Hello flower friends, I hope everyone is enjoying the long days, the reopening of so many of our favorite local spots, and getting a chance to stop and smell the flowers this summer!
I wanted to send out an update to show you some of the flowers we have growing & things we have going on this summer. It's been hard to find a minute to sit down and write because our little driveway, sidewalk, and backyard are churning out blooms here in Ballard, and I've been creating vase arrangements for birthdays, engagements, and bereavements; wrapped bouquets for our weekly flower subscribers; and centerpieces & tablescapes for backyard dinner parties and even a couple weddings. If there's anything I can create for you, get in touch! I also just added a form for arrangement requests to the website.
Pictured above: Rosy wings dahlia; a large & colorful arrangement; and splish splash larkspur.
On the garden side of things, snapdragons, sweet peas, foxgloves, love-in-a-mist, Iceland poppies, larkspur, and several other beauties got going in the spring and started the summer out strong. Those are mostly finished for the season, and now the dahlias, zinnias, hydrangeas, pincushion, lisianthus, heirloom carnations, and echinacea are popping. I'm working to replant beds with all of my seedlings that have been waiting patiently to get in the ground. I'd say I'm most excited to see all of our new dahlia varieties bloom (so close), and I was able to get my hands on some Dawn Creek zinnia seeds from their breeding program and can't wait to see how they flower.
Pictured above: a wrapped bouquet; a colorful summer centerpiece for a backyard dinner party; and a vase arrangement for a newly engaged couple, packed for delivery with card.
On the florist side of things, I've been having so much fun with all of the colors and textures of summer. I've come to find that right now I enjoy making vase arrangements over wrapped bouquets, so after our August subscription ends, I'm going to take a break from offering wrapped bouquets. For September I'm offering a vase arrangement subscription, or "Septemberscription". It will be three to five weeks of arrangements delivered on Thursday evenings so that you can enjoy your flowers through the weekend. If you're interested, check out our shop.
And on the personal side of things, my husband Vikram and I just celebrated 5 years of marriage, and it feels like we're stepping into a new era! After 7 years of working on fisheries management with the amazing people at NOAA Fisheries, followed by 5 incredible years working for the fishing industry, I am leaving my full-time job to spend more quality time with my husband and our dogs, and to more fully pursue my creative passion of gardening & arranging flowers!
Pictured above, clockwise: one of my favorite photos from our wedding (photo by Sergio Mottola); me in Dutch Harbor, Alaska working for a large fishing company; a whale who came to hang out on a pretty cool day at work in Dutch Harbor - check out the glacier in the background; and my driveway garden last summer, one of my first posts on the ol' Grow Girl Seattle Instagram.
Grow Girl Seattle started as a way to just share some photos of my favorite hobbies and follow other gardeners and florists, but - true to it's name - GGS has grown into something bigger now. Thank you for being a part of this really cool journey I'm on of trying to listen to my heart and go towards the things that are bringing me joy deep down in my soul. It's been inspiring to connect with so many other flower lovers - what a wonderful community.
Well, that's the update for now. More to come soon. Enjoy the warm days during this beautiful season, and thank you for supporting local flowers and Grow Girl Seattle!
- Sarah