Category Archives: Flowers

Alaska Weddings: Jason + Rebekah

July 30, 2016 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

Some things I never get tired of. Foraging for wedding arrangements has to be at the top of the list. For Rebekah and Jason, it was important that a part of their state be incorporated into their wedding theme of teal, green and purple.

For the flowers they chose peach and fuchsia roses and purple Japanese asters as their palette to which I added wild yarrow, grass and ferns.

Finished off with a teal satin ribbon and presto – a lovely Alaska bouquet.

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Carrie + Christopher

July 23, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

It’s been a busy summer of weddings and I’ve still got more to go. This week’s was one of my favorites. Bride Carrie asked for cheerful blooms mixed with Alaska foliage — just my style!

A bright and cheerful Alaska wedding | Bridal bouquet made with ivory roses, queen anne's lace, spray rose, Japanese aster, wild grass, astilbe, wild fern, wild raspberry and Italian ruscus. Designed by Natasha Price of Alaska Knit Nat

Pink, pink and pink. I love it. Spray roses, Japanese aster and salmon hypericum berry were the central blooms.

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alaska, DIY, Flowers, weddings

Blueberries, mushrooms, peonies and mimosas

July 16, 2016 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

This has been one of the sunniest, hottest Alaska summers I can ever remember. When I woke up and saw low clouds on the Chugach mountains I was looking forward to a cooler day.

My mom and I wasted no time and drove up to Glen Alps to check on the blueberries. Due to the warm weather we were giddy to find the berries plentiful and pretty much ripe.

We picked about two quarts in less than an hour and also picked up a few prize boletes that must have popped up overnight.

After dropping off our loot we packed up our truck and headed toward Wasilla to Alaska Blooms Peony Farm. I had visited a few weeks prior when the peonies were mostly closed but today the sun decided to take center stage and the peonies were bursting with color and perfume. I shed a layer of clothing and set to work.

Sixteen students arrived for crown instructions, cookies and mimosas. It was a joy to incorporate peonies that were grown right where we were having the class.

My students ranged greatly in age, but everyone enjoyed themselves. Each crown was so lovely in its own way!

After the class the students took a tour of the farm. Farm owner, Rachel, brought out a bucket full of pink peonies in full bloom and students bought stems wrapped in newspaper.

My day came full circle by dining on my parents’ deck in the sun and digging into a big slice of blueberry pie.

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Dianne + Matthew

July 9, 2016 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

Every wedding I make flowers for has a different style and Dianne and Matthew’s Wasilla wedding is one of the most unique this year.

Dianne wanted jewel tones of amethyst and peridot. She adores orchids, which I learned can be limited in color and style in Alaska. I packed her bouquet with fuchsia orchid, purple lisianthus, white roses, baby’s breath, trailing amaranthus, traipsing plumosa fern, sword fern and Italian ruscus.

Cascading bridal bouquet packed with orchids, lisianthus, roses, amaranthus, plumosa fern, baby's breath, sword fern and Italian ruscus | wedding flowers designed by Natasha Price of Alaskaknitnat.com

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Sarah + Cam

June 25, 2016 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

A few months ago I received an e-mail from a bride in Kentucky who was planning a destination wedding in Alaska. She had found me in Alaska Bride & Groom Magazine and thought my style would be appropriate for her and her fiancé, Cam’s, wedding in Cooper Landing.

Sarah and Cam wanted a rustic, wild wedding to reflect their Kentucky roots. They gave me free reign to select wild flowers and greens to incorporate with garden roses and lavender button mums.

I harvested spruce, alder, alder cones, yarrow, clover, grass, and even a four-leaf clover for their special arrangements. Gathering wildflowers is one of my favorite activities. I headed out to my secret wild garden south of Anchorage to find everything I needed, including a special ingredient, which I’ll mention later. This is my happy place and it brought me so much joy to return there for the first time this summer.

This week I was graced with a new challenge: corner arrangements for an archway. I’ve made garlands before but not structured corner pieces. I decided to structure them with alder branches, Italian ruscus and seeded eucalyptus then layered in white wax flower, button mums, salal, white hypericum and finally, gorgeous, aromatic garden roses the color of butter.

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Tour of Alaska Blooms Peony Farm

June 19, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

When my husband and I got married in July 2007 purchasing peonies wasn’t an option. They were out of season. But I remember gardens all over Anchorage with gorgeous peonies in July and August. I ended up using someone’s garden peonies for my own bouquet.

It wasn’t until August 2013 when I was leafing through an Alaska Airlines Magazine that I learned how unique Alaska peonies really are.

Peony farms have since sprouted up all over the state from Nenana to Homer to Wasilla and have cornered the global peony market from mid to late summer.

I recently had the opportunity to take a tour of Alaska Blooms Peony Farm and learn about these special flowers from owner Rachel Christy.

My son and I embarked on a rainy Sunday outside the city of Wasilla to a cabin where thousands of peony buds were growing in the front lot.

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Ali + Tommy

June 11, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

I really believe Alaska is a big state with a small-town feel. When I first met bride Ali at our consultation I realized I had taught her French when she was in middle school.

After a few descriptions of her floral vision and some Pinterest photos I was pretty excited to work on her and her fiancé’s wedding.

Blush, cream, pink, pale blue — a soft palate with exquisite blooms from garden roses to peonies.

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DIY, Flowers, Tutorials, weddings

DIY Mother’s Day Arrangement – a step-by-step tutorial

April 23, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Spring has sprung (hopefully) and nothing makes your home feel “spring fresh” more than a fresh flower arrangement. Recently I had a coffee meeting with Rachel Christy, owner of Alaska Blooms Peony Farms, and she pointed out that I’m a DIY bride’s florist. Indeed, many of the brides who hire me order the main floral pieces from me and then save money by creating centerpieces themselves. Since I’m a business of one person, I am completely fine with this arrangement. When a bride orders centerpieces I usually hire an assistant.

During a phone consultation with a Kentucky bride, she told me my floral business reminds her of small-batch whiskey makers. These are folks in Kentucky who make whiskey on the side of their normal jobs that are different from the standard whiskeys. I love that comparison.

Anyway, since Mother’s Day is the next floral holiday on the calendar (and often the busiest day for florists) I thought I would share a step-by-step tutorial on how you can make your own flower arrangement. Whether you’re a son, a daughter or a DIY bride, this should be helpful for anyone who is looking to be florally frugal.

If you’re in Anchorage, you can purchase beautiful greenery by the stem at Alaska Wholesale Flower Market. They range from $1.89-2.99 a stem. They also have gorgeous blooms there, but in an effort to save money I purchased grocery store flowers using a buy one, get one half off coupon.

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Flowers, Uncategorized, weddings

Alaska Weddings: a winter reception

December 21, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

In Alaska, winter solstice is kind of a big deal. It’s the shortest day of the year. In Anchorage we had a little under five and a half hours. It becomes part of the daily winter grind. The sun doesn’t rise until well after you arrive at work and it’s already set when you drive home for the day.

After December 21 we will gradually gain more daylight. It’s a celebratory time for Alaskans.

Recently a friend of mine got married and decided to have her reception around solstice time. When I was hired to make some centerpieces for her I was thrilled to create more wintery pieces.

Purple and lavender carnations, white chrysanthemums, eucalyptus and spruce sprigs were all I needed to bring some winter cheer to her reception.

The couple loves Italy so it was fitting that many of the bud vases were little limoncello glasses.

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Amy + Joe

December 6, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Last-minute weddings are sometimes the best. When my high school friend Amy called me last week to ask if I’d make her bridal bouquet for her wedding this week, I couldn’t say no.

Amy asked for plum and white colors. Alaska Wholesale Flower Market had the most precious Moody Blues roses and deep purple mini carnations. Amy was sold.

I love presenting the corsages and bouts in a pretty way. My first step is to use grocery store doughnut boxes. They have the clear window on the top so you can peek inside and they are big enough to hold several boutonnieres at once. I happened to have some purple tissue paper that was perfect for this occasion.

I had a few leftovers so I made myself a little flower crown. I was able to stop by the reception in the evening and ran into all my old friends. It was a fun reunion. And, of course, I had Ivan model my crown.