Rethinking the Floral Design Studio

Future Floral Design Studio

If I’ve learned anything over the last two years, it is to be flexible. Having a death grip on your concept is the quickest way to kill it. With this bit of wisdom in mind, I thought this week’s blog post would be about the creation of the Floral Design Studio.

I will be planting the cutting garden in the spring. Creating this section of Posh Gardens is the one I’ve been looking forward to the most, and now I can finally start! Of all the produce we are growing, I think my flowers have the most potential of generating the greatest amount of revenue. I believe this because everyone and their brother is growing fruits and vegetables throughout the Grand Valley. Only a few people are growing flowers for production. As with the rest of the garden, ours will be small and thus limited quantities. That said, I’ve taken great care in my floral selection, choosing mostly perennials so I don’t have to replant every year. I’ve also taken into consideration their color and shape and blooming cycle. In addition to selling the cut flowers, I plan to use them as materials to be used in floral design workshops which I will teach as well as painting workshops which I hope my Friend Lisa Kennedy will teach.  I also see the bouquets as subject matter for my own paintings. Not quite Vanitas paintings but perhaps inspired by these Dutch masterpieces.

This is where the Floral Design Studio comes into play. Here too, I’ve taken my inspiration from another, this time Floret Farms; specifically, the farm studio where they film their flower arranging videos. It is a beautiful, light and rustic space. Originally the Pole barn consisted of two animal stalls open at the front. The larger of the stalls I have turned into the Potting Shed. The smaller section is currently a storage unit for my tools and other garden equipment. With the Potting shed finished, my plan was to convert the smaller stall into a Floral Design studio. On the other side of the Potting Shed I would be creating another storage area and relocate my tools and equipment there. When Andy went down with his stroke, folks from my church came out to help build the framework for this new shed, they even installed the metal roof. The plan was, they would build the framework, and I would finish it by adding the walls. This I knew I could do because I rebuilt the exterior walls of the Potting Shed. They did an amazing job, and the framework is complete and the metal roof installed.

Then one morning while enjoying coffee by the fire I got to thinking. What if this section became the Floral Design Studio?  I remembered my friend Kate saying how hard it was to renovate the barn for the Potting Shed because it was not square. However, the framework of the new section was! So, what if I switched the game plan around? What if the new section were to become the Floral Design Studio and the older animal stall remain a place for storage? I asked Kate for her option and as I was hoping she confirmed the idea was solid and made way more sense! I also took the opportunity to see if she would be interested in finishing it off once I get the exterior walls constructed!

So, with this new game plan validated, I set to work building the exterior back wall. The first order of business was to take down the half wall I built last year and cut away the old railings that it was attached to. I failed miserably at using the Saw Zaw so Kate returned and cut through the old posts and together we hauled it off to the side. This now allows me easier access to the framing so I can begin building the wall. Per Kate’s recommendation I’m going to first build it with plywood and then attach the exterior paneling to the plywood. I have extra Tyvek that I used for the Potting Shed so I’m putting that between the plywood and paneling for an added layer of protection and waterproofing. Once this is done, I’m hoping Kate can come out and finish framing the side wall and build the door frame. Then I will repeat the above process on that wall. To keep costs down, I’m going to see if I can find a nice-looking exterior door at the Habitat store. My goal is to find one like the door of my studio as it is mostly glass and lets in a lot of light.

With those two walls complete then we can start on the floor and finish off the front of the design studio with a large window that matches the one on the Potting Shed. The plan is to have Kate take the lead on this part of the building project as it is out of my skill set scope. Like the design studio at Floret, I will whitewash the interior walls which will make the space lighter and brighter. Unlike the Potting Shed, I want this space to be insulated so that I can store my seeds without worry and perhaps work in it through the winter. I will also add electricity to both it and the Potting shed which will make both spaces more functional throughout the year. It also means I can add a mini split so it will be cooler in the summer months. So with a wee bit of rethinking the Floral Design Studio has evolved into a creative space that should be easier to build.

But… why stop there? After rethinking the Floral Design studio, I returned to the other side of the Potting Shed. This storage area looks tired and very run down, which if I’m being honest, it is! Then it hit me… What if I finish off the front of it with two large barn doors that open outward and made of the same wood planks that we used for the front of the Potting Shed and the Design Studio? Unfortunately, it would probably mean squaring off the front but in theory I think it would be easier than building a wall as it would just be framing for the doors. The floor can remain dirt. With the This would please my visual design sensibility for sure! I would still rebuild the exterior wall in the back so that it had a consistent look from behind as well as in front. And… at some point I want to replace the roof with black metal to match the new section and have an overall cohesive look from above. I know perhaps it sounds crazy but if I’m going to renovate the Pole Barn it should look good from top to bottom, left to right, front to back… the devil is in the details after all… I’m really excited to see how this will all turn out. Eventually this will be the creative hub of Palisade Posh, where gardening, floral design and yes, the creation of art all come together in one central location! It will be amazing, and pretty and I can’t wait!