Projects

Landscape Design: French Country in Spanish Fork, UT

June 5, 2015 by Lacey Leave a Comment

Last post date is Feb. 23rd. Wow that’s a long time. It doesn’t say much for my 2015 new years resolution to be a better blogger, but I’ll try to catch up. Between finishing up another school year, taking care of the baby, and building my landscape design clientele, I’ve been MIA on allmyfriendsareflowers.com. Just to prove I have been a little busy, here’s one of the projects I’ve been working on this spring.

When I first met with the client she expressed her desire to have a French country landscape design to match the style of her newly constructed home. My mind flew to summer 2012 where I spent a month wandering through Europe with my husband. I felt like it couldn’t be three years since the trip because the formal garden of Versailles came so vividly to mind. With inspiration from the most renowned formal French garden in the world I began creating this design. This home is in the foothills at the mouth of a beautiful, but very windy canyon. The varied slopes and grade changes were a challenge that was made a little easier by their builder constructing some retaining walls around the home.

Steep grades and natural stone boulders aren’t considered classically French, so formality was emphasized through dwarf boxwood hedges both in the front and backyard. Emerald arborvitae around the perimeter works to unify the design with an evergreen hedge and doubles as a wind block. Perennials in shades of purple, white, and yellow planted in between the boxwood hedges bring color and movement.

in my garden- Getting Rid of Grape Hyacinth Bulbs

February 17, 2015 by Lacey 5 Comments

One of the surest signs of spring is the emergence of bulbs. From tulips to daffodils and hyacinths, once I see those spear-shaped leaves poking through my soil I breathe a sigh of relief knowing winter is on it’s way out. Usually.

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Garden Journal

April 3, 2014 by Lacey Leave a Comment

There have been a few times when I’ve tried to hunt down the napkin, or envelope, or random scrap of paper that I’ve used to pen down something important. I know most people would advise becoming a citizen of the 21st century and recording important information into my smartphone or tablet and thus eliminating the search for the utility bill envelope upon which tonight’s new experimental recipe for chicken enchiladas is written.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of times when I’ve taken screen shots, pinned images, or forwarded links. I’ve used my phone to take pictures of garden bed designs I’ve found in magazines while waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store. But I have come to the realization that digital isn’t always best. Files can be deleted, hard drives can become slow and bogged down, and batteries can run out where there isn’t a place to plug in the charger.

For these reasons, and many more, I love a good notebook. I have several that I keep scattered around the house, in the car, and in my purse turned diaper bag. Some are a little unorganized. Within a few pages you’ll find everything from next month’s dinner ideas to lesson ideas for my floral design class. But there is one notebook that I favor above all others, one that has smudged pages and one consistent theme: everything green.

Since we purchased our home this past March, I’ve used it to keep track of our yard renovation budget and keep track of new ideas for projects. Because we’re doing a complete redesign I’m keeping lists of perennials and shrubs I’m considering for our yard. It’s a great way to keep everything in order while I’m drawing up our master plan. Also, keeping track of things like pest timelines and fertilizer schedules helps me keep things consistent from year to year.

Baby Girl Nursery Flower Printable

December 28, 2013 by Lacey Leave a Comment

I found out last week that I’m having a little baby girl! When the ultrasound technician announced that my baby was a she I was flooded with such a mix of emotions. Of course I was absolutely excited, but with the excitement came some fear too.

I flashed back to the hardest parts of being a girl. I remembered not having the “right” kind of toys to play with the other girls in our neighborhood. I remembered eating lunch in the library by myself all through eigth grade. I remembered crossing my fingers {sometimes in vain} that I would get asked to a school dance.

After the ultrasound as I was thinking about all these things wondered how I made it through. Then I realized I not only survived but flourished because of my awesome family and specifically my own wonderful mother. She taught me to fall in love with the garden, the feeling of really good bread dough, and how to be confident and happy with myself. She tucked bouncy balls in my pocket to play with at recess, which is the surest way to make friends. She reminded me that being true to myself felt better than eating lunch at the popular table. And she gave me the advice that lead me to my wonderful husband: boys make the best friends.

So the fear at having a baby girl went away completely and the excitement took over. I get to be the mom to my very own little woman. I get to give someone what my mom gave me. I get to teach someone how to bake chocolate chip cookies, and how to deadhead roses.

I’ve come to terms with pink and I’m starting to decorate my little girls nursery. With the hopes of instilling in her a love of dirt, I’m painting some decorations. I’m sharing this watercolor printable. The one stipulation is that you use it for personal use only. Enjoy!

click here to download

How-To Floral Rings

September 24, 2012 by Lacey Leave a Comment

I teach high school. Its truly a fantastic set up. Honestly, with my landscaping degree completed last April I never imagined myself in a classroom ever again. But while in Spain this summer I saw an opening for floral design and couldn’t resist. So now I’m teaching every other day and free lance designing the rest of the time. High schoolers can be interesting, there’s no denying that.

The design activity we did today was so cute, I just couldnt help sharing. We made floral rings with button mums. Since mums are in season now that we’re in chilly September, grab a few from your garden and make a ring. They’ll keep for a day or two, especially if you refrigerate them when they arent being worn.

You’ll need:

1 foot or so of thick colored bullion wire + 2 feet of a smaller gauge wire for the decorative base
jewelry tools (small wire cutters & needle nose pliers)
a wooden dowel about the size of your finger
floral pins
button mums
Oasis floral adhesive

1) twist the end of the thick bullion wire into a spiral

2) Wrap the wire around a wooden dowel the size of your finger two or three times depending on your desired thickness.

3) Bring the wire back up to the top and twist the loose end into a spiral.

4) Take the thinner wire, and wrap it around two fingers so that it makes a loose oval.

5) Pinch the center of the oval, and wrap the tail of the wire around the center once or twice to secure. Fan out the loops on either side into a flower shape.

6) Attach the wire flowers to the ring using the tail wrapped around the center, making sure to keep the center as compact as possible.

7) Use Oasis Floral Adhesive to attach the button mum to the center of the wire flowers.

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