Lilacs, made glamorous.

May 13, 2013

lilacs

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.

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10 Comments

  • Reply Portia Hunt May 13, 2013 at 3:56 pm

    Your arrangement is so beautiful – the colours are perfect for Daisy Buchanan! I'm really inspired to try my hand at flower arranging, given this post and your one on Gardenista!

  • Reply Milynn {Love + Whimsy} May 13, 2013 at 4:33 pm

    gorgeous blooms! Those photos must be from your IG sneak peek shoot 🙂 I definitely had a hard time arranging flowers for my mom, it's not as easy as it seems, your DIY is helpful for next time!

  • Reply Charlotte F May 13, 2013 at 5:09 pm

    Wow! They are gorgeous!

  • Reply sweet harvest moon May 13, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    Lilacs at Gatsby's parties? Yes! Beautiful arrangement!

  • Reply Angelica B. May 14, 2013 at 4:52 am

    i can almost smell them! lovely!

  • Reply tinajo May 14, 2013 at 6:05 am

    These are so pretty, love the color!

  • Reply alice {sweet dreamer} May 14, 2013 at 7:17 am

    This looks beautiful. I am hopeless at arranging flowers. Never can do them any justice! x

    • Reply BostonGemmie May 14, 2013 at 8:47 pm

      Me too! I just try my best and blame it on "sticking my nose" into the mass of flowers so that is why it is messy! 🙂 LOL!

  • Reply S May 14, 2013 at 8:21 am

    Lovely – and peonies too. Glamorous indeed.

    My brother had a lilac tree in his garden and I just used to sit under it. Bliss, even in breezy England!

  • Reply BostonGemmie May 14, 2013 at 8:45 pm

    Back home in Maine just outside my bedroom and sitting room windows was a big purple lilac tree. I use to open the windows and let the branches in!!! Of course, until one day I was sleeping and got stung by a BEE!!! Never did that again!

    One day I came home to find my LILAC TREE on the curb for yard waste pickup!!! My dumb landlord was sick of hearing one lady complain that the tree scraped her car when she pulled into the drive. Funny how noone else had that issue. Her problem was she DIDNT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE! I was so sad that I just sat on the curb and cried!! I picked up as many flowers as I could and went into the house, and was hit with the beautiful LILAC SMELL!!!

    On the table and counters was a big note that said SORRY and the kitchen was filled with jar after jar after jar of LILACS minus the bees.

    I knew than my landlord felt horrible and he should! LOL!

    I love love love LILACS! Now I just need to bottle that smell.

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