Magnolias and More

Week 11, as we revisit the 10-year anniversary of the book, Slow Flowers 

Magnolias and more 2023
A reinterpretation from my original 2013 design for Slow Flowers

Magnolias and More from Slow Flowers book 2013
Magnolias and More from Slow Flowers 2013

We are coming to the final days of winter and the botanical palette is increasingly spring-like here in the PNW. When I originally designed this arrangement during my 52-weeks-of-slow-flowers project back in 2012 (for 2013 publication), I didn’t plan ahead much. I usually let the vase selection or seasonal floral choices dictate. As I recall, this tall, creamy vase was a recent aquisition for a styling project and I wanted to use it for the book. The fact that my neighbors (with whom I shared a driveway at the time) owned a really lovely magnolia with ample side branches needing a trim, added up to this design.

Lots of textures
Lots of textures

This time around, more than one decade later, I grabbed the same vase, and sourced extra-long-stemmed tulips (apricot, grown by Here to There Farm) and two types of magnolia (budded deciduous branches and evergreen foliage-clad branches, both Oregon-grown) at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. The fantail willow source has disappeared over time so I pivoted to dark-stemmed French pussy willow from Ojeda Farm.

The rosemary is from my garden, a replacement from the one that succumbed to two brutal winter feezes. Designing this was a joyful practice, made more delightful because of the sunshine on my back patio.

More Magnolias and Tulips
The final arrangement, March 2023

This piece comes closer to the original than any of the weekly bouquets I’ve created since the start of 2023. It’s a nod to the classic reproduction vase, almost urn-shaped, but taller than a true urn; and to the timeless ingredients. The added surprise will come in a few days, as the pink saucer magnolia buds bloom, coaxed open by the indoor temperatures.

Debra Prinzing

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based writer, speaker and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. Through her many Slow Flowers-branded projects, she has convened a national conversation that encourages consumers and professionals alike to make conscious choices about their floral purchases. Debra is the producer of SlowFlowers.com, the weekly "Slow Flowers Podcast" and the American Flowers Week (June 28-July 4) campaign. Debra is author of 11 books, including Slow Flowers (2013), The 50 Mile Bouquet (2012) and Slow Flowers Journal (2020). She is the co-founder of BLOOM Imprint, the boutique publishing arm of Slow Flowers.

Subscribe to SlowFlowers newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list

Powered by Robly

Slow Flowers Journal is brought to you by SlowFlowers.com. Slow Flowers is an award-winning online directory created to help consumers find florists, studio designers, wedding and event planners, supermarket flower departments and flower farmers that supply American grown flowers. Founded in 2014, the site has grown to 850 members across the U.S.

FOLLOW US ON

Media Contact:

For more information, please contact Debra Prinzing
at 206-769-8211 or 844-SLOWFLO (844-756-9356); debra(at)slowflowers.com.