An Afternoon in the Botanique Cutting Garden

It feels a little vulnerable to share these images, as they are very close to home (literally, in my backyard!), but here goes. At the very end of last summer, when everything was setting seed and the day length was really waning, my (incredible photographer) friend Kerry came over one afternoon to take some photos of the garden and me (Kelly) being in the garden, harvesting and arranging. We didn't have any particular plan or agenda, we just set out to follow our creativity- me with flowers, Kerry with photos. It was lovely to spend time with another creative soul in this garden and place which is so close to my heart.These images are some of what emerged from our afternoon together. A combination of garden, floral design, harvesting, portraits, arrangements... plus a bonus video that Kerry shot as she was taking photos!

One of my favorite parts of these photos is that the garden was not at "peak," I didn't do anything special to prepare, this wasn't really planned out. This is just what it really looks like at the end of the summer, with lots of flowers blooming and also lots of seed pods and dead stalks standing tall. Plus, I finally got to make an arrangement with every variety of red and peach dahlia that I grow, something I'd been wanting to do for a while (you can see it below)!

Today is the summer solstice, and the garden is just bursting with flowers- so many roses, foxglove, agrostemma, poppies, scabiosa, feverfew.... all the plants are so lush and green. Everything looks so different today than it did on the day these photos and video were taken. And it looked so different just a few months ago when most of the plants were just starting to send up new growth, and many were still in seed form. And in just about three months things will have changed yet again, and we will be right back to the place these photos show, everything setting seed and turning brown, low, golden rays of sun setting on the horizon, all the plants having done their big summer work, getting ready for a long rest. It's amazing and such a huge gift to be connected to the turning of one season to the next. I am ever grateful for the ways that the plants show me how I too, how we as people, go through cycles, one to the next, an ever turning wheel.

I hope you enjoy this little peek into the garden. Hoping it won't be too long until I can invite you all back.... maybe even sometime this summer!? I'm scheming about it... just waiting for a few scheduling pieces to land, and for some clarity around what the best summer offerings would be this year, given all the circumstances and the unique place we find ourselves in right now.

And here's the bonus video I mentioned!

Flowers and Garden: Botanique

Photography and Video: Kerry Jeanne Photography

About the Designer:

Botanique is a full-service floral and event design company based in Seattle, WA. Led by Creative Director Kelly Sullivan, we design wedding flowers and events with an organic, effortless, seasonal, elegant, and modern aesthetic for couples getting married in Washington state and beyond, including the greater Seattle area, Tacoma, Lakewood, Bellevue, Kirkland, the San Juan Islands, the Eastside, and Eastern Washington. In addition, we offer group floral classes and workshops in our Seattle studio focused on sustainable floral design techniques, as well as private, one-on-one floral design lessons. We also maintain a large cutting garden that acts as muse for our design work, and offer classes to teach you how to grow your own flowers and start your own cutting garden. To learn more about working with Botanique for your wedding or event, please inquire on our contact form. To sign up to be notified of upcoming workshops and learning opportunities, please sign up for our workshops mailing list.