Spring, Daffodils and Guerrilla Gardening!

Victory! Elation! New beginnings, of the earth, organic - A New Leaf Studio...

Dorky... yes, I know - but yesterday on my way to work I was ecstatic to see the fruits of last fall's guerrilla gardening project continuing to bless Spring Street. The daffodil bulbs that the 25+ participants of the guerrilla gardening party in October planted are now in bloom!

A little bit of bright yellow in the plant wells along Spring Street adds happiness and hope of good things to come. Something we can all probably use right now in the midst of tough economic times and at the end of a long winter.

Greg Watkins, of Islandscape Landscaping, and I got so excited by the daffodils that we began discussing our next Guerrilla Gardening adventure. Stay tuned for something fun this spring!

In the meantime... Next time you are driving down Spring Street in the Elliotborough neighborhood of Charleston, SC - check the plant wells between Coming and Rutledge Streets for little pockets of yellow love.

Playing in the Dirt

Last week, in 30 degree weather, Greg Watkins of Islandscape Landscaping (islandscapelandscaping.com) and I cleared my backyard and prepped a raised bed for a cut flower garden! So exciting. The raised bed, created by Greg and his team, is created out of recycled concrete from an old parking area on Sullivan's Island.

The bed is now covered with black landscaping cloth to kill any weed stragglers until planting begins.

Last night I ordered final seeds from Seeds of Change.

Check this company out: seedsofchange.com. They are dedicated to sustainable agriculture... sell tons of interesting seeds and offer a wealth of gardening information on their site.

Spread the Love

I've been thinking a lot about Valentine's Day... As a florist I want it to be a big day for business.

But as someone who has been single for a long time, I have a love/hate relationship with the holiday.

On one hand, it conjures up bad images of "Hallmark", cheesy dates, carnation sales in middle school and all things shrink wrapped red and shiny. Valentine's Day - like attending weddings - has in the past pronounced the fact of being "single" or of being in the wrong relationship (much much worse than being single).

On the other hand, I love the day. It is a veritable almost-spring version of Thanksgiving - a day to celebrate all the people you love.

So this year, instead of just celebrating a significant other or being frustrated by the lack of one - consider celebrating all your significant others: friends, family members, pets, etc. Even if they, like me, outwardly shrug off the day, secretly they will be honored.

You don't buy have to buy anything - send emails, pick up the phone or make cards....

but if you do happen to want to send flowers - call me!

Back to our Roots

I am excited to announce that A New Leaf Studio is making some changes in 2009. After reflecting on a wonderful and busy 2008 - I've decided that I would love to redirect the company back towards my original vision of celebrating life through the natural beauty of flowers.

To that endeavor, A New Leaf Studio is moving into a smaller space downtown Charleston (44 Morris Street). This location is an awesome design center filled with lots of like-minded women-owned businesses and buzzing with creative energy. This will be our main hub for design meetings, etc. Our production space is moving to West Ashley. There we will create amazing wedding, special event and daily delivery arrangements, container gardens, etc. I am also embarking on an organic cut flower garden that we can hopefully use in our designs.

Eco-Chic...It has always been my goal for A New Leaf Studio to stand out from the crowd by creating beautiful and inspiring floral designs that are as healthy for the environment and the recipient as they are visually appealing.

I plan to use this blog to detail my adventures in being a "green" florist, learning to compost, creating a cut flower garden and simple ways to spruce up little nooks and crannies within your own personal oasis.

I'd love tips, comments, suggestions and feedback along the way.

Happy playing in the dirt!
Annie