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| green corner: decorate organically |
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My quest began in Marin where I visited Cory of Organic Bouquet.com. She told me that the company sells primarily Ecuadorian and Columbian roses. She also told me that there are many stringent rules to be followed before the South American flowers are accepted and sold under the label: organic. Normally, the distribution center in Florida ships directly to the customer. However, the day I was there, a Bay Area TV station had arranged to visit the company, so flowers were on hand, and I was fortunate to see the beautiful, healthy roses onsite. However, I did not want fancy roses; rather, I thought that local, fragile meadow flowers would be appropriate to the ambience of this small restaurant. When I found out that my next organic lead had taken a sabbatical from her garden this year, it dawned on me: I needed professional help.  So I turned to Melinda of Perfect Petals who had written an article for the Green Corner about sustainable fruit centerpieces that were later donated to a food bank. She pointed me to a few growers who did not spray pesticide on their flowers. Unfortunately, due to all the rain we had this year, the pests were rampant, and the spraying was as well. But Melinda did not despair and called upon David Mariani, an organic herb farmer whose spotless greenhouses not only produce the most healthy and appetizing herbs, but also edible flowers. He promised to help and agreed to a visit.On a beautiful morning I drove to Watsonville where Dave and his son-in-law Erick produce hydroponically-grown organic herbs, salads, and edible flowers. The  large"spic & span" hothouses of Maristone LLC are surrounded by a wide barrier of Birds of Paradise flowers to shield them from attacks by harmful insects. A computer monitors and adjusts the temperature by turning on the giant heater, or opening the windows, or pulling down the shades.
Inside are rows and rows of basil, arugula, sage, and tarragon grown in large, movable trays that are filled with small volcanic pebbles and placed on waist-high structures. Mineral-enriched water trickles down the slightly tilted trays to feed the plants. In contrast, the butter lettuce and spring mix salads are planted on floats that are routed on a special track. When they return to their starting point after a week or so, they are fully grown. Closely monitored insect traps distributed throughout the hothouses alert the growers whether natural, beneficial insects need to be released to control the pests. Pickers in white coats harvest the matured herbs from the trays and package the immaculate plants directly in boxes ready for sale.
A few days earlier Melinda and I had discussed my vision of the rehearsal dinner table decoration. As I mentioned before, I wanted to achieve the look of wild flowers picked during a walk through a summer meadow. We had agreed on using my collection of glass containers--a variety of small- to mid-size vases, pitchers, small balsamic vinegar bottles from Italy, and mason jars of various shapes. Because there would be some time between the early rehearsal and the dinner, I was to host a gathering in our backyard and wanted flowers there also. So I gave Melinda a large fluted glass vase and three containers for flowers to be For the backyard gathering Melinda used the containers to create a meadow floor. The one large bouquet contained peonies, the only commercial flowers, which were surrounded by the airy Queen Anne's lace and mustard. And for the dinner, the flowers were just perfect. Mustard, forget-me-not, Queen Anne's lace, lavender, Marguerites, and grasses filled the different vases. Some After the rehearsal dinner, the flowers were recycled for the bridal party's bouquets, boutonnières and corsages. Today is Wednesday, five days after the wedding, and I'm still enjoying the several vases filled with my beloved meadow flowers. Thank you, Melinda and Dave! |
Decorate Organically - 
When I published the description of the first organic wedding on my website, I had no idea that the next organic wedding would be our son's. "Everything is under control," Nik and Kristy assured us. When I asked about the rehearsal dinner, the couple took us to J.Z. Cool in Menlo Park. We were asked what we thought about the menu choices and if the red meat of the game hen would be a suitable substitute for the white chicken meat. What I wasn't asked was my opinion about the decoration. I had hoped I could participate because decorating is my favorite part of any celebration. As the wedding date drew closer and Kristy and Nik realized how much there was left to do, they seemed relieved to let me take over this responsibility.
Organic vegetables, sustainable meat and fish, bio-dynamic wines -- there is no shortage of these products. When it comes to organic or bio-dynamically grown flowers, it's a different story.
Towards the end of my visit Dave directed me to the certified-organic edible flowers, a small part of the Maristone business. Here were some of the flowers Melinda had ordered: Marguerite daisies and Dianthus: Garden Pink, Chinese Pink, and Maiden Pink.
placed on the umbrella table. The night before the dinner I began to worry. Had I clearly explained my vision to the floral designer? Had I made it clear that the bouquets were to be loosely assembled instead of tightly bunched? I did not have to lose any sleep.
arrangements appeared intentional while others seemed casually thrown together. I compared the appearance to flowers that a family might collect on a hike: the younger ones would bring just a few blades of grass and forget me not, while the older ones would gather a more sophisticated array of colors. Just the look I wanted!