FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Autumn Lovely Autumn

Autumn is such a lovely time of year - it's a new beginning just like spring - only in a different way. And that is what this blog post is about. So just bear with me and I will get to it!

There is an abundance of gorgeous autumn flowers at the flower markets and flower stalls.  

A lot of them in golden or burnt orange colours. Yellow is also prevalent with a few touches of rusty red and burgundy.  

I stayed within that colour scheme when I picked out my props - a beaded rusty red necklace, a vintage child's hanger wound with orange silk thread, a bowl of beads and two spoons. 

The funny looking animal is from South America and was a gift from my dear in-laws bought on their travels. I've never been able to figure out what kind of animal it's suppose to be - but it always puts a smile on my face.

The pale yellow ribbon is from Jane Means' Ribbon Collection.

The fluffy vivid orange flowers are called Safflowers or Carthamus. They resemble a thistle but are much softer to the touch.

The vintage sugar bowl is from the 1930's  and comes from my grandmother's house in Sweden. 

The bright yellow fluffy flowers are called Golden Rod or Solidago. Good value for money and a great filler in bouquets.

Here is a close-up of the red necklace, the amber coloured beads and the patterned little vinyl spoons.

The dark berries are St John's Wort or Hypericum. They are great to use as a contrast and will complement and look good with lots of different flowers.

Orange and yellow contemporary fabrics works well with vintage cutlery and china.

What I now would like to announce is another new beginning. Titti and I will be taking a break from FLOWERS. 

Titti and I have collaborated for quite a while now doing what we've called FLOWERS - floral themed projects that we posted on our blogs. One post by me in London and one by Titti in Sweden - same theme but two different interpretations. 

It's been lots of fun, often challenging, never boring, lots of colour, many unusual containers and let's not forget lots and lots of flowers!! 

We are now both working on new ideas, work is on the way to go down new paths, new projects and of course they are all floral!

Both Titti and I will continue to blog as usual on Of Spring and Summer and HWIT BLOGG.

I would like to thank you for being loyal visitors and many thanks for all your sweet comments. I hope that we have been able to inspire you in making your own flower arrangements.

Big hugs from Ingrid and Titti

Pop over to Tittis blog, HWIT BLOGG and have a look at what she is showing.

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 - floral quotes by passionate flower lovers.

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

[Styling, text and photography © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
[Ribbon from Jane Means' Ribbon Collection.]

P. S. Did you know that you can subscribe to receive a notification via email whenever I have a new blog post. Just fill in your email address at the top of my blog on the right.

For more floral inspiration you can follow me on:

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Lovely Herbs

Titti and I are back, after a summer break, with another FLOWERS. This time it's all about herbs and other related things.

Herbs are such a pleasure to work with, to grow in the garden, to add to your cooking and to drink as herbal teas. 

Lavender is both lovely to grow as a plant in the garden but can also be added to both sweet and savory recipes. It can also be used dried in little sachets to scent your cupboards.  

We might not think of hops as a herb but it's used for making beer. I grow it in my garden, not for making beer, but for it being a great and very fast climber. 

My favourite is one called Humulus lupulus 'Aureus', I love saying that name, it kind of rolls off the tongue. It's also called Golden Hops - because of the colour of the leaves. Every season it grows several meters. so you need to give it lots of space. You cut it down every autumn and it then starts growing again in the spring. 

Dried flowers stems can be used for decorating, both as swags and for table decorations.

Here I have used the fresh stems and leaves as table decorations. They will wilt after a couple of hours depending how hot it is. I couldn't resist them - they are so pretty with lots of colour and texture. 

These stems doesn't have any flowers yet - they will come later. 

Vitis vinifera or grape vine is the plant that gives us wine - here represented by a bottle of wine and a small glass. 

There are a few vines that are very nice garden plants - Vitis vinifera 'Purpurea' and Vitis coignetiae - both vigorous climbers with colourful leaves in the autumn and both produce grapes - but unfortunately not very palatable.

The pattern on the three vintage dinner plates is called 'Vinranka', which is Swedish for 'grapevine'. The pattern was designed by Arthur Percy, a Swedish designer. It depicts grapevine leaves in different sizes as well as grapes and was first shown in 1955. 

A few books about herbs is always handy - finding out how to grow them as well as other interesting facts. I know nowadays you can find all that on the internet - I just happen to be a big book lover. There is just something special about holding a book and flipping through the pages - reading the text and looking at beautiful photographs.

Growing culinary herbs is easy and gives a lot of pleasure - especially like here lavender temporarily in a zinc container. But as soon as I'm done with using them as props I'm going to plant them out in the garden and they will give me enjoyment for years to come.

Titti Malmberg - my 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.

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.]

P. S. Did you know that you can subscribe to receive a notification via email whenever I have a new blog post. Just fill in your email address at the top of my blog on the right.

For more floral inspiration you can follow me on:

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

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

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - It's Time for Flowers!

Here is another FLOWERS from Titti Malmberg and and the theme is 'It's Time for Flowers'. Well as far as I'm concerned it's always the right time for flowers. But spring is a particularly special time of year with an explosion of stunning flowers.

I'm featuring another variation of gorgeously scented stock and sweet peas. This time in beautiful pink colours.

The stems of the flowers were very long and like made for a large and generous arrangement. So this time I used an oversized vintage pickling jar and positioned each stem at a diagonal in the container. The flower went to one side leaning on the edge of the vase and the bottom of the stem to the other side at the bottom of the jar.

I started with the more sturdy stock flowers arranging them around the edge of the container followed by the sweet peas. It's quite easy to feed the narrow sweet pea stems through the stock flowers. You need to be a little bit careful as the stems are delicate and the flowers are fragile and just space them evenly throughout the arrangement. 

As always a few little props - this time a small vase in a matching colour and some books about the very interesting fashion designer Issey Miyake.

In the background is a bright pink watering can - I might add that is has never been used in the garden! I wonder why? Maybe because it would not look nice for very long.

Don't hesitate to use the same flowers over and over again. With a little bit of creating thinking and some variation in colour and size as well as using different vases and containers - you can make the arrangements look quite different. Also think about adding some interesting props that either matches or contrasts the flowers. 

If you go over to Titti's blog you can see her interpretation of this week's theme. Here is the link to her blog. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a lovely floral day!

Titti and I will be back in June with some more FLOWERS with new and interesting themes.

Did you know that you can subscribe to receive a notification via email whenever I have a new blog post. Just fill in your email address at the top of my blog on the right.

You can also follow me on:

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

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

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Welcome to the Month of May!

It's the beginning of May, one of the prettiest months of the year here in the UK. The flower stalls are full of spring flowers in every colour imaginable. 

I could'n believe my luck when I found these beautiful stocks and sweet peas in almost the same delicate light purple or mauve colour. 

The sweet pea petals are almost translucent and together with the stocks the two flowers create this kind of frothy mass of irresistible beauty. 

In my garden I grow a perennial called Polemonium 'Lambrook Mauve' and it turned out to be a perfect match with the two other flowers. The common name for it is Jacob's ladder. Its a great ground-cover that in my garden, here in London, is evergreen and the bell-shaped little flowers is a welcome sight every year. 

For this delicately coloured bouquet I have kept the background as well as all the vintage props white or off-white. I just wanted the flowers to stand out and give them center of attention.

If you go over to Titti's blog you can see her interpretation of this weeks theme. Here is the link to her blog. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a lovely floral day!

Titti and I will be back later in May with another FLOWERS and a new theme.

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 - Floral Sweeties

Spring is in progress and we'll see more and more colour. This weeks theme for FLOWERS is called 'Floral Sweeties'. Both Titti and I love flowers and we both love colour.

This bunch of very bright tulips is like a mixed bag of colourful sweets.  In it are red, yellow, orange and purple flowers of about 5-7 of each colour.

I used an old favourite vase from Sweden in a very neutral colour. I removed any broken or bruised leaves - but left one or two leaves on each flower as I wanted it to look full and generous.

Always cut the ends as soon as you get the flowers home and put them straight in water. They are going to need a good drink after having been out of water for a while.

I made a collage of lots of colourful fabric swatches with dots and chevron patterns. My daughter found them and gave them to me a while ago. She thought I would like them and be able to use them as props and this was the perfect opportunity. The fabrics are all in bright colours just like the flowers.

I stuck the fabrics on the background with washi tape. That Japanese paper tape that was so popular a few years ago. Using this kind of tape means I can easily take the collage apart and use the fabrics again.

Working on this post made me realize how much I love colour and that they make me happy. All kinds of colours - strong, bright colours as well as more muted pastels.

I think I will remember this post as 'My Happy Post'!  

I know spring has arrived in the south of Sweden too - were Titti lives - I can't wait to see what she's going to show us this time. Here is the link to her blog. 

Have a lovely floral day!

We'll be back next month with a new theme and another 'FLOWERS'. Before that I'll see you soon.

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 Christmas!

I would like to wish everybody a very Happy Holidays!

SEASON'S GREETINGS!

GOD JUL!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Have a Happy and Floral Christmas!

Titti over on HWIT BLOGG is also wishing you a Happy Christmas and God Jul.

Ingrid

~ XOXO ~

[Styling and Photography: © Ingrid Henningsson II Of Spring and Summer.

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Flowers and Candles

The theme for FLOWERS this week is 'Flowers and Candles' - very appropriate for this time of year and it being so close to Christmas.

Christmas can come in many different colours - here are some inspirational images using quite colourful flowers and fabrics - mixing new with vintage and some subtle hints of Christmas! 

This first pink arrangement has a mix of tulips, hyacinths and Ranunculus in a metal container.

For each image I have included - some flowers or foliage in vase or container, a contemporary patterned fabric and a candle holder that is either a candle stick or a tealight holder. This very simple arrangement consists of grey-green Eucalyptus foliage in a white Bertil Vallien Kosta Boda vase.

I have of course also included some small Christmas decorations - such as a couple of different wreaths in the background, some vintage golden Christmas tree baubles, as well as some new silver mini baubles.

Even this black and white fabric has snowflakes on it! 

The flowers are some dark pink Anemones in a matching pink glass vase. I have used this arrangement in a previous post - but here added the pink tea-light and vintage baubles.

This last arrangement has some Hyacinths on their own in a vintage zinc coffee pot.

I hope you have enjoyed my little bit of a different or alternative way of decorating for Christmas. There really is no wrong way of doing it - it's whatever takes your fancy and whatever makes you happy that is the most important!

Please, go over to Titti's blog and take a look at how she has interpreted the theme this week. Here is the link to her blog HWIT BLOGG.

I will be back on Sunday with another Florets - floral quotes by flower lovers.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling 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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Moody Hues

Well, the theme for this weeks FLOWERS is 'Moody Hues' and when looking around in magazines and on the internet - dark and moody colours - are pretty much everywhere today.

You'll find the darker colours being used in flower arrangements - especially now during the late autumn and winter season. 

I have created a whole board on Pinterest that is called 'Moody Flowers' with over fifty different flower arrangement using flowers in darker colours. Here is the link.

Paint companies like Farrow and Ball have developed darker more dramatic tones in the last few years. Colours such as Railings, Mole's Breath and Down Pipe are some of their darker and moody colours.

Stylists like Hans Blomquist often works with darker colours and in his book In Detail he shows lots of different ways of using dark colours in interesting ways.

In the first arrangements I have simply used very, dark Dahlias in two different red colours and set them against lots of black props.

In the second arrangement I'm using deep dark almost black Dahlias and as a contrast I have used long Eucalyptus branches with grey-green foliage . 

In the last arrangement I picked a double tulip in an interesting colour combination called Tulipa 'Orange Princess'. The flowers looked even moodier  paired with more orange and brown colours.

Please, go over to Titti's blog and take a look at how she has interpreted the theme this week. Here is the link to her blog HWIT BLOGG

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

I will be back on Sunday with another Florets - floral quotes by flower lovers.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling 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