A Bunch for the Weekend - # 91 - Colourful Parrot Tulips

I'm staying with tulips for one more week - so in this 'A Bunch for the Weekend' I'm featuring some very colourful parrot tulips.

The vase I'm using also follows on from last week - it's the well known Savoy vase designed in 1937 by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

It's always a pleasure and lots of fun to buy a bunch of flowers for the weekend and this series of blog posts, called 'A Bunch for the Weekend, will show you how you can make quick and easy flower arrangements for your home. 

Buy the flowers where it's convenient and easy for you whether that is from a flower stall, farmers' market, the supermarket or a florist. 

Always try to buy seasonal flowers - they will last longer and they will be a lot cheaper.

Make sure you condition the flowers as soon as you get home. Remove any foliage that will end up below the waterline in the vase. Trim the ends of the stems at an angle and put in fresh water as soon as possible.

Parrot tulips are a group of spectacular and flamboyant flowered cultivar of tulips. Each one is unique with its irregular shape and attractively fringed petals. The petals can also be feathered, curled, twisted or wavy.

It's believed that their name comes from their resemblance to parrots - both the feathers and the bird's beak.

The Savoy vase has a wavy shape - but the sides are straight. This particular vase is only 12 cm tall so if you cut the stems quite short it will keep the flowers very nicely contained - almost in an upright position. 

 I have styled the flowers with a selection of items in different matching red colours.

This red beaded tea-light holder is one of the many things I have found at the charity store. It gives off a glimmering glow that is beautiful at night.

The large red beads are from a bracelet that broke. I liked the individual beads - so I kept them and I have continued to enjoy them for what they are - just simple colourful beads.

The huge variety of colour and style plus the long season make tulips one of the most versatile and inexpensive flowers around. 

So why not go out and buy a bunch this weekend!

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous and floral 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. 

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Styling, photography and text © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]

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Take 3 Flowers! - # 8 - Tulips, Freesia and Eucalyptus

I'm back with another blog post in the series 'Take 3 Flowers!'

In this blog series I will show you how to make easy but beautiful and stylish flower arrangements - just using three different flowers. Often one of the three will be some kind of foliage.

Using just three flowers will sometimes be a challenge - but it will also keep the cost down. Cut flowers can be expensive but foliage on the other hand tends to be cheep - or at times you might even be able to get it from your own garden. You can use lots of it to help fill out the arrangement and to provide support and structure for the other flowers.

After all the yellow of Easter - I needed to work with a different colour - and when I found these deep dark pink tulips and pink Freesia - I knew I had the material for a colourful spring bouquet.

You'll need:

- 15 stems of colourful tulips

- 15 stems of Freesia in similar colour

- 7 stems of Eucalyptus parvifolia - a small leaved Eucalyptus

- a medium sized vase/container with a wide opening - in a neutral colour - in this case I have used a white vintage jar from Sweden

- small vase in same colour as the flowers

- a small white saucer 

- baker's twine and beads in matching colours

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors

- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

Condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. This is to reduce any growth of bacteria from deteriorating leaves. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

Cut the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.  

Put in a clean container with fresh cool water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours. This is to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.

You might have to re-cut the stems while making the final arrangement to suit the size of the vase or container and to get the right proportions.

Start off by putting the Eucalyptus foliage in the vase - evenly spread. Next put in the tulips - you can spread them evenly or group a few together to make several little focal points. Last the Freesias - use them to fill in any gaps. Cut the flowers at different heights so the bouquet has some movement - it's also nice to see the grey green foliage peek through here and there.

Make another arrangement in a small vase with the leftover foliage from the Eucalyptus - using a little vase in a matching colour to the flowers.

Also have some fun with baker's twine, a few beads and place it with the small arrangement on a little saucer - to make it feel a bit more 'special'.

Try to place the arrangement in a cool place during the nights and it will last a lot longer. Also remember that tulips continue to grow in the vase - so they will pop their heads above the other flowers over the next few days. 

I think it's always so lovely to see how an arrangement changes over time - new buds open, older flowers change colour and then fade - the life and beauty of flowers.

  

Have a Lovely Floral Monday!

See you later in the week!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 45 - Little Pretty Spring Tulips

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring an unusual little tulips. I think they are Tulipa 'Carnaval de Nice' - but I'm not absolutely sure. These are quite small and usually 'Carnaval de Nice' look the same but are twice the size. So it is an educated guess! 

You'll need:

- 10 stems of tulips

- 10 small twigs of Pittosporum foliage

- two clear glass containers - I have used a recycled jar and a small low glass bowl

- a small amount of raffia

- green and white baker's twine, three light green vintage jugs and some black beads

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors

- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

Condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. This is to reduce any growth of bacteria from deteriorating leaves. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

Cut the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.  

Put in a clean container with fresh water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours, to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.

You might have to re-cut the stems while making the final arrangement to suit the size of the vase or container and to get the right proportions.

I made a very small spiralled handtied bouquet and tied some natural raffia around the stems to hold the bouquet together.

Here is a link to a video where florists Mark Welford and Stephen Wicks show you how to do a handtied bunch.

Then there is always Sarah Raven's way of doing things a little bit different - here is a link to a post where I featured her video.

It does take a little bit of practice to do a spiralled handtied - but flowers looks just as good just simply arranged in a vase - so whatever way you do it the end-result will be good.

  

Bright spring double tulips and fresh green variegated spring foliage - maybe not your most traditional or expected combination. 

The two tulips in the little bowl are two flowers that broke while making the bouquet and I didn't have the heart to just throw them away - so I made a separate little arrangement on the side. 

On the side is a roll of bakers' green and white twine and in the back are three pastel green vintage jugs - colours that are picked up in the foliage and the black beads echoes the black stamens in the tulips.

I chose to use clear glass for containers as the flowers and the foliage had enough wild variegated colours and I liked seeing the spiralled stems through the glass.

This is very much a spring bouquet and I would love to hear what you think. Love it or maybe not?   

Have a Happy Floral Saturday and Enjoy Your Weekend!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer]

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 21 - Zinnia

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring Zinnias.

I'm in love with these Zinnias - they are just such a riot of colours and who can be in a bad mood with flowers like this around.

Zinnias are a native of Mexico and some other South American countries. They come in a wide range of colours, including white, yellow, orange, red, purple and lilac. They are loved by butterflies and hummingbirds. A lot of gardeners find them a bit tricky to grow due to a tendency to develop mould, they also hate having their roots disturbed and it's important not to sow too early - as they like it warm. 

You'll need :

- about 25 stems of Zinnias
- a medium sized container with a large opening - I have used an old vintage zinc milk pail

As always - condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase - 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.

In the final arrangement cut the stems so that the outer flowers rest on the edge of the container - then cut the rest a bit longer to create a nice dome-shaped arrangement. I removed almost all of the leaves as I wanted just a mass of colour with no foliage showing.

I also chose a neutral container for a vase - in this case a vintage zinc milk pail from my grandmothers house in Sweden. 

There are a few different types of Zinnias - but this particular one has quilled or rolled petals and they reminded me a bit of paper flowers.  

So just for fun I added a few craft things - some colourful rolled up card, some pink tissue paper, a bead necklace, some greeting cards and a few ribbons. 

The ribbons are all from Jane Means' ribbon collection. I'm one of Jane Means Ribbon Bloggers - and we feature her ribbons in some of our blog posts.  

Have a Wonderful Floral Friday!

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

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