them of the following:

You've decided to throw a party. Enjoy the planning. Glitches will and do happen. But most are manageable and easily corrected.

Be confident that you have chosen the best vendors for your wedding. Yes, have ongoing dialogue and communication with them, but in the end you must trust them to do their job. That's why you hired them. Right ?

Smile, smile and smile some more.......have fun !! It's one day. Relish all of it because it goes by pretty quickly.

I WANT IT TO BE PERFECT...is wayyyyy too much pressure to put on yourself and everyone else. I saw famous wedding planner Colin Cowie on Oprah. Oprah asked him what can a bride expect from him. He replied "I will do the best job I can and work very, very hard to achieve the look and feeling you want but......I don't do perfect. It's impossible". Ladies, Mr. Cowie does weddings costing millions of dollars !

Most importantly, remember that your guests are following your cue. If that six tier wedding cake suddenly collapses on one side resembling a small landslide (BTW that did happen at one of our weddings) and you fall apart crying, your guests will cry. If you laugh, your guests will laugh. That's the difference between a wonderful wedding and a bad wedding. Make your guests feel great. Because they want to see you have a wonderful time and have a fabulous party. They want to celebrate your future life together !

You decided to throw a party. Go with it !

I so loved her dress. And doesn't she have the greatest smile ?

Robin, one of our fabulous designers created Bryn's bouquet. It's filled with the most fragrant garden roses, the softest pink dahlias and yes, the palest pink ranunculus.

Her veil is simple and pretty. Perfect for her dress and style.

I loved her nude toned shoes. How fashionable !

Some overview shots of the table florals. I'll post more shots of the tables in another post with closer shots. But I must go to sleep for a few hours as we have to go back and tear down later tonight (read 2 am).

This was going to be a great party. The band was rehearsing and they sounded like a lot of fun !!

Bryn and Sasha are on their way to Morrocco tomorrow for their honeymoon. Have a great trip! Then back to NYC where they are living.

All the photographs were taken by my wonderful partner David. It's not always easy for us to get pictures of our beautiful brides on the day but in this instance we were lucky. Thank you David. They are fantabulous !!!

Un charmant plus la noce...

A most charming wedding it was.

The ceremony took place at home. Unfortunately we had a torrential downpour and there was no cover from the rain ! Tom and Shauna had decided earlier in the day to continue with plans for an outdoor ceremony hoping the rain would cease, even for the briefest moment. No such luck I'm afraid. So there we were setting up in the rain.

On the one hand it was quite refreshing and a relief as we have been experiencing the most humid weather . On the other, I can only imagine it must have made for a very quick ceremony and a mad dash back into the house for champagne and air conditioning ! Though sounds like fun to me because as some of you know I love rain !

Unfortunately, we didn't snap any pics from the backyard as the rain slowed us down and we had to make haste to the reception for set up.

Thankfully the reception was held indoors at a local restaurant. I love the vibe of this room. You almost feel you are in Paris (if you don't look out the window). The exposed brick, the crisp white linens, simple table setting and the light streaming through the room was so pretty.

Flowers included garden roses, stocks, wild carrot, lisianthus and dahlias

The style was loose and seasonal with a vintagey feel.

A small intimate affair with family and friends....forty or so. Perfect.

Pretty room.

Bouquets in various shades of pinks, greens and creams.

Shauna (the bride) wanted a simple, charming yet chic look.

This was the large bouquet that David quickly snapped inside the house.The colours are a little off here. However, these flowers really shone on the corner of the large wooden, marble topped bar at the restaurant. Wish I could have gotten a picture, but guests had started to arrive when we got there.

And a quick snap of the whimsical wreath for the front door

Flower dislikes: "overly coiffed bouquets"

That was how one of our brides' described a look she did not want for her wedding.

A very sassy, stylish young woman she knew precisely the ambiance she wanted to create for her guests.

Our brief: Imagine an elegant, easy going affair with loose, seasonal flowers. The wedding was happening in the city so "please steer clear of that country or just picked from the garden feel". However, she requested that we work with flowers available at this time of year - delphiniums, peonies, sweet peas, wild carrot and astilbe - classic country blooms.

Our plan: To keep the look urban and chic, we opted for curvy glass vases with a slightly retro, feminine vibe to complement our soft flowers. We chose a limited yet sophisticated colour palette - gun metal grey, lavender, purple, very soft greens with hints of the palest shell pinks.

I think we succeeded. Have a look.

Would do you think ?