Winter Wreaths

What a wonderful opportunity and experience we had working on Pamela’s show, Pamela’s Garden of Eden . It all started with our mutual love of flowers, and all the natural organic materials of nature.

Dino our amazing beautiful shop dog left us on September 2nd 2023 and our store has not been the same since . he brought so much happiness to everyone who came through the door , he would watch over our every move be it a flower delivery, filming with Pamela Anderson, or just going out for a cup of coffee he was the handsome dog around town . the lives he affectionately touched our lovely Judith was the only one he would allow mind him when we went away , and he would terrorize poor Laura if I nipped out without taking him with me howling and barking till I came back . we miss you Dino you beautiful boy thank you for all the love you gave us so unconditionally you truly were the best dog ever .🤎

Hydrating • Brightening • Nourishing   Looking for a refreshing and all natural beauty pick-me-up for your skin this season? Say hello to our new facial mist– the go-to skin quencher when you’re a hot mess in the summer or your skin is feeling tired and dull this Spring. Infused with essential oils, cool your skin in a flash with a floral water that is packed with nutrients to help retain moisture in your skin- providing a luminous, refreshed glow within seconds. Available conveniently in spray form, our facial mist restores the skin’s pH balance and boosts hydration levels any time of day. The great thing about facial mist is that you can apply it even if you have makeup on without the fear of messing your look. It is a great way to liven up your senses or give your skin a fresh boost in the middle of a busy day. Our all natural facial mist contains distilled water infused with essential oils and coconut oil that act as hydration boosters and nourishing agents. Distilled water is known for its hydrating properties but when it’s infused with nourishing botanical extracts and essential oils, you get twice the benefits. Without clogging pores, coconut oil helps maintain the suppleness and radiance of skin and improves skin elasticity while enhancing moisture levels. In providing hydration, it creates a protective barrier on the skin’s surface, locking in moisture to soften and cool. Our facial mist is the perfect beauty product to refresh, sooth, calm and nourish your skin this spring and summer! Enjoy it today in three of our signature scents- Tarot, Terrazzo and Basilica. • Get the ultimate Glow •

Spiritus, came about on a late summer evening as I was thinking of what would be a beautiful scent to begin spring with, it’s such a wonderful time of year with the soil parting and all the bulbs popping through its a time to inhale and breathe and thus Spiritus was born. Known as the "prince of citrus, bergamot is a sunny and pleasant citrus scent It's aroma is refreshing and rounded; sweet, but complex and deep at the same time; similar to lime, but with floral, herbal, and resinous undertones.  combined with the aromatic compounds of eucalyptus a minty, camphorous scent that is sharp and highly pungent. Like mint, inhaling eucalyptus opens your sinuses and clears your head. However, the aroma also contains some hints of the forest, which has been described as sweet and similar to honey. The invigorating scent of eucalyptus oil stimulates the senses. This not only helps refresh and re-energize the body, but also has a calming, soothing effect on the mind. It can also be used to reduce stress and mood disorders. our beautiful new home scent is now available in Diffuser Oil , Incense Cones and Candles.   Spiritus  Italian Lemon Italian Bergamot & Eucalyptus. Latin term for breath, often used figuratively to mean spirit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we have in creating it .

When I lived in Dublin and my life was hectic and filled with our business and a fully blended family of five (!!), I lost some sight of what was actually growing beautifully around me. With a complete geographical change to Saskatoon in Canada I got time to be still and yearn the simple things like grass in Winter and bulbs popping through the dirt in Spring. I got reprieve and was able to go back to nature. In my head all Winter I would close my eyes and remember the lanes of Dublin and the wild hedgerows filled with ivy and blackberries, the moss on walls and roofs, and the scent of it all after a heavy dump of rain. All of these things I took for granted, so when Summer came I was like a squirrel gathering. I would go down back roads and fields and hunt and gather- weeds even took on a new meaning to me, as I now saw the beauty in dandelion leaves, wild thistle and grasses. I started to bring nature home, and because of this my world came alive again. Several years later we find ourselves on beautiful Vancouver Island in Victoria, where we are living amongst nature in all her glory. We are so lucky, here it's like living inside a Dutch master painting. So how do we bring that home with us, to create outside indoors? Here are a few of my tips to help you bring nature home: Like anything, choosing flowers to style your home can be tricky if you don’t know what to look for. When faced with our store, brimming with every imaginable botanical, overwhelm can set in and it can be tempting to walk out the door empty handed. But here are some simple know-how's so you can choose florals and foliage to fill your vessels at home with confidence. 1. Choose fresh flowers It may seem obvious, but selecting fresh flowers is a great place to start. How can you tell if flowers are fresh? All flowers are different but as a rule of thumb, choose flowers with strong petals which are not wilting. If there are leaves on the stems, select flowers with leaves which are not yellowing or drooping.  Some flowers with textured petals may look like they are drying out to the everyday person but may have been fresh from market that very morning! For example, roses have an outer layer of guard petals to protect the inner flower which can be plucked off once you get home. Other floral varieties such as stock and tulips might have naturally ruffled or textured petals which are completely normal. If in doubt, ask! We are at your service. 2. Select flowers to suit your vases Have a think about where in your home you would like your flowers and what vases suit the space. Would tall vases or short vessels suit better? Clear glass, pottery or a textured finish? This will determine which flowers you select. It may be common sense, but tall vases require tall stems and wide vessels may require multiple bunches or a chunkier style flower. An easy and stylish way to present your flowers is to cluster two different sized vases together and display tall flowers of one type in a taller vase and short flowers of another type in a low vessel.  3. Consider your colour palette Choose flowers which suit the colour of your interior styling. You may have a neutral colour palette at home and might want to continue this theme with white and green blooms and foliage. In this case, you can bring in a varying texture to create contrast. Alternatively, you may want to inject a pop of vibrant colour to contrast against a colourless background.  4. Think about the style of your home If you have a classic or traditionally styled home you could consider fussier mixed design or prettier seasonal blooms. If your house is modern, you might like to display large structural leaves or impactful feature flowers. One flower variety displayed en masse works well in most spaces regardless of the style, and bud vases in the bathroom or on the bed side table are a wonderful way to use any shorter broken stems.  5. Consider flower longevity You may prefer that your flowers last a long time, or you might want your home filled with your favourite flower regardless of its longevity. If you resonate with the former, you may like to consider ‘set and forget’ types such as foliage, native flowers, orchids and even oriental lilies- all of which can last for weeks and sometimes months with little care required! Generally, the ‘prettier’ the flower, the more temperamental it can be and the shorter shelf life it will have. All those lovely Spring blooms such as lilac and snowball viburnum have a shorter lifespan than the varieties mentioned earlier and can also be higher maintenance as they drop their tiny little petals everywhere! But it’s the price we pay for their fleeting gift of beauty. If you are struggling to know which floral varieties to pair together, simply ask us- we can’t wait to share nature with you. It is our area of expertise after all! We can advise you on what colours work together, what flowers will suit your collection of vases at home and can answer any questions you may have about longevity or flower care. We also have some tricks up our sleeve for the care of individual flowers which will ensure you experience their beauty for longer. This is one of the benefits of selecting your flowers from a florist over a market stand.  When you get your beautiful blooms home, don’t forget to look after them. Generally, you want to re cut the ends of the stems before plunging them into a vase of cool water. Then every second day, wash the vase, refill with fresh water, and recut the stems before adding the flowers. Most importantly, enjoy! If all this becomes too overwhelming for you don’t despair we offer a floral design home service, where we will call to your home, see your space and vessels and design a floral package to suit you, and all you have to do is place the prearranged hand ties into your vessels every week or fortnight- simple. If this should interest you, please send us an email with your details and we will be in touch shortly! 

Well it’s the eve of Saint Valentine Day and Laura and I are hard at it, thorn bloodied hands and a foliage filled florist floor. One of the beautiful things about this store is the people who cross our lives, we are amazed at how much love walks through our little door. It keeps our faith in our hearts that at no matter what age you are, romance is truly always alive. We all know that roses represent love but a very interesting fact about roses is their cultural meaning also. In the religion of Islam, it is said the fragrance of the rose represents the sacredness of peoples' souls. In Catholicism, the fragrance of a rose is called the “odor of sanctity” and is often associated with angels. Roses are seen as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. No matter what you believe in, roses are magnificent. Happy Saint Valentine’s Day!

Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but Palma and I had a very busy start to 2023 as a very special couple tied the knot on a perfect January afternoon. Getting to be a part of my sister’s wedding was special enough, but being able to give her the wedding flowers of her dreams was extra magical and something I will never forget. My sister Erin, being the exact opposite of a bridezilla, gave us complete creative control over their wedding flowers and trusted us to work our magic in whatever way we thought was best. And let me tell you, magic was created. Since I was the maid of honour I was unable to help with the day-of set up, but Palma, being the wonderful wizard that she is, installed the most beautiful living wall any of the guests had ever laid eyes on. The entire room was transformed into cozy and whimsical winter romance. What made the flowers, and the space, even more special was that we chose every stem with intention. Eucalyptus was used to symbolize where the bride and groom currently live. White roses were a focal flower as both the mother of the bride and mother of the groom had white roses in their bridal bouquets. A protea was added to represent the groom’s South African heritage and the list goes on! It was the perfect combination of truly meaningful beauty. Although it may have been a chilly January evening outside, the warmth from inside was electric and the love in the room was tangible. I will forever be grateful to Palma for helping me design and create my sister’s wedding floral dreams! Here’s to many more magical moments in 2023! And of course, a very special congratulations to one of our most precious Zingaro couples, E + J! Xo,Laura     Photo by Hayley Zumkeller Photography