I love the forms of the primitive flowers, and right now we have some Australian natives coming in-- waxflowers and Kangaroo Paws, to name a couple. Kangaroo Paws come in many hues from yellow to red to lime green to black. Their stem is usually a red or burgundy, and they appear to have fuzz all over. As soon as I can, I'll post pics. They're considered a primitive, because it's all about sex (pollination)-- they have stamen, a pistil, and only one petal covering everything up-- no extras, like big fancy petals to attract bees or hummingbirds or butterflies. Because it's not as obvious to the pollinators what they are, Kangaroo paws and other primitives generally last a long time-- more time for pollination, you see. The advantage to us is, they last a long time!

kpawsyello purple wax

Waxflowers have lemony smelling foliage, and small 5petal flowers in clusters. They're generally pinks, lavenders and whites, and we love them as an accent. This time of year, they're particularly lovely, because they have a light, clean scent with a fresh new flower shape to remind us there is a growing season somewhere, even if our front yards still have heaps and heaps of snow.

When we first started designing flowers, the most prevalant school of thought was, don't mix different types of flowers-- for instance, one never put tropicals with roses or bulbs. But today, we can incorporate these new forms from all around the world with what is grown in our own neighborhood, and relish the contrast of form, color and scent. It's a whole new world out there.

Keep blooming, everybody.