It was a Saturday afternoon as I walked through the Pike Place Market trying to decide which fresh flower bouquet to buy.
I noticed that the pickings were pretty slim, nothing like the extravaganza of fresh flower bouquets available during the summer and early fall.
As often happened, I decided on a bouquet from Erlinda at Flower Garden. As I handed over my $10, I felt a wave of sadness since I knew it might be the last time I would see my friend during the 2018 growing season.
The Week Forty-Seven bouquet I purchased from Erlinda was an interesting mix of Asian lilies and dahlias in a rainbow of colors. Underneath, dinosaur kale leaves formed some of the greenery along with more traditional stems of green leaves.
Week Forty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
Here is the lacy beauty of the Week Forty-Seven bouquet when “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
You can get a better look at the dinosaur kale from Week Forty-Seven when the components are laid out for viewing. . .
Week Forty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row
Week Forty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row Painted in Waterlogue
Simple majesty are the words that best describe the first major bouquet of Week Forty-Seven, composed of a yellow Asian lily, a variegated maroon-and-white dahlia, and greenery.
Week Forty-Seven: Asian Lilies and a Dahlia in a Matte Black Vase
The stripes on this Italian vase mirror the colors in the dahlias I arranged within it.
Week Forty-Seven: Multicolored Dahlias in a Multicolored Vase
Single dahlias, kale, and greenery are understated forms of beauty.
Week Forty-Seven: Dahlias in Two Buddha Vases and Clear Glass Vase
As are the three small bouquets from Week Forty-Seven.
Week Forty-Seven: Three Small Vases
Accidentally, while working with the flowers, two broke from their stems. Never one to waste anything, I put them in a round celadon vase that held the pair of dahlias as if it were made for them.
Week Forty-Seven: Red and White Dahlias Floating in a Round Celadon Bowl
I was so starved for fresh Pike Place Market flowers by Week Forty-Six, that instead of one bouquet, I chose two!
Each bouquet cost $10, so I managed to stay within my weekly limit of $20. And each was centered with a purple cabbage flower. The yellow bouquet was for Spencer, since that is his favorite color; mine skewed pink with a couple of yellow interlopers.
Week Forty-Six: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
Week Forty-Six’s twin bouquets look particularly jaunty when “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Six: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
The yellow bouquet looks pretty spiffy when its blossoms are laid in a row. . .
Week Forty-Six: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row Painted in Waterlogue
Then painted in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Six: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row Painted in Waterlogue Two
Here are the blooms from the pretty-in-pink bouquet au naturel. . .
Week Forty-Six: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in Row
As I walked through the Pike Place Market during Week Forty-Four of the Bouquet-a-Week Project, it became increasingly apparent that the fresh flower season was beginning to wind down.
Instead of the plethora of brilliant-colored blossoms of all varieties, cabbage flowers and dried statice were much more in evidence than in prior weeks. And there were even bouquets made up entirely of dried flowers.
I chose a $10 bouquet from Erlinda at Flower Garden. A giant cabbage flower formed the focus of the bouquet, surrounded by white and multicolored dahlias. Sweet!
Week Forty-Four: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
The cabbage flower looks like the rings of a planet when “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Four: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
Here are the fresh blossoms laid in a row.
Week Forty-Four: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row
Week Forty-Four: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row in Waterlogue
The cabbage flower and smaller white flowers perch perfectly in a bulbous black vase.
Week Forty-Four: Cabbage Flower, White Flowers, and Greenery
Dahlias and greenery perk up happily in a celadon Asian vase that started life as a Chinese rice-wine bottle, as described in the Bouquet-a-Week Project, Week Seventeen.
Week Forty-Four: Variegated Dahlias in a Celadon Vase
Three small purple cabbage flowers and dahlias form a harmonious color combo in a lilac ceramic vase.
Week Forty-Four: Small Purple Cabbage Flowers in a Lilac Ceramic Vase
And my “Van Gogh” vase, with its jaunty blue-and-white stripes, serves as the perfect vessel for a big orange dahlia.
Week Forty-Four: Orange Dahlia in a Striped Vase
As the Asian lilies began to die, I cut them from their stems until only one was left. But it came back to life in this clear-glass vase backlighted in violet light.
Week Forty-Four: Yellow Lily in a Glass Vase
Here are four smaller vases, made of white and pink dahlias, to conclude the Bouquet-a-Week Project, Week Forty-Four.
Dahlias and giant yellow Asian lilies formed the foundation of Week Forty-Three of the Bouquet-a-Week Project. Here is the fresh-from-the-Pike-Place-Market bouquet.
Week Forty-Three: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
And here is the Week Forty-Three bouquet “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Three: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
And here are the Week Forty-Three blossoms laid in a row.
Week Forty-Three: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row
The beautiful light of summer helped create the glorious bounty of blossoms for Week Forty-Two of the Bouquet-a-Week Project. This bounteous Pike Place Market bouquet contained yellow and pink Asian lilies, purple gladiolas, multicolored dahlias, and goldenrod formed the foundation.
Week Forty-Two: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
And the bouquet looked even more glorious when “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Forty-Two: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
Here are the blossoms laid in a row.
Week Forty-Two: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row
Week Forty-Two: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row Waterlogue
And here is Week Forty-Two’s first major bouquet—three yellow Asian lilies, cabbage flowers, and white and purple glads in a glazed black vase.
Week Forty-Two: Purple Cabbage Flowers, Yellow Lilies, and Gladiolas
A crystal Waterford vase, which had been a wedding gift (!) holds the three giant orange dahlias, golden rod, and dried purple statice. Wow-za!
Week Forty-Two: Orange Dahlias, Goldenrod, and Purple Statice
A single maroon dahlia and greenery backlighted in amethyst looks regal.
Week Forty-Two: Single Black Dahlia in a Clear Glass Vase
As does another maroon dahlia in a blue Buddha vase.
Week Forty-Two: Black Dahlia in a Blue Buddha Vase
Here are three more dahlias and goldenrod in three small vases.
Week Forty-Two: Three Small Bouquets
Another dramatic bouquet with a play between red and yellow blossoms perched in my favorite celadon Asian vase.
Week Forty-Two: Red and Yellow Flowers in an Asian Vase
An “extra” bouquet (one made with elements from prior-week bouquets) looks pretty spectacular, rife with purple gladiolas, greenery, and white cabbage flowers. Pretty good for a bunch of leftovers!
Week Forty-Two: White Cabbage Flower and Purple Gladiolas in a Blue Vase
“Dark drama” describes the bouquet I chose for Week Forty-One of the Bouquet-a-Week Project. I called it “dark drama” because it was made up of two magenta Asian lilies, two regal purple gladiolas, seven deep-purple dahlias, and three variegated purple-and-white dahlias.
I bought the bouquet for Week Forty-One from my favorite flower designer in the Pike Place Market, Erlinda, who works at Flower Garden. The bouquet for Week Forty-One cost $20, my limit on flower purchases each week.
As is my custom, after I photographed Erlinda’s bouquet, I took it apart so I could make individual arrangements of my own design. Much to my surprise, I discovered two white-and-green cabbage flowers underneath the dahlias, lilies, and gladiolas. And there were also several sprigs of white flowers.
To my delight, this was a very bounteous bouquet! Here is my photo of the original bouquet.
Week Forty-One: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid in a Row and Painted in Waterlogue
My first major bouquet included two magenta Asian lilies and the variegated dahlia, along with some of the white flowers. I placed them in one of my favorite vases, a purple terra-cotta vase with a faintly Asian-style shape.
Week Forty-One: Scarlet Lilies and Black Dahlia
My next major bouquet was a real beauty as well, with the white cabbage flowers, a variegated dahlia, and the two purple gladiolas positioned in a glossy black vase.
Week Forty-One: White Cabbage Flowers and Purple Gladiolas
One of the variegated dahlias and some greenery looks lovely when placed in a blue Buddha vase.
Week Forty-One: Variegated Dahlia in a Blue Buddha Vase
Three of the magenta dahlias perch perfectly in my Buddha vases and a clear glass vase.
Week Forty-One: Two Buddha Vases and Clear Glass Vase
Three more magenta dahlias form the three small bouquets for Week Forty-One.
Week Forty-One: Three Small Bouquets
A few days later, after the flowers had started to fade, I created a new “extra” bouquet made up of the cabbage flowers, gladiolas, a dahlia, and the white flowers.
Week Forty-One: White Cabbage Flower, Purple Gladiolas, and Scarlet Dahlia
Have you ever heard the childhood rhyme, “Red and yellow, catch a fellow?” That’s the phrase that ran through my head when I spotted this Pike Place Market bouquet on sale for $20. This brimming bounty of blossoms contained two red gladiolas, two deep-pink Asian lilies, six scarlet dahlias, six yellow dahlias, petite white flowers, purple statice, and green leaves as filler.
For Week Thirty-Seven of the Bouquet-a-Week Project I went to the Pike Place Market hoping to find a “Dahlias Only” bouquet to see how much I could do with a limited number of blossoms.
I was lucky, for at the very first farm stand in the Main Arcade, I found a bucket of small dahlia bouquets priced at $5. I chose the one below, mainly because of the gorgeous center bloom with its flirty white-and-red color combination.
Week Thirty-Eight: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
The $5 bouquet looked pretty gorgeous when “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Thirty-Eight: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
Here are the eight dahlias and purple statice laid in a row.
Week Thirty-Eight: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers in a Row
Spencer brought home a gorgeous bouquet for Week Thirty-Seven, rife with mahogany Asian lilies, dark dahlias, perky sprigs of purple static, and tall fronds of lilac-colored flowers. Here is the gorgeous Pike Place Market bouquet in all its natural glory.
Week Thirty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
And here is the Bouquet-a-Week Project Week Thirty-Seven bouquet “painted” in Waterlogue.
Week Thirty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
I love to assess each fresh bouquet by laying the flowers in a row, arranged by type and color.
Week Thirty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid In a Row
Then it’s always fun to see how they pop up in Waterlogue.
Week Thirty-Seven: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Laid In a Row Painted in Waterlogue
The dramatic mahogany lilies and three dark dahlias, crisscrossed just so in a tall rectangular glass vase, really come to life when backlighted in crimson.
Week Thirty-Seven: Lilies and Dahlias in a Clear Rectangular Vase
My favorite celadon Asian vase (a former Chinese wine bottle!), seemed to call out for orange dahlias and an orange-y backlight.
Week Thirty-Seven: Orange Dahlias in an Asian Celadon Vase
I bunched all the purple flowers into a glossy black Asian-leaning vase.
Week Thirty-Seven: Purple Flowers in a Glossy Black Vase
And backlighted three more of the red dahlias in my mother’s cut-glass decanter (which I wrote about in the Bouquet-a-Week Project, Week Twenty-Six) for a simple monochromatic arrangement.
Week Thirty-Seven: Three Dahlias in a Cut-Glass Cranberry Vase
Leftover leaves look lacy and lovely in this interesting maroon vase scrawled in black lines.
Week Thirty-Seven: Green Leaves in a Red and Black Vase
More of the purple statice and a few other flowers stand tall in a blue Buddha vase that serves as this week’s small bouquet.
Sweet Spencer brought home the fresh Pike Place Market flowers for Week Thirty-One of the Bouquet-a-Week Project and I marveled at their diversity of varieties and colors.
Pictured below in all their glory are deep-purple gladiolas, yellow and crimson dahlias, a single pale-yellow Asian lily, three giant sunflowers (!), and more than half a dozen zinnias, a flower that I hadn’t yet worked with during this summer season. And there were almost as many dried purple flowers as fresh ones.
Week Thirty-One: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
There were so many gorgeous blossoms to play with during Week Thirty-One, I couldn’t resist laying them out in a long row along our granite dining-room counter.
Week Thirty-One: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers in a Row
And then “painting” them in the Vibrant mode of Waterlogue.
Week Thirty-One: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers in a Row
What’s more dramatic than the color combo of dark purple and bright yellow, rather like a clergyman’s robe?
Week Thirty-One: Two Sunflowers and Three Purple Gladiolas in a Clear Rectangular Vase
The zinnias snapped to attention when I arranged them over colorful marbles in a clear round vase.
Week Thirty-One: Petunias and Colorful Marbles
The single yellow lily and some of the dried purple flowers look splendid in my favorite tall pale-blue vase.
Week Thirty-One: Single Yellow Lily in a Tall Blue Vase
More dried purple flowers and one of the sunflowers play happily together in a bulbous white-and-blue-striped vase. I think I was channeling Vincent Van Gogh when I created this bouquet!
Week Thirty-One: Single Yellow Sunflower and Purple Flowers in a Striped Vase à la Van Gogh
A single yellow dahlia and dried purple flowers rise gracefully in a shapely blue-glass vase.
Week Thirty-One: Single Yellow Dahlia and Dried Purple Flowers in a Blue Vase
One of the crimson dahlias and more dried purple flowers form an Ikebana-inspired design in my blue Buddha vase.
Week Thirty-One: Single Red Dahlia and Dried Purple Flowers
This striking trio of dahlias and dried purple flowers are the perfect way to conclude the line-up for Week Thirty-One of the Bouquet-a-Week Project.
Week Thirty-One: Three Small Bouquets
By mid-week, several of the dahlias had died, so I rearranged two new bouquets. I call these “extras” and they bring me just as much joy as the original week’s bouquets.
Here is the first one and you may notice that the sunflower’s petals are drastically shortened from the original bloom. That’s because I went a little wild with the shears as I cut away the brown tips. Oh, well. The sunflower’s big eye looks even more dramatic this way!
Week Thirty-One: Shaved Sunflower and Petunias
And here is a “normal” (unshaven) sunflower with a backdrop of deep-purple gladiolas and a single crimson petunia for a dramatic note.
Week Thirty One: Sunflower, Purple Gladiolas, and Single Red Petunia in Purple Ceramic Vase
Here is the same arrangement photographed in dramatic evening light.
