The day after our daughter's wedding, we were the best kind of tired, but we felt we needed a little break from the house, and from the hectic pace that we had been keeping leading up to the wedding.
Thanks to all of our readers who sent well wishes for our daughter. We appreciate every one, and feel blessed to be part of such a supportive community. The wedding was special to us for many reasons, but mostly because our daughter was so happy. My daughter and I cried many happy tears before, during, and after the wedding (the men were very confused!) and we felt blessed to be such an important part of such an important day in the life of our first precious daughter and her husband.
Today the florists took away the floral arch from the backyard, and because the weather has been so cool, it was still in perfect condition! That made me doubly sad when they took it away. More tears. I did, however, want to mention that readers have been helping me think about some of the flower questions that I had about the arch.
First, the yellow thistle-looking flower that none of the florists could identify was a safflower! The same kind of safflower that is used in safflower oil. It was used by the early Spanish colonies as a substitute for saffron. Some say it has medicinal powers but this has not been scientifically proven. It is in the same family as the sunflower. At any rate, it was a lovely pop of bright sunshine, and a interesting texture variation in the floral arrangement.
The other question I had was about the roses with the black perimeter petals. The more I thought about it, and the more I examined it, I decided that they had to be painted in some way. The reason I believe this is because the black color extended all the way down the stem, and onto some of the lower leaves. Also, the petals did not feel soft like flowers, but rather, a little stiff, and crunchy -- so it must have been a designer decision to tint them for dramatic effect.
Our little vacation to Descanso Gardens was just what the doctor ordered on Sunday. It was lovely to wander the paths of the garden, and see all the whimsical displays that the gardeners had created. Plus we got lots of exercise - there's miles of places to wander! In addition, there was color everywhere despite the late fall season. The roses were blooming prolifically, and the coleus was dazzling in all the autumnal colors. And, Descanso has a very large and varied camellia garden, and there were a few camellias beginning to bloom - their season is coming! We will have to go back to visit soon!
And to top it all off, we found a spectacular Halloween decoration in the outdoor gift shop! A very successful day indeed. And knowing that all of our efforts for our daughter's backyard wedding resulted in great happiness for the newlyweds, made the day even sweeter.