Three Uniquely SoCal Stories: Organic Flower Farming, a Floral Boutique and DIY Floral Design Workshops
In the tangible, physical world, there are limits to pretty much everything. Certainly there are limitations to books, to what can done between the front and back covers, what can be gathered, included, shared. As we move closer and closer to our April publication date, we are acutely aware of this reality, knowing that not every one of those stories we have discovered and fallen in love with will manage to find its telling within our pages. This awareness, in turn can occasionally create a sense of discomfort that I suspect every sincere storyteller must work around and through many times over the course of a storytelling life. How do we do right by these stories we’ve been offered, how do we make good in our telling of them? And how do we decide which ones we can tell now and which must wait for another, later opening?
Corollary to this deadline-induced awareness is the clarity that sometimes appears, informing the tellers, if you will, that there are a few holes in the weave of this larger piece of fabric, that perhaps they need to head back out there on the road to gather a few more threads. These holes may be topical, or merely regional in nature, but they can suddenly seem pretty essential to the overall integrity and structure of the larger tale, when that story begins to take its shape, absent them.
And so, as we looked at all we have collected, thus far, over nearly four years of gathering images, interviews and many friendships, it occurred to us that to do the larger, 50 Mile Bouquet story justice, we really needed to include some examples of the local, sustainable floral magic that is happening in the Southern California/Los Angeles area. The three stories that seemed to cry out to us most emphatically were as different from one another as night is to day, and yet they all center around strong, smart, beautiful women and local, seasonal and sustainably grown flowers. We’re really excited for the chance to get you better acquainted with flower farmer Tara Kolla, floral designer Ariana Lambert Smeraldo and event designers and floral design instructors Bess Wyrick and Ivie Joy Agustin. Here are just a few early peeks at the delicious visual bounty our time with them yielded us. We hope you’ll want to know more, and that you’ll order the book to read each of their stories in depth.
Stay tuned . . .
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I never tire of your prose or your storytelling images. I slow down to savor each nugget – a gift in itself.
Karen, you’ve made my day. Thank you.
The photos are totally gorgeous. The first one is the ultimate portrait.
Love your stories and gorgeous pictures. Sounds like your book is coming out soon? Bet it would be just lovely. Love the peony flowers Ariana Lambert is holding on the photo. I love peonies!
I just found your blog/site and am blown away. I love the picture of Tara Kolla, now that’s a lady with a purpose! I love taking pictures of my yard and flowers, all of them are lovely, now I need some wise prose to go with them. You are an inspiration. I’m going to find your book. God’s continued blessings to you.