For a second Canadian perspective on Thanksgiving arrangements, we head to Calgary, Alberta, Canada’s fourth largest city. Flower shop, WILLOW Blooms & Garden was founded by mother and daughter team, LaRae and Jenessa Krebs in the spring of 2013. “It emerged as an offshoot to the already successful gardening company LaRae had established and run for over ten years” shares Jenessa. The duo are located in the Calgary Farmers Market and work seven days a week from this location.

INTERVIEW: Jenessa Krebs, Florist-Co-Owner, Willow Blooms & Garden {Calgary, Alberta-Canada}

01 Floral Aesthetic
WILLOW’s floral aesthetic is a blend of whimsical, hippie, and classical European. We are inspired by the beautiful flower shops of Paris, while simultaneously striving to incorporate an organic quality in all our designs. We love working with different flowers, and are constantly incorporating new techniques and materials into our arrangements.

02 The Thanksgiving Arrangement
The base of our thanksgiving arrangement is a gnarly pumpkin, LaRae loved this one because of its pink hue and lacy texture. The flowers used are red spray roses, Italian hydrangeas, and brown chrysanthemums. We have also incorporated eucalyptus, cotton branches, pepper berries, and pomegranates. We love this design because it speaks to the Thanksgiving season, yet breaks from the traditional colour pallet of reds, yellows, and oranges.

03 The Inspiration
For this design, I was largely inspired by the pumpkin and the pomegranates. I wanted to create an elegant design – slightly wild – while also highlighting the pumpkin that my mother so adored. I’m not particularly drawn to bold colours (that’s more LaRae) so I kept the colour pallet to natural tones with pops of burgundy (pomegranates and oak leaves) and highlights of silver (various types of eucalyptus).

04 The Holiday
Both my mother and I love to entertain at home. Growing up, we always had people over and I have learned a lot from her on how to be a gracious hostess and entertain guests. While LaRae’s style tends to be casually elegant, my style is slightly more eclectic. Thanksgiving will be at LaRae’s house and the table will be dressed with a collection of antique vases and candle holders that she has collected over the years. LaRae’s favourite flower is the hydrangea, so the table will also be teaming with the antique coloured Italian hydrangeas used for our pumpkin arrangement.

 Photo Source: Jenessa Krebs