Not Your Average Stems: Mother’s Day Arrangements that Will Wow
Aren’t you glad to be alive? Isn’t earth not a bad place to be? Yes, and yes. And it’s all thanks to your mom that you get to be a part of it. (That’s what she says all the time, anyway, right? Right.) And while you can’t really repay her for this, you can give her beautiful things that symbolize bottomless thanks and that contain multitudes—like flowers. Delicate and ephemeral, their beauty is also incredibly powerful. What better gift to get your mom?
We talked to two of Brooklyn’s top flower shops—Stems Brooklyn in Ditmas Park, and Sprout in Williamsburg—about their special Mother’s Day arrangements. Take notes from these talented florists and get an arrangement that says: Mom, I really do appreciate the countless hours you put up with me being ridiculous; I really do love you.
The Mother’s Day arrangement from Stems Brooklyn: Talking with florist and manager Anait Tamanian
What flowers are in season and well-matched with Mothers Day, and why?
Generally we are rooting for peonies to come through on Mother’s Day but with the ever-changing weather patterns we never really know what to expect! Roses, snap dragons and proteas are this year’s go-to. We at Stems Brooklyn really love to surprise everyone and try not to go for bouquets just full of roses for Mother’s Day! Expect something spunky from us this weekend (as always)!
What is your creative approach when you make arrangements for a particular occasion (and, in this case, for Mothers Day)?
The first and most important step to us is flower quality! Each time we go to the market we choose the freshest stems to make sure they will stay radiant and bring joy for as long as possible. Creatively, we love free-style arranging! Our arrangements are fun and whimsical mixed bouquets and every Stems Brooklyn flower fairy always adds her own touch—you’ll just have to come by and see for yourself on this one! This Mother’s Day Sunday you can join us at Three’s Brewing for a boozy flower arranging class. You get two mimosas, and all the flowers and supplies for a flower arranging class—and you get to take home your creation. They’ll look similar to the one you see here.
Tell me about this arrangement: what flowers did you use and what effect did you hope to achieve?
For the pictured Mother’s Day arrangement we used peonies, delphinium, snap dragon, veronica, wax flower, and eucalyptus! This is our “Sweet” arrangement; we also have a spunky version for the wilder mama!
What do you love about flowers, and creating special flower arrangements?
We love that flowers are an international way to express oneself, even when words fail us. It’s an honor to be trusted with the sentiments that we are trusted with on a daily basis, and we love to go above and beyond to make sure we get every single arrangement just right!
If you could be given any arrangement (rather than make one), what would it be?
I think every flower fairy’s answer to this question changes weekly but, if I had to choose right now, I would love to get a gorgeous arrangement that includes king proteas, leucadendron, wax flower, delphinium, queen anne’s lace and snap dragons.
The Mother’s Day Arrangement from Sprout Home, Brooklyn
Talking with floral designer Rachelle Rickert
What flowers are in season and well-matched with Mothers Day, and why?
Mother’s Day is a great time because it marks the beginning of peony season and and it’s the height of Spring so most of the more recognizable blooms will be appearing in the mom-day arrangements. Blooms like tulips, spray roses, ranunculus, sweet pea, snapdragons, etc. all look great this time of year.
What is your creative approach when you create arrangements for a particular occasion (and, in this case, for Mother’s Day)?
I love playing with color, so each season lends itself to a different palette and unique options. Spring and Mother’s day are a great time for playing with cheerful colors. Seeing so many favorite blooms coming into season after a long winter really helps me get inspired.
Tell me about this arrangement: what flowers did you use and what effect did you hope to achieve?
For this arrangement I used a white peony, a hellebore, coral ranunculus, sweet pea, spray roses, shimmer rose, and a mixture of greens. I was hoping to create something soft and delicate with a pop of color.
What do you love about flowers, and creating special flower arrangements?
Like I mentioned above, I love playing with color, so that is my number one draw for working with florals. Also, the varieties of each type of flower differ depending on where and how they’re grown. There are some awesome varieties out there, and what’s around changes from season to season. Also, playing with drawing lines in space is a fun part of creating arrangements.
If you could be given any arrangement (rather than make one), what would it be?
I’d love an arrangement of just poppies.
All photos by Maggie Shannon
