Nice day for a zombie wedding....

I wish we could have gotten the call to do the flowers.

Best wedding photos ever.

Green Weddings at the Green Bride Guide

We are a part of a very cool consortium of wedding professionals who specialize in green/eco-friendly weddings and celebrations. Check us out on the Green Bride Guide, along with other vendors who are similarly committed to helping couples celebrate their values within their wedding ceremonies.

Tiger Lily by Encke and Tiger Weddings on the Green Bride Guide:
http://www.greenbrideguide.com/vendor/tiger-lily-encke

Bird feeder sunflower thrives in Teaneck

Breaking news: A solitary sunflower seed somehow escaped the sparrows at the bird feeder outside of Tiger Lily, and its glorious progeny is now in bloom.  We'll collect the seeds and see if we can make it happen next year. (It's been a slow month around here....)

Tiger Weddings - at the Tribeca Rooftop

 The Tribeca Rooftop at 2 Desbrosses Street in lower Manhattan, remains one of Tiger Lily's favorite venues for weddings. The skylights and rooftop access combine for a stunning view of the river and terrific lighting for floral work. These photos are from a recent wedding. The palette was drawn from the iridescence of peacock hurl. Our bride went for a tamed wild look with textural variety. We thought she had some great ideas, and we did our best to implement her vision.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150330735730329.394492.214296545328&l=c9990aecc8

Will all of this soon be a bad memory?

A crevasse on Queen Anne Road near Encke Flowers.

Yes, we know it's March and all. Baseball's spring training has been underway for a couple of weeks now. Spring, by rights, should just around the corner. By writing that, did I just put a hex on the whole enterprise? We managed to get through the Valentine's Day holiday relatively unscathed, weather-wise (always a worry for florists...) and we're looking forward to Passover, Easter and Mother's Day. What are the chances the snow is over?

I've had some spirited debates with some of my customers who asserted that this past winter is proof positive that global warming is a myth. It's hard for some folks to deal with facts when ideology is clouding the picture. I'm definitely not saying that the Left is immune to ideologically-based perceptual distortions, but the Right's adamant refusal to accept the obvious in the case of climate change is a classic case of "my mind's made up, don't confuse me with the facts..." I mean, even former Governor Schwarzenegger in California says it's time to deal with the crisis. (Or has his proximity to a Kennedy warped his Reaganesque sensibility?)

The instability of the climate has wreaked havoc with the floral industry this season, with cold snaps affecting the California crops such as snapdragons and stock. Rose prices are higher than ever based on a lack of rainfall in Colombia and Ecuador prior to the huge Valentine's Day harvest.

Fittingly, perhaps, the social/political upheaval in the Middle Eastern and North African oil producing countries is driving fuel costs and therefore flower costs ever higher. Fuel is a huge percentage of the overall cost inputs in cut flower production. Cheap fuel and cheap labor are the key ingredients to making flower growers base themselves in South America. When the cost of these inputs start to go up substantially, we may begin to see a resurgence to local greenhouse flower production in the US. Encke Flowers used to work acres of greenhouses in Bogota, producing for the flower market in Manhattan. After 105 years in business and the disappearance of the greenhouses, I'm wondering if I should be looking for suitable properties to start growing again...

Encke Flowers at its original location on East Fort Lee Road in Bogota, NJ. Circa 1920.

Designing away the winter...

Trying for that "sand between my toes" feeling... Is it really still February? Jeez.
Our designers at Tiger Lily keep making tropical designs (me included) no matter what our customers order. It might become a problem. These birds of paradise are some of the most beautiful specimens I've seen all year. We'll be getting more this week. Lucky customers!

Wedding photos from The Liberty Warehouse, Red Hook, Brooklyn

Here are some great photographs from one of Tiger Lily's weddings from last summer. This wedding took place at the newly renovated Liberty Warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn - a converted warehouse space first built on New York Harbor in the 1850s.. Owned and operated by the City Cafe, this gorgeous new venue is the coolest place in which we've had the chance to work.

 The main attraction is an unparalleled view of the Harbor. The Statue of Liberty is looking right at you (actually over your shoulder towards her beloved France...)
The table centerpieces are manzanita branches with miniature cymbidium orchids affixed to the branch ends. The bases are composed of peonies, white gerberas, antique hydrangea, and vintage pink roses. The effect was not unlike cherry blossoms.