Lilacs, made glamorous.

At my parents’ house in Connecticut the flowers are always late to bloom. My mom refers to our yard as “a funny little microclimate,” where the forsythia pop a week behind everyone else’s and the lilacs finally burst into color sometime in late May. But clipped from soccer fields and the sides of highways, our house was always full of whatever wasn’t quite ready to bloom in our own soil. As a result, we had lilacs plopped into pitchers on mantlepieces and bedside tables for approximately twice as long as every one else.

These lilacs came into my apartment in the city way, slung over my shoulder and carried home from a nearby flower shop. Tasked with making a bouquet inspired by Daisy Buchanan, these plumes became part of an arrangement just minutes before the rain poured down and turned the Brooklyn sky black on Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, they made the perfect backdrop for a tiny mother’s day gathering in our tiny apartment. Two moms, one sweet bébé and three admirers.

I’m still learning the arts of flowering arranging, but for a little peek into my process for this Gatsby-inspired bouquet, you can head over to Gardenista.