Think Outside the (Chocolate) Box

When we think of Valentine’s Day, we immediately picture traditional red roses and chocolates, and a few other common symbols of this heartily hyped up holiday.   But at Cedar’s we like to think outside the box, and we can think of plenty of ideas to break the cliché pattern of Valentine’s gift giving.   Here are a few of our favorite ideas for thinking outside the box this Valentine’s Day.

Without a doubt, women love flowers.  It’s a traditional, but sentimental and charming way to say I love you.  But long stemmed red roses, are not the only way to melt your love’s heart; there are many innovative and creative ways to make a Valentine’s statement with flowers.  Certain blooms have certain special meanings – why not choose a bloom that sends a special subliminal message to your sweetheart?  As for roses, the traditional red signifies passionate love.  Pink has a gentler connotation, expressing grace and friendship, while white roses mean purity.  Other winter appropriate flowers have significant meaning as well, and your sweetie will appreciate the thought involved in choosing something unique.  Charming little Ranunculus expresses radiance, elegant Orchids suggest delicate beauty, and the Calla Lily has a regal connotation. 

In addition to flowers, we love incorporating other organic elements, like, branches as well as keepsakes into our Valentine’s arrangements.  We bend delicate branches into the shape of a heart to add extra meaning and thoughtfulness to your arrangement.  We also love using candles: in this arrangement, bark- wrapped candles spell out I LOVE U, and are a beautiful way to extend the sentiment of your Valentine’s flower gift.

Living in the mountains, we love winter and the outdoors.  Why not plan an active Valentine’s Day to celebrate your love?  Skiing is always a first choice for a Valentine’s Day date:  plan a ski day with your sweetheart and celebrate what you love to do together and why you love the mountains.  This could be an on-piste ski day, or an off-piste backcountry adventure built for two.  Packing a picnic and a bottle of wine make this a perfect Valentine snow country experience.

Treat your date to dining out, but in a better, less crowded way.  A romantic meal is a fabulous way to spend Valentine’s.  But since it is perhaps the biggest restaurant night out aside from New Year’s Eve, you might not want to dine out for dinner with the masses.  Instead, a long, relaxing lunch is a lovely way to spend a romantic Valentine’s meal together.  This might be the perfect finale to your adventurous ski day together, or a lingering break from work, timed perfectly if you have kids because they are in school or (ski school!)  Many area restaurants have delicious lunch menus at a smaller price point than dinner, making this a wallet-friendly choice as well.

OK, chocolate, because it IS Valentine’s Day.  But please do not settle for the standard- issue heart shaped box with chocolate covered crème-filled sweets from your local drugstore.  This holiday calls for an elevated approach to chocolate: hand-made confections from artisan chocolatiers.  Fine chocolate is truly an art and masterpiece in flavor and style, and the emergence of many fine chocolate makers has brought new respect to this age-old treat.  Artisan chocolates are the obvious accompaniment to your perfectly hand-selected Valentine’s flowers.

Cedar’s Flower Shop – pretty, simple. Vail flower shops and Edwards florist that delivers from East Vail to Eagle, CO with same-day delivery service and worldwide delivery available. Call us at 970-926-6566, email us cedarsflowershop@comcast.com, or visit www.cedarsflowershop.com today.

Vail and Beaver Creek Ski Season Means Fabulous Winter Floral Arrangements

This festive time of year, November and December, is full of celebrations, events and holidays that keep your Vail or Beaver Creek home bustling and your calendar full.  With so many occasions coming up, don’t forget to consider a beautiful floral arrangement to add color and vitality to your home and accent your social engagements.  We love to express the joy of the season through flowers in creative combinations.  Here are some ideas for how to use flowers this season!

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Now is the time to think about a centerpiece for your harvest table that will accent this holiday feast.  One of our favorite ideas is a Thanksgiving Cornucopia.  The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a large horn-shaped container filled with flowers, fruits or decorative vegetables and symbolizes nourishment and abundance.  We like to use jewel-toned fall flowers like Mums in garnet burnt umber and orange, paired with colorful gourds signifying the abundant harvest. 

Straight-up floral arrangements are also popular, and the possibilities are endless for creating a fall dinner or Thanksgiving centerpiece with striking combinations Hydrangeas, mums and marigolds echo the colors of fall and have an interesting soft yet structural component that will add vitality to your dining table.  Calla lilies in magenta and deep purples add dram to an arrangement, especially when paired with chartreuse colored flowers and greenery.  Think about placing these types of vibrant arrangements in a modern white container for a contemporary look, or aspen bark container for a rustic edge.  Grouping single colors together for a monochromatic bouquet is another way to set your table ablaze with these textural fall flowers.

Another knockout fall or holiday centerpiece idea is to combine pale blooms together in an interesting container.  Consider a mix of creamy roses, hydrangeas and eucalyptus in the softest shades of blush, white and sliver, all inside a shimmery metallic vessel or a stark porcelain-white vase for a dramatic and sexy effect.  Or place white blooms inside a brightly-hued ceramic container for a fun, pop-modern look.  Herbs are another harvest-friendly display and are as beautiful as they are fragrant.  Sage, thyme, rosemary and chives have beautiful stalks and leaves that will complement flowers in and arrangement, or can be grouped in cachepots as a unique centerpiece.  And for a very minimalist centerpiece that is completely fall-appropriate, try bare branches standing tall en masse inside a gorgeous vase of glass.

Another cool fall centerpiece idea?   A low-lying modern container filled with sophisticated succulents.  Containers and beautiful boxes made of wood, concrete or ceramic make a lovely backdrop for these elegant plants, and the combination will grace your home for as long as you care for them.  Single succulents in elegant goblets or other small containers can be grouped together on a table for a stunning and flexible arrangement.  Succulents not only make a great centerpiece for your own home, but also an incredible fall hostess or housewarming gift as the arrangement will last long after your celebration!

Cedar’s Flower Shop specializes in flower arrangements for special occasions and events, fresh cut flowers, and has a wide variety of houseplants for your home.

Cedar’s Flower Shop – pretty, simple.  Edwards, Colorado’s premier florist for over 15 years.  Our wealth of experience in the floral industry in Vail and Beaver Creek gives us acute knowledge of the Vail Valley.  For more information or to inquire about floral arrangements or fresh flowers, visit www.cedarsflowershop.com or call (970) 926-6566.

Cedar’s Flower Shop’s Best Indoor Houseplants for Fall and Winter – Vail, Colorado

Houseplants from Cedar's Flower Shop in Edwards, CO Bring the Outside In

The leaves on the aspen trees, though they gave a really good fight this year, are finally falling off the trees.  Perennials are cut back and the vibrant punch of annuals left weeks ago.  We gradually spend more and more time indoors as days become chillier and shorter, as our exterior landscapes will soon be covered in a blanket of snow.  It’s time to start looking at how we can bring that element of nature indoors, especially here in Vail, Colorado, and about interior houseplants that breathe color and oxygen into our indoor spaces.

There are a certain number of houseplants that exude fall ambiance and color.  Perhaps the most recognizable and classic seasonal blooms are Mums.  This quintessential fall bloom, available in dozens of blazing jewel tones are perfect indoor container plants that are easy to care for and add a warm, colorful punch to your home.  Use a single color or collection of hues - auburn, orange, gold, amythest and fuschia - to create an autumnal glow.

Mums are one of the most popular
indoor houseplants in the United states.

Pepper Plants are also available seasonally, and they give homage to the end of our harvest season and add a lot of life to a kitchen if kept ondoors.   The ornamental pepper plants is the most common indoor-friendly varietal, and is perfect for containers.  These beautiful, vibrant plants have fine leaves and colorful peppers ranging in color from red to yellow to purple, and can last for several months indoors making them a great choice to start now and keep through the holidays.  The peppers themselves will last up to six weeks, and range from sweet to hot depending on the variety (one word of caution: if you have a plant with hot peppers use caution when touching the fruit as it could cause a burn, especially with children and pets) and are edible as well as beautiful. 

This Snake Plant does well in dry,
high altitude areas in your home.

Succulents, a favorite for Colorado perennial gardening due to their drought-tolerant qualities, also lend themselves well to indoor container planting.   They are architecturally interesting plants, and shapes and forms can be combines to create a modern, visually satisfying indoor garden.  They have fleshy leaves, where they store their water diligently to prepare for times of drought- making them easy to take care of as they can withstand a little neglect.  They also can have striking flowers with captivating shape and colors adding drama to your indoor garden.  Some common favorites to consider: Bow-tie or Cow Tongue Plants (Gasteria), with tubular flowers resembling a stomach;  Pinwheel Plants are beautiful, with rosette/ pinwheel shaped leaf formations;  and the sever-popular snake plant, with vertical pointed, variegated leaves that add drama and height to a indoor plant garden.

Begonias make a wonderful year round
houseplant in cold climates.

Some longer-lasting indoor houseplant varieties to consider?  Try Kalanchoe, a beautiful flowering succulent often enjoyed during holiday season for it’s beautiful, colorful multiple flowers.  It is a highly decorative plant and will add lits of joy to your home or a friends, as it makes a perfect housewarming gift over the holidays.  Begonias are also a great choice for adding color and cheerfulness to your indoor containers.  Possibly the most popular indoor flowering houseplant, begonias have lush green leaves and large, bushy, long-lasting flowers that vary in color from white and pink to red and yellow.

Cedar’s Flower Shop specializes in flower arrangements for special occasions and events, fresh cut flowers, and has a wide variety of houseplants for your home.

Cedar’s Flower Shop – Pretty, Simple.  Edwards, Colorado’s premier florist for over 15 years.  Our wealth of experience in the floral industry in Vail and Beaver Creek gives us acute knowledge of the Vail Valley.  For more information or to inquire about floral arrangements or fresh flowers, visit www.cedarsflowershop.com or call (970) 926-6566.

Fall Wedding Locations in the Vail Valley

Ask a girl about her dream wedding, and her description often depicts a backdrop of mountains or a bucolic field, flowers of flowers, fabulous food, beautiful weather and happy family and friends.  No wonder the Vail Valley has become one of the premier wedding destinations in the US; Vail fits the bill in these categories, and has become one of the most sophisticated choices for a mountain wedding in the US.  Now is the time to start planning a wedding for next fall, as venues often book up to 9-12 months in advance.  Cedar's Flower Shop is one of the Vail Valley's flower shops having provided floral arrangements for Vail and Beaver Creek weddings for the last 16 years.  We  have some favorite suggestions for your fairytale fall wedding in the Vail Valley.

Ceremony Locations

Outdoor weddings are favored this time of year because the weather is generally beautiful, with comfortable daytime temperatures in the mid-70’s, cerulean skies and golden aspen leaves in the landscape.  There are multiple striking sites for wedding ceremonies throughout the Valley allowing for breathtaking views and magnificent photographs on your big day.  In Vail, capture the majestic beauty of the grand 14,000 Mt. of the Holy Cross in the backdrop from the highly sought-after Vail Wedding Deck.  This is possibly the most recognizable and grandiose view from Vail Mountain, and both local and out-of town couples love to celebrate their passion for skiing and Vail’s mountains from this location.

In town, the picturesque Vail Chapel is home to multi-denominational ceremonies in a quaint Vail Village setting.  On a Saturday in fall, it is not uncommon to see excited guests in their wedding finery parading down bustling West Meadow Drive toward this popular wedding site on Vail Road.  For a serene outdoor location in-town, consider the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, named for the former First Lady who made her home in Vail and contributed an incredible garden preserve to the grounds west of the Ford Amphitheater.  There are multiple options within the gardens, from rocky succulent-carpeted hillside to lush green lawns surrounded by colorful alpine perennials. 

In Beaver Creek, the most coveted and recognizable wedding site is the charming Beaver Creek Chapel.  Located adjacent to the slopes of Beaver Creek, the chapel is a beautiful stone structure set within a perfect natural landscape of balsam trees and creek-side foliage.   This location is within walking distance to Beaver Creek Village, making it convenient to hotels and reception sites.  For a bit of adventure, load Chair 6 from the base in Beaver Creek up to Spruce Saddle, where you can enjoy your ceremony at the brand new Beaver Creek Wedding Deck.  A tiered mini-amphitheater-like venue constructed of natural stone, this is quickly becoming one of our favorite wedding locations. 

Ceremony +  Reception Venues

Donovan Pavilion in West Vail is a light and airy mountain-modern structure adjacent to a beautiful park and the peaceful rush of Gore Creek.  Arching timbers and an impressive wall of glass frame lush outdoor greenery and provide a beautiful setting for your indoor or outdoor ceremony and indoor reception.  A full catering kitchen and seating for up to 250 make this a versatile and convenient choice for your special day. 

If rustic, old-West Colorado is more what you have in mind, consider the Lazy J Ranch in Wolcott, CO.  Guests can hoot –n- holler all they want in this incredibly private, romantic ranch setting just 15 miles west of Vail.  Guests can practice shooting skills, play horseshoes and enjoy a horse-drawn hay ride.  Dinner is served in a country chic cabin or in a customized tent- whatever your heart desires! 

Another option close to the nightlife and lodging convenience of Vail is the charming Piney River Ranch.  Follow a meandering, scenic 11-mile country road toward an incredible wedding destination.  The view is unsurpassable: the majestic Gore Range frames Piney Lake (where bride and groom often celebrate with a post-ceremony paddle).  Guests dine on classic Colorado fare and dance the night away at this fully-epuipped Rocky Mountain ranch-style venue.  Several lakeside cabins and yurts are available for an overnight stay to provide even more options for guests.

Cedar’s Flower Shop specializes in bridal bouquets, boutonnieres, ceremony flower arrangements, centerpieces, and flowers for your wedding cake.  Cedar’s Flower Shop encourages you to enjoy the day while they help make your Vail Valley wedding beautiful.

 
Cedar’s Flower Shop – pretty, simple. 16 years of experience in the floral industry and acute knowledge of the Vail Valley.  For more information or to inquire about wedding flowers, visit www.cedarsflowershop.com or call (970) 926-6566.