Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - # 9 - Zinnia

This time 'Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration' is all about Zinnia.

• Zinnias are native to Mexico and some other South American countries.
• They are in the Asteraceae family and resembles Asters, daisies and sunflowers.
• The Zinnia is named after the German professor in botany Johann Gottfried Zinn (1727-1759).

• They come in a vast variety of colours including hot pink, white, mustard yellow, tangerine orange, red, purple and lilac.
• There are also some varieties that has unusual muted palettes and interesting variegated colour combinations
• They are loved by butterflies and hummingbirds.

• A lot of gardeners find them a bit tricky to grow due to their tendency to develop mould. 
• They also hate having their roots disturbed and its important not to sow the seeds too early - as they like it warm.
• Zinnias are a great late summer to mid-autumn flower.

• Zinnias look fabulous in a vase just on their own. Especially the bright ones that needs nothing else.
• Here I'm featuring two different coloured Zinnias in some of the more muted colours.
• I have still used the two colours separately - but using the same vase to give some interesting colour combinations.   

The vase I've used is a vintage pewter vase - neutral in colour but still making a statement with its tall narrow shape and nice texture.

The lovely flowers are British grown by Cel Robertson on her flower farm in Norfolk called Forever Green Flower Company.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

I will be back later in the week with more floral delights from 'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Images: © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]

You can also find me on:

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/

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Floral Media - The Flower Appreciation Society Workshop and Book

'Not Your Average Florists' Anna Day and Ellie Jauncey are the team behind The Flower Appreciation Society and they have also just published their first book - The Flower Appreciation Society: An A to Z of All Things Floral.

Last Saturday I had the great pleasure of meeting the two lovely ladies, Anna and Ellie, and take part in their British Bouquet Making workshop at the GROW London contemporary garden fair on Hampstead Heath in London.

While they were checking their social media I took a few pictures of the fabulous British grown flowers they had brought in - all placed in oversized recycled pickling jars.

Every jar of flowers were a little bit different - an array of colourful British summer flowers with a few herbs mixed in.

I had already bought a copy of their lovely and fun book and they happily posed and signed it for me.

We were shown how to make a hand-tied bouquet - the kind you hold in one hand while adding the flowers with the other and the stems form a spiral. Looks easy but takes a little bit of practice to master - so every opportunity to try it is a step in the right direction. 

We all left happily carrying an oversized and wild looking flower bouquet full of seasonal colour.

Here is the final result - my bouquet at home - in a vase.

Anna and Ellie feature cut glass vases in their book and feeling inspired I went to dig out a few that I inherited from my grandmother. 

So here we are at the end of a great day - a perfect combination of beautiful summer flowers in a vintage cut glass vase.  

Enjoy your flower arranging!

Have a Great Floral Day!

I will see you later in the week with more Do-It-Yourself flowers from 'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling (image 1,7 and 8) and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer]

You can also find me on:

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ofspringsummer/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.henningsson

Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - # 8 - Sweet William Flowers

This time 'Do-It-Yourself  Flower Tips and Inspiration' is all about Sweet William flowers.

• Sweet William is the common name - the botanical name of the flowers in Latin/Greek is Dianthus barbatus.
• It's in the Caryophyllacae family commonly called the pink or carnation family .
• The first part of the name comes from the Greek di or dios meaning god or divine - referring to the Greek gods. The second part of the name anthos means flower.

• Barbatus means bearded or hairy as a small part of the flower has tiny hairs.
• Sweet William is an old-fashioned cottage garden favourite and have been grown in Britain for hundreds of years.
• The flowers has a lovely clove-like scent.

• The Duchess of Cambridge had white Sweet William in her wedding bouquet when she got married to Prince William in 2011. Kate chose the flower as a tribute to her bridegroom.
• They come in many colours - white, pink, red, purple as well as many variegated colours.
• The flowers attracts bees and butterflies. 
• The flowers are edible and have a peppery, clove like flavour and can be used in salads. 
• Cut stems between the nodes for maximum water uptake.
• They are long-lasting - about 5-10 days - and are great value for money. 

The flowers are British and grown by the brilliant Cel Robertson at Forever Green Flower Company.

I made a little bouquet entirely made up of different light pink Sweet Williams. I made a fabric ribbon from a piece of fabric in similar pink tones and tied that around the stems and I used a vintage pink jug as my vase. 

My bright pink creation for the month of June - even though it's cold and rainy here in London.

Enjoy your flower arranging!

Have a Great Floral Day!

I will see you later in the week with more Do-It-Yourself flowers from 'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson - Of Spring and Summer]
[Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.]

You can also find me on:

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ofspringsummer/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.henningsson

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Happy Midsummer!

It's the longest day of the year and Titti and I would like to wish you all a Happy Midsummer!

This is a summer bouquet with all British flowers and they are all grown by the lovely Cel Robertson on her flower farm Forever Green Flower Company in Norfolk. 

I met Cel at my local farmers' market and I buy her beautiful flowers almost every week from her stall in North West London.

It's a simple mix of summer flowers put together to look like its just picked from a country garden.

Around the neck of a plain glass vase I have tied a handful of raffia as a simple decoration to go with the country theme. 

It has a combination of blue Cornflowers, large Daisies, pink Gladiolus italicus, grasses with lovely seed-heads and lime green Alchemilla mollis. 

A perfect combination to celebrate the longest day of the year and Midsummer!

Titti Malmberg - my lovely Swedish based collaborator - who I work alongside on FLOWERS - also has a new post on her blog HWIT BLOGG - so please follow the link and go over and see what she has created.

Titti and I are taking a break over the summer and we will be back with more FLOWERS in August. 

Have a Very Happy Midsummer!

I'll see you later in the week with more flowers from 
'Of Spring and Summer'. 

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

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

[Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.]

You can also find me on:

Instagram - https://instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/

Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/ofspringsummer/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.henningsson