It was right around Thanksgiving, and there was quite a turn in the weather between Weeks Forty-Seven and Forty-Eight.
And right around then, as I walked through the Pike Place Market, I noticed that the bouquets were becoming strangely sparse even since the week before. Only a few contained fresh flowers, although cabbage flowers were still much in evidence.
On some tables, the only flowers offered were dried ones, at $10 per bouquet.
Sadly, I knew this meant that the fresh-flower season was coming to an end. Which also meant the year-long Bouquet-a-Week Project was coming to an end.
Week Twenty: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
It had been an exciting almost-year of choosing a fresh Pike Place Market bouquet, bringing it home, and rearranging the blossoms into my own designs.
Week Twenty: Erlinda at Flower Garden Holding My Beautiful Bouquet
I admired the farmers who were so dedicated to grow and drive into the Market so locals such as me, as well as travelers from around the world, could enjoy such a glorious natural display of colors, shapes, and textures.
Week Twenty: Pike Place Flowers in Waterlogue
And now, I have a collection of thousands of Pike Place Market blossoms captured forever by my iPhone 6 Plus and, more recently, my iPhone X Max, then “painted” in the amazing Waterlogue app.
I hope you have enjoyed this journey of floral discovery with me and will continue to return to the Braiden Blossoms website time and again for inspiration and respite from the everyday cares of life.
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
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.
To borrow a phrase from the great British Baking Show, Week Thirty-Nine of the Bouquet-a-Week Project was a “showstopper.” It had everything thanks to height from two orange gladiolas, a riot of color from a medium-sized sunflower, a cabbage flower, one spiky orange-and-yellow dahlia, two variegated orange-and-yellow dahlias, one variegated maroon-and-white dahlia, and five sprigs of goldenrod.
I purchased this showstopper from Erlinda, my favorite flower designer at Flower Garden in the Pike Place Market for $15. I love her blossoms because the stems are clean and free of much extra foliage which makes them easy to work with once I arrive home. Here is the original bouquet.
Week Thirty-Nine: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers
And here is Week Thirty-Nine’s showstopping bouquet “painted” using the Waterlogue app.
Week Thirty-Nine: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
The blossoms look trés magnifique when laid out in tandem.
Week Thirty-Nine: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers in a Row
And painted in Waterlogue using the Vibrant setting.
Week Thirty-Nine: Fresh Pike Place Market Flowers in a Row Painted in Waterlogue
Lately, I have enjoyed putting all the blossoms into a large vase to see how they look before dividing them into smaller bouquets.
Week Thirty-Nine: Big Bouquet
I couldn’t resist grouping several of the most unique blossoms together in a glossy Asian-leaning vase.
Week Thirty-Nine: Orange Gladiolas and Giant Dahlia
A single maroon dahlia and greenery looks pretty cool when painted in Waterlogue using Bold Mode.
Week Thirty-Nine: Giant Scarlet Dahlia in a Striped Vase
Week Thirty-Nine’s single sunflower formed a copacetic match with a few sprigs of goldenrod–two very different shades of yellow.
Week Thirty-Nine: Single Sunflower in a Blue Buddha Vase
The cabbage flower and goldenrod formed a fitting duo in a pink Buddha vase.
Week Thirty-Nine: Cabbage and Goldenrod in a Pink Buddha Vase
The two smaller bouquets seem to be saying hello to one another in the Waterlogue painting below.
Week Thirty-Nine: Two Buddha Vases
And here are Week Thirty-Nine’s three small vases.
Week Thirty-Nine: Pink, Blue, and Green Small Bouquets
And three more from this showstopping bouquet, just for good measure.
Week Thirty-Nine: Two Blue and One Pink Small Bouquet
Even leftover green leaves and a single frond from one of the gladiolas look fetching when presented in a simple glass vase and backlighted in green.
Week Thirty-Nine: Green Leaves in a Triangular Vase
A few days later, after the blossoms began to fade and I wanted a change of pace, here are the arrangements I came up with. I just love the “Van Gogh” look of the sunflower in this striped vase.
Week Thirty-Nine: Giant Sunflower in a Striped Vase
And what’s not to like in the way the narrow throat of this purple ceramic vase seems to hug the towering gladiolas and dahlias?
Week Thirty-Nine: Orange Gladiolas and Huge Orange Dahlia in Purple Ceramic Vase
My trusty tall baby-blue vase gets an Ikebana feeling when planted with orange and red dahlias and pussywillow sprigs.
Week Thirty-Nine: Orange and Yellow Dahlias in a Tall Blue Vase
When the individual flowers on the gladiola stems began to die from the bottom up (as they always do), I pulled them off, cut down the stems, and placed the two leftover gladiolas in the whimsical cat vase. Meow!
Week Thirty-Nine: Orange Gladiolas in a Gray Cat Vase
I have to confess, I “defected” during Week Thirty-Five of the Bouquet-a-Week Project and bought my flowers at a farmers market other than Pike Place.
I felt mildly guilty, but sometimes convenience and expediency are more important than political correctness. And my guilt was assuaged since the bouquet I purchased that sunny, yet cool, Saturday in early September was particularly spectacular.
The farmer who sold it to me was a lovely young Asian woman who explained that, even though it cost $15 (her most expensive bouquet), it was really a bargain since it contained purple statice, small globe thistle (a branch with five seed pods that looked like small balls), and several sprigs of eucalyptus. Since those parts of the bouquet were dried materials, they could be reused indefinitely.
I was especially drawn to the fresh blooms because they included my favorite color of deep purple along with pristine white. Three towering gladiolas, half a dozen dahlias (many with “babies” or smaller blossoms), purple flowers with yellow centers, and prickly greenery with small pink and white flowers formed the crux of the fresh portion of the bouquet.
Because of the plethora of both fresh and dried flowers, I was able to create three truly “major” bouquets and two smaller ones during Week Thirty-Five.
Here are the fresh flowers that I picked up at the Shoreline Farmers Market. You can get a good sense of the five balls and eucalyptus sprigs from this shot.
Week Thirty-Five: Fresh Farmers Market Flowers Painted in Waterlogue
I couldn’t decide which of the three “major” bouquets from Week Thirty-Five was my favorite, but finally chose this one since it was the most ikebana-like among them. The flowers are in one of my all-time favorite vases, an Asian-inspired, matte-black vase made by Paddy McNeely that I bought years ago at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show.
Week Thirty-Five: Purple Gladiolas and White Dahlia in Black Ceramic Vase
The second major bouquet from Week Thirty-Five is more conventional.
Week Thirty-Five: White Dahlias and Eucalyptus in Shiny Black Vase
The interesting thing about the third major bouquet from Week Thirty-Five is that is is mostly composed of dried blossoms including the small globe thistle. It was so tall parts of it touched the ceiling!
Week Thirty-Five: Dried Flowers in a Matte Black Asian Vase
I rarely use this simple matte-white vase, but it did the trick this time to offset the pretty purple blossoms.
Week Thirty-Five: Purple Flowers in a Simple White Vase
Here are three of the smaller bouquets I created during Week Thirty-Five.
Week Thirty-Five: Three Small Vases One Pink and Two Green
And another grouping of smaller bouquets.
Week Thirty-Five: Three Small Vases One Pink, Green, and Blue
