 Some charcoal sketches I did on a visit to Riverdale Farms in Toronto a while back. Lunar New Year is January 28 this year. It’s a really important day, but my mama’s pretty low key about it. After years of her children living here and there, she just wants all of us home for dinner at some point, in the general vicinity of that date. Well, this year, we're all in town, and we’ll be together tomorrow on New Year’s Eve, January 27, as it should be. I can't wait. My mom's an amazing chef. I’m bringing the paperwhite narcissi I planted to bloom just in time.  Baby narcissus, potted up 4-5 weeks ago.  Narcissus in bloom! Next morning I'll make my husband practice saying “Kung Hey Fat Choy, Sun Tai Geen Hong!” with the proper Cantonese tones. He’s got a good ear for them! Then we'll run to my parents and offer these well-worn phrases in exchange for Li See – those little red packets full of MONEYS! Too bad, this fun lasts only until we have children of our own. My dad tells stories about when he was a kid in Hong Kong. He and his brother would receive pretty generous sums from some of their father's business associates. The boys would finish counting their cash with wide eyes – just in time to have to hand it all back to their father. “But why??” I ask my dad. “So your Ye Ye could present it to the next business associate’s kids! Such heavy taxes on our Li See!" my dad exclaims back, amidst our gails of laughter. “Oh well,” he finishes, “while the nighttime festivities were going on people always dropped their Li See by accident and the next morning I’d make sure to go around picking them up.” LOL. Happy Lunar New Year! May this be an auspicious year for all!! 
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When I got married to my love, I hadn’t worked on a flower farm yet and Posy Gang was still just a glimmer in my eye, but you betcha flowers played a big part in our wedding. Here were my goals: I wanted to do the flowers myself, I wanted the bouquets to look like I’d picked them from my garden that day, and I wanted minimal waste. And minimal stress. Definitely minimal stress. I knew my own garden would be overflowing with some of my favourite perennials (bearded iris and columbine, anyone?) but the timing just wasn’t going to work out. My minimal-stress clause kicked in and I went looking for other solutions. Ah well! I try to be flexible.  Bearded iris blooms - one of my spring favourites!  This was also in my original wedding vision, but it got vetoed (not by me). With a little time and effort, I found my solutions and was able to check off all my goals: I hung lavish, overflowing planters of blush and poppy-red geraniums from the rafters, grew little pots of ever-bearing strawberries for table decor and guest favours, and made the bouquets for myself and my one bridesmaid the evening before. Spiky liatris, Dutch iris, and silky mauve godetia; foraged lilac blossoms and bleeding hearts foliage. Actually, the lilacs were from my parents’ yard and the foliage did come from my own garden - they made our bouquets that much more special.  Cleaning up the geranium planters resulted in the most beautiful detritus.  Putting finishing touches on the bouquets, the morning of the wedding. What kind of wedding flowers are you hoping to have? Do you know someone whose wedding flowers are stressing them out? Tell me about it! Click on the comments button to tell me your story, or drop me a line here. Love,  Well, we’re two weeks into the New Year, and I feel it’s time to make some important declarations about what I want for Posy Gang in 2017. Here goes!
Hm. When I look at this list, why do I already know it's number 4 that's going to be the hardest thing to do?! Ha! I'll keep you posted. Anyway, THANK YOU to the brides and grooms who have already entrusted me with their wedding florals in the coming year; and THANK YOU to all the local florists who've expressed interest in buying the flowers I'll be growing!! I'll be following up with samples once the season gets started. You won't be disappointed when you see them! Above all, welcome everyone to my blog, welcome to Posy Gang (surprise, I just made you a member!), and welcome to 2017!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSSS Love,  10/1/2017 0 Comments Posy Gang considers the seasons It's squalling outside today, and while my thoughts are as scattered as the snowflakes are, they’re also as calm as the thickening blanket of white. I'm feeling reflective. It’s amazing to think how much my relationship to the seasons has changed over the last twelve months - and it's all tied to this transformation I’ve undertaken, into professional flower maven, small business owner. It's a welcome shift. For much of my adult life I regarded autumn as my saddest season. Fiery maple trees and vats of pumpkin spice lattes couldn't convince me to enjoy what I perceived only as the steady loss of light, the withering of exuberant life. Frigid winter, when it arrived, brought me some relief, like ice on a bruise. Yet by March, the unremitting cold and insipid, grey slush were just spiteful gatekeepers, holding me back from the delights of spring. Still I always kept faith that the season of rebirth would come! And when it finally did, I was over the moon! Drunk on the scent of mud, the sight of swelling leaf buds, of so much life pushing itself up through the detritus of last year. Lost sleep be damned, I looked forward to the return of daylight saving's time. I LOVE SPRING. Summer, well summer was okay, being the season of my birthday, a time of abundance... and oppressive heat, and mosquito bites, and powdery mildew on my plants, and... I think spring will always be my favourite season. It's definitely been a re-education, through preparing for Posy Gang’s first year, to look at the seasons differently – and I've come out of it with a less lopsided view of them. It’s a long-term goal of mine after all: to be less extreme and more even-keeled, the better to weather any turbulence that life throws my way. Well, for better or worse, spring 2017 will be GO TIME. For me, for Posy Gang. So as much as I will always look forward to spring, I have to say: this year I’m a little apprehensive! No matter how well I’ve planned the flower-growing side of my business – the seeding, planting, harvesting, selling – I will still be at the mercy of trial and error, weather and pests. Ah well, I'm up for the adventure! As for autumn, now that I've opened my eyes a bit wider and tried on a different set of frames, it’s begun to look strangely just like another version of spring: a time to plant and prepare for the following year. Pumpkin spice still doesn't do it for me (sorry), but yes, fall definitely has its charms. And snow, by the way, is now also a welcome thing, even if I don’t always want to be outside in it. There's no better blanket for the dormant, underground plant world! So I’m not unhappy it’s snowing today... Just make sure you drive safely now! Tell me, what's your favourite season?  |
AuthorI am Allison, intrepid leader of Posy Gang. Let's have a conversation about flowers and weddings and small business and everything else! I'll start with my thoughts... Archives
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