Boston Flora

Tag: Alethea Harampolis

  • Saturday, October 7, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Fall for Local: Floral Workshop with Little State Flower Farm

    There are few things more indicative of the change of the seasons than the shifting colors and textures of the leaves, flowers and trees surrounding us. Join Jill Rizzo of Studio Choo East and Anna Jane Kocon of Little State Flower Company for a collaborative floral design workshop focusing on bringing the fleeting beauty of autumn into your home. The class will take place at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Saturday, October 7, from 1:30 – 3:30. We’ll start with a show-and-tell on the basics: selection, flower care, cleaning and seasonality. We’ll discuss the selected color palette and our favorite ways to tweak traditional autumn hues. The arranging demonstration will focus on combining gestural branches and foliage to make a unique structural base, then we’ll show you how to layer and nestle your favorite blooms for a composition that is full of movement and air. Workshop cost ($165 for Tower Hill members, $175 for nonmembers) includes all materials for students to take home (flowers and vessel). Floral snips will be provided for use during the workshop but students are encouraged to bring their own. Register online at www.towerhillbg.org.

    Jill Rizzo is the owner of Studio Choo East, founded in 2009 in San Francisco with best friend Alethea Harampolis. In 2015, she opened a New England branch of the studio focused on creating uniquely wild floral designs for weekly clients, weddings, and workshops. Co-author of The Flower Recipe Book and
    Branches and Blooms, her work has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Real Simple, Veranda and Sunset.

    Anna Jane Kocon is the founder and owner of Little State Flower Company; a five acre specialty-cut flower farm based on Aquidneck Island in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Little State focuses on sustainable, environmentally-friendly growing practices in an effort to create local, healthy options for the wedding and event industry in and around Rhode Island.

  • Wednesday, August 9, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using Extraordinary Garden Plants

    In their beautifully photographed guide to growing, harvesting, and utilizing 47 unexpected plants, Harvest, Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis encourage gardeners to discover the surprising usefulness of petals and leaves, roots, seeds, and fruit. Turn turmeric root into a natural dye and calamintha into lip balm. Make anise hyssop into a refreshing iced tea and turn apricots into a facial mask. Crabapple branches can be used to create stunning floral arrangements, oregano flowers to infuse vinegar, and edible chrysanthemum to liven up a salad. With the remarkable, multi-purpose plants in Harvest, there is always something for gardeners to harvest from one growing season to the next. Stefani will appear at Tower Hill Botanic Garden on Wednesday, August 9 for a talk beginning at 7 pm, followed by a book signing. Free with admission to the gardens.

    Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harampolis are the co-founders of Homestead Design Collective, a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm focused on creating beautiful gardens that provide harvest. Stefani is the co-author of The Beautiful Edible Garden (Ten Speed Press, 2013) and Alethea is the co-author of the best selling books, The Flower Recipe Book and The Wreath Recipe Book (Artisan 2013 and 2014). Stefani and Alethea’s latest collaboration, Harvest, was released by Ten Speed Press in February 2017. Stefani and Alethea’s work has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset Magazine, C Magazine, Los Angeles Times, NY Times, Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Vogue, Food and Wine, and Gardenista.com.