FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Time for Bulbs!

The theme for FLOWERS this week is called 'Time for Bulbs!' 

At the farmers' market last Wednesday I found these absolutely fabulous irises called Iris 'George'. They have a dark, rich purple colour with yellow and white blotches on the petals. 

Most irises grow from what's called a rhizome - but this early flowering iris grows from a bulb. It flowers very early in the year and it will brighten up any winter garden with its plum-purple colour.   

I wanted to keep them growing in their pots - as I will later on plant them in the garden. But I needed to hide the brown plastic pot. 

I covered the bottom of the plastic pot with a plastic bag. I then wrapped the whole pot with two layers of paper. 

I did three different versions. One had dark purple with lighter coloured purple tissue paper, one had dark purple with brown tissue paper and the third had dark purple tissue combined with plain brown wrapping paper.

I tied some purple twine around one, black twine around another and a purple ribbon around the last one.

The purple ribbon is from Jane Means collection.

I also wanted to try using the Iris as a cut flower in a vase. So here I have used a little black straight-sided vase that holds the flowers upright in a tight bunch.

I have kept the colour scheme mostly in the rich purple tones with a few additions of brown and black.

Now is the time to catch these early Irises - they don't last very long - but while they are here - make the most of it!

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

You can see all our FLOWERS posts Here. 

We also have a special board over on Pinterest with images from FLOWERS.

Have a Very Happy Floral Day!

See you later in the week.

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

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

[Ribbons by Jane Means.]

FLOWERS by ingrid & titti - Spring Bulbs

The theme this week on FLOWERS is Spring Bulbs - as many of them are starting to appear both in the garden and in the shops.

They are also one of the most welcoming signs that spring is finally on its way. 

Titti and I decide on a theme a few weeks in advance so its not always easy to predict what is going to be available and in flower. We like to go with the seasons and right now most bulbs are still in tight bud - they are still beautiful but not as colourful as I wanted them to be. 

I did find some daffodils in flower - its the little mini one called Narcissus 'Tête-à-tête' - which is one of my favourite daffodils. I love it because of its small size and the fact that it often has two flowers on the same stem. It's also one of the earliest to flower in the spring.

I replanted them in a zinc planter and covered the soil and most of the bulbs with moss just to give it a neat finish. The moss I had was leftover from Christmas - still nice and green - probably because I have kept it outside in the cold. 

I also decorated the planter with some washi tape around the top edge. 

A vintage paperback book of French poems from the charity store and my Grandfathers glasses is a nice contrast to the bright yellow little daffodils.

With my second arrangement I have to admit that I cheated. The white hyacinths are not planted in the basket - instead I bought them as cut flowers and I put them in a high and wide container. The container is well hidden in the basket and as a little decoration I added a pretty ribbon on the side and a fabric in the same colour.

When you buy hyacinths as cut flowers today at the flower market, supermarket or florist they often come with part of the bulb still attached. Try not to cut or trim the ends of the hyacinths - leaving the base of the bulb intact greatly prolongs the life of the flowers.

When you leave part of the bulb on the flower they naturally will take up a lot more space in the vase. So its not going to work if you intend to make an arrangement in a narrow necked vase - in that case you need to trim the bottom of the stems. 

The height of the vase or container will also be important to consider when you are not trimming the end of the stems. They are both top and bottom heavy - so its necessary to use a vase with high sides for support. 

Here is a link to Titti's blog - HWIT BLOGG - so you can go over and see what she has done with her Spring Bulbs.

And you can also find our previous FLOWERS - here, here, here and here.

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[Ribbon from Jane Means' ribbon collection.]

[Fabric from Sarah Hardaker's fabric collection.]

[Vintage props from 'My Prop Cupboard'.]

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

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Have a Great Floral Day!

Back soon!

xoxo Ingrid

Floral Media # 15 - Tulips and Other Bulbs

On the 15 January its Tulip Day - Tulpanens Dag - in Sweden. The tulip flower is the most popular cut flower in Sweden and also one of my favourite flowers. Minna Mercke Schmidt at Blomsterverkstad photographed some stunning tulip arrangements created by Gunnar Kaj.



This is an update of a post of mine that was previously published two years ago. I'm reposting it because it gives you a little bit of the history of tulips.

Claus Dalby shows some Paperwhites planted in big planters. The bulbs are planted quite close and as a nice finish Claus has put gravel on the surface in between the bulbs. 

Erin Boyle on Gardenista shows you how to grow Lily of the Valley on a windowsill.



Miss Pickering - as she likes to call herself - is a florist and blogger, she likes to cook and has a dog she calls 'The Hound'. 
I love this wall of stacked old wooden crates in her flower shop in Stamford - full of planted and cut flowering bulbs.

[Photography: 1. © Minna Mercke Schmidt, 2. © Ingrid Henningsson, 3. © Claus Dalby, 4. © Erin Boyle, 5. © Miss Pickering.]

Have a Lovely Floral Day!

Back soon!

xoxo Ingrid