Hannah's Flowers

A Wonderland of Winter Whites

1/11/2023

Breaking Down Our Favorite White Florals of the Winter Season

Nearing the middle of January, persevering through the chilly weather and frigid temperatures, we thought it would be the perfect time to highlight some of the floral beauty uncovered in this bleak season. Although it's hard not to long for the blossoms and warmth of spring, it's only fair to give January it's much needed love and respect by showcasing some of the gorgeous winter whites and greens we love to use this season.

Winter Kale is a gorgeous element that is very effective in displaying volume and texture in our arrangements. Not only is it a beauty on the eyes, but it is also an edible vegetable! Although tempting for our veggie lovers, we do not recommend our clients to make a salad out of their arrangements. Winter Kale, as pictured to the left, also comes in a striking and dreamy lavender shade. Another reason we love this vivacious veggie is its durability through the season and how long-lasting it is. We estimate your Winter Kale will live a good one to two weeks after leaving our shop.

Creme De La Creme is a soft and alluring rose that we absolutely adore. Its roots begin in Ecuador and its stylish French name makes is a memorable beauty. Its cream-colored hue makes it a perfect element to reflect and blend with more stand-out vivid flowers. It is a star in its own sense because its center radiates a warm glow. This new-to market flower is soon to be iconic in the world of floral.

This pure and elegant white stock is out of a winter fantasy. It exudes a sweet and spicy scent that adds a warmth to whatever arrangement it accompanies. Stock comes in a variety of colors, including, ivory, pink, and shades of purple. This flower adds a graceful length and height to its arrangement, as well as a balance.

Ginestra is a magical winter element that adds texture and flare to our arrangements. It's woodsy and dainty aura gives a natural look to our pieces. Its branch-like texture adds an earthy essence to elevate all surrounding florals. Ginestra adds amazing dimension and composure to all floral designs.

Hydrangea is a fluffy and cloud-like flower that always adds an elevating volume. This striking and modern floral is massive and is sure to be the focal point of its arrangement. It's perfect for winter because it reflects the gorgeous white snowballs of the season. Pink and blue hydrangeas are more popular in the summer, as their vivid colors match the tone of the season.

Another favorite of ours is the Variegated Pittosporum! This fancy greenery is a way to elevate and sophisticate our beautiful arrangements. We've noticed throughout the years that this green is a bridal favorite, with it repeatedly showing up as an accent for pink and blush themed weddings. Variegated pittosporum comes from a unique family, with miniature versions and non-variegated forms.

This striking green is called a dianthus. Although very different in appearance, dianthus is a relative to the classic carnation. We love using this in our winter arrangement because it adds an eye-catching texture with its fluffy stature.

Baby's breath is a fan-favorite and a highly popular filler flower. Baby's breath is a striking white and super fluffy, adding a soft and textured allure. We love adding baby's breath to our winter arrangements because it is sure to compliment the other flowers. Although it's winter, we foresee baby's breath being another huge trend this year in weddings, baby showers, and bridal showers.

Tulips are a blooming flower that grace our presence typically in the spring and summer. Tulips add a refreshing spring feel while we're still in the frigid months of winter. There are two types of tulips, standard tulips (as pictured), and parrot tulips. Parrot tulips have a frillier appearance and are harder to come by in the world of florals. We love adding these in our favorite winter pieces as they add a natural elegance, are fun, and super charming.

Lisianthus is a rose-like floral that exudes class and luxury. It's a perfect winter white because of its exquisite design and chic appeal. It has a unique and clean allure that allows it to be an excellent accent in any arrangement. Lisianthus is the definition of 'pristine white' in the collection of white florals. This stand-out difference makes lisianthus a favorite for brides in look of an all-white wedding.

Showcased above is all of our favorite winter whites arranged together, creating such a breath-taking and remarkable floral design. We love how classic and graceful the aura of this piece is. This bright and radiant arrangement captures the pure elegance of the season and is a balanced melody of all the beauty winter exudes.

Thank you so much for reading. We hope this piece inspires you to embrace the beauty and magic of soft winter florals!
XOXO Hannah

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Floral Rehydration

12/29/2022

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Uncovering the Beauty of Floral Rehydration

An Interview with Hannah Tiffin, Creator Behind the Floral Rehydration Innovation

When hearing the words "floral rehydration," not too many people are able to describe and visualize this revolutionary hidden gemstone emerging in the world of preservations. Life-long florist Hannah Tiffin, founder of Hannah's Flowers in Midland, Mi, is the creator and mind behind the one-of-a-kind floral rehydration process. When asked to describe floral rehydration, Hannah expresses that "floral rehydration is the complex process of submersion, cleaning, opening, rebuilding and re-drying of each flower before arranging them behind glass or in a resin keepsake."

Check out these photos of a bridal bouquet of red roses from 2005!

When asked who floral rehydration is good for, Hannah illustrates that "Floral Preservation is good for anybody who has flowers from the past, that might be hanging out in a book, a box, a closet, or a drawer, the rehydration process is good for anybody who is a saver of florals." She continued to explain that although it might be cool to put your bouquets or special flowers in boxes, over the years they eventually break down and turn into a fine mulch. "Floral rehydration is a great last step to ensuring that your special flowers really do last a life time."

Curious on if all flowers, no matter type or age, can be adequate candidates for rehydration? Hannah 's short answer is "yes." Although most saved flowers can be rehydrated, results are limited to the level of decay present with in each bloom.
"Age really has nothing to do with if a flower is a good candidate or not."

Hannah's favorite rehydration story is from a few years ago. She received a bouquet that was kept in her client's dresser drawer since her wedding in 1978! Hannah recognized the bouquets mechanics to come from her family's florist that she spent time in when she was a girl. It was a bouquet that Hannah's Grandfather made almost 45 years earlier! This bouquet had really come full circle! Hannah was honored to restore it.

Floral Rehydration on a Bouquet from 1978

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What to do in the year of Classic Blue?

1/1/2020

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Click to go to Pantone

Classic Blue is the color of the year set by the Pantone Color report, this means that every shade of blue from periwinkle to Navy is going to show up on what is “in” wedding boards and on Pinterest.

Blues are tough in the flower world because there are not that many truly blue flowers available. Below we have put together a gallery of some popular blue floral options. Some of these offerings are seasonal and several of them are available all year long with your professional florist. Sadly, this is about the bulk of blue flowers available.

Gallery of truly blue floral options: Hover over the flower to see the name

Chinese Forget me nots

Blue hydrangea

light blue delphinium

So. Here is the reason whey I am writing this blog. Pantone is not choosing the flower color of the year. They are simply picking the inspirational color of the year. There are also sub-colors of the year. For example Spring and Summer Pantone has chosen Scarlet and Saffron which as a designer I am super excited about.

Click the red color swatch to see the complete library of Pantone sub (seasonal)-selections
All of these color selections are very bold and strong and are chosen to be a back drop to the event. A blocking color if you will rather than the actual color of the flowers.
Matching the color of the year to your floral selection is about as natural as matching ones eye shadow to it!

I think we can all agree that Classic blue looks far better on a bridesmaids dress, napkin or favor than it does on our faces! I should also throw in a note for the bakers here....classic blue frosting is not going to be cute on your guests faces or come out of your dress...that should be a pass area also.

How do we use a color like Classic blue elegantly and in good taste? There are many ways! Also this is a great place to pause to note, there are a ton of ways to add blue to your florals and have them look absolutely spectacular though it usually takes a professional eye and touch to do so. I will blog on using blues next time! Maybe we will call the next blog, Blue like a Pro!

For now, see the gallery below. You will quickly find that Classic blue is a magnificently strong anchoring color for a wedding and lends itself to a ton of different looks and feelings! Here are just a few:

So, use blue, use all of the blues! Do it up this 2020 and if you need any help or inspiration give me a call or send a line!
We would also love to know what you think about Classic blue, blues or anything else floral that may be on your mind.
XOXO
Hannah

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Preparing to Press flowers with Hannah

9/1/2019

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There is really no mystery to pressing flowers. The reality is that pressing flowers is a very honest and straight forward art that anyone can do. Why would I start by telling you this? Because what really makes the difference in your finished product is in the details of how the flowers are prepped, handled and how they are arranged. Here's ours!

Here is the bouquet with the ribbon and tapes removed.

Here is the completely deconstructed bridal bouquet.

Step 4: Loading the presses!
Pressing flowers is a lot like BINGO, everyone seems to have their special way of doing it. Presses pretty much have the same mechanics. Two boards, some tissue, cardboard and clamps or tightening agents. These are different from press to press but they all seem to have the same larger idea.

The Bouquet we will be sharing with you is one which was made at Hannah's. The photo to the left was taken prior to putting on the ribbon wrap at the stem. This is good because you seldom get to see the mechanics of bridal pieces. All florists design differently. I use soft corsage tape to hold my stems so that they will not get cut or crushed. Keeping the stems in tact is also key to keeping bouquets fresh!

Step one: Assessing the bouquet
Not all blooms are going to be good for pressing, some blooms may be dead and some just may not be visually appealing. We have to take the bouquet apart to inspect the blooms.

Look how pretty this wrap was! It is double faced satin with a sheer love knot overlay.

The stems are in incredible shape for a bouquet. They were still very hydrated and fresh looking and they were still very stiff.

Step Two: Choosing the blooms.
This is where an artful eye, a few tricks of the trade and a designers touch comes in handy. This is a very critical part to creating a stunning finished product.

Step Three: Choosing the blooms
They are all pretty, but you can only choose a few depending on the size of the ordered finished piece. We also must consider what blooms will press best. Because this was a Hannah's bride, we knew that Sweet pea has very important sentimental meaning to her so we made sure to press a good portion of it. Sweet pea is not going to be the most stunning specimen in the frame, but it may be the most meaningful.

This is a prepped Eskimo Rose

The presses are loaded and this bouquet start out at about 7 inches in height. Once the press is tightened down it sits at just around two inches! That is a lot of pressure! And there it will sit, safe and sound until it is pressed dry.
Boom!

If you would like us to press a bouquet or a blossom for you please feel free to drop in, give us a call, send us a note or shoot us a consultation request.
If you are not from our area you are welcome to ship your flowers to Hannah's. Simply give us a call and we will walk you through the steps!
xoxo
Hannah

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A Wonderland of Winter Whites

Floral Rehydration

Uncovering the Beauty of Floral Rehydration

What to do in the year of Classic Blue?

Preparing to Press flowers with Hannah

Hannah

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