FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Late Summer Palette

FLOWERS is a series of blog posts that Titti Malmberg, of HWIT BLOGG, and I create a couple of times a month. Each time we work to a theme and we post at the same time.

We met on the internet and became friends. Titti lives just outside the beautiful coastal town of Karlskrona in Sweden, and I live in London, a vibrant big city.

In FLOWERS blog posts we share inspiring tips and ideas, and show that arranging flowers does not have to be difficult and expensive.

This time on 'FLOWERS by ingrid and titti' -  the theme is 'A Late Summer Palette'. 

Autumn has such an amazing colour palette and these two Dahlias are no exception. As a third little side arrangement I used a jam jar where I added a few stems of pink Sedum and a few little short stems of dark Cotinus foliage. Both from my garden. 

I also gathered some golden hops from my garden and displayed them in a little basket. 

The big leaves are from a plant called Vitis coignetiae. It's a very vigorous climber that can grow several meters each season - so you need to give it plenty of room to grow. The leaves turns bright red later on in the autumn. 

Later flowering Dahlias will mix well with autumn berries and autumn coloured leaves. Dahlias are not very long-lasting but while they are flowering they are magnificent. So enjoy them while you can! These Dahlias are from Forever Green Flower Company.

I have used two vintage giant pickling jars for the Dahlias. The two small wicker baskets with handles and the hessian adds to the late summer palette.

My collaborator Titti Malmberg over in Sweden has also been busy creating a post with the same autumnal theme. So why not pop over to her blog, HWIT BLOGG, and see what beautiful creations she has come up with. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous and floral Friday and a great weekend!

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back on Sunday with another Florets - a floral quote by someone passionate about flowers.

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

[Styling, text and photography © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
{Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.]

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 22 - Pink and Yellow Dahlia

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some stunning pink and yellow Dahlias. Here in the UK Dahlias are still going strong - so yet again some more of this extraordinary flower.  

You'll need:

- nine stems of Dahlia

- a vase or some kind or container that matches the colour of the Dahlias

- 10-12 strands of raffia to tie around the vase

- two decorative plates that matches or picks up the colour in the flowers and the vase. It's good if one is bigger than the other, so you can see the decoration on both plates

As always - condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. In this case I removed all the leaves as I didn't want any green showing. Cut the stems at an angle - to increase water absorption. Put in a clean container with tepid water and leave in a cool place over night or at least a few hours before making the final arrangement.

Twist the lengths of raffia loosely and tie them around the top of the vase. In this case a vintage pink jug. I looped it through the handle and made two simple knots - leaving the ends quite long to casually trail down the sides and onto the plates and table. I just like the simple and casual look. 

Cut the stems long enough for the shortest to rest on the edge of the container - then cut the rest in the middle a bit longer to form a round dome-shaped arrangement. The flower heads should sit just next to each other - quite closely together - but you should be able to see each individual flower head.

Finally - put the vase on the two plates and you have a pretty and romantic arrangement - for your table. 

Just for fun I have thrown in some vintage wooden spools of cotton - I love the worn old labels and that some are empty and others still have some of the old cotton tread left on the spool. 

In the background I arranged some of my favourite wicker baskets - in three different sizes - adding to the romantic country look.

Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer.]

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Flowers in Baskets

Baskets are very forgiving and can hide many sins and they come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and materials. Flowers that are already planted in pots often come in not so pretty plastic pots. If the arrangement is for a dinner party or you only want to keep the plant indoors for as long as it's flowering - a temporary solution is to pop the whole thing in a basket. 
  
I've been working on this blog post while I'm away from home - so I have not had access to all my usual props. Even so - where I'm staying there are dozens of flea markets every week during the summer and I've had so much fun visiting lots of them.

I found three very different baskets - a large rusty metal basket, a new small tightly woven basket - light in colour and a beautiful vintage one - used and weathered with lots of patina.

I'm staying out in the country where there are very few florists and no flower markets or flower stalls. It has also been very dry so most things growing in the gardens are already past their best.
What you can find is a lot of potted plants and I picked up a beautiful potted pink hydrangea and some blue Campanula.

Both plants can be planted out in the garden once they have finished flowering.

You'll need to protect the base of the basket - so put the pot on a saucer or in a bowl to collect any water draining out of the pot. 

  

The beautiful little blue cup is by the Swedish potter Lotta Zerrander. I love the blue colour of the glaze and the abstract leaf pattern on the side. 

You'll might also need to raise the pots to sit higher up in the basket - use anything that is the right height for positioning the flowers a bit above the edge of the basket.

In the case of the wire basket - I lined the basket with some pretty fabric as well as using a few kitchen bowls to raise the flowers to the right height. Everything well hidden by the fabric and all contained within the basket.

Using baskets is a quick and very easy solution - and can be adapted for all kinds of situations. 

My collaborator Titti Malmberg over on HWIT BLOGG is also featuring baskets - so go over to her blog and see what she is up to.

Here is a link to all the previous FLOWERS Titti and I have done.

You can also find all the images on my Pinterest.

Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

I hope you are still having a lovely summer!

I will be back next week with a more normal posting schedule. 

xoxo Ingrid