BUSINESS
The Perfect Flower Arrangement story and tips provided by Harriet Charles, co-owner of Forest Lake Greenhouses
The Forest Lake Greenhouse story began over 30 years ago when Tim and Lisa King sought out the help of local entrepreneur Ed Young to see their greenhouse dream become a reality. A partnership was born with the Kings and Mr. Young’s four daughters — Claudia Venable, Harriet Charles, Virginia Gene, and Rebecca Madden. After decades of building, growing, and making a profound impact on the community of Florence, the Kings decided to retire. To carry on the legacy of Forest Lake Greenhouses, two of Mr. Young’s grandsons, Luke
Venable and Austin Charles, came together with their mothers Claudia and Harriet, and long-term friend Hunter Robertson to form a new partnership and keep the doors open. Over the years Forest Lake Greenhouses has grown and evolved in many ways, the new leadership team seeks to offer the same superior quality of plants and extraordinary customer service everyone has come to know and love. They look forward to sharing more growth, more happiness, and more beauty with the community!
1 For this project, I started with a small to a medium-sized planter. Studies show that using just dirt in the bottom of the pot as opposed to adding rocks is just as efficient for drainage. Be sure to use good soil. I used Sungro Professional Growers Mix, which is lightweight. Another favorite is Happy Frog by Fox Farms. Both can be purchased at Forest Lake.
2 Determine the look you want and where the planter will be placed. This pot will be tall in the back and short in the front.
3 I begin by picking a color palette. Start by finding a flower with a few variations of shades so that you can find other plants to pull in that are complementary. The flower I chose as my base for this arrangement was a Rocky Mountain Light Pink Geranium. It had the lighter pink on the outside of the petal and darker pink on the inside. It’s also important that every plant chosen requires the same amount of light exposure and water.
4 I start planting in the back with the tallest plants. A
Jolt Carnation For daily inspiration from the garden, follow us on Instagram: @forestlakegreenhouses 50
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April 2021
Jolt Carnation gives you a nice height and comes in a variety of colors. I used the Jolt Cherry and Jolt Pink to compliment the geranium. Be sure to loosen the soil at the bottom of the plant when you take it from the store container.
5 You want to expose the roots on the bottom and possibly even sides so that they can jump into the new soil.
