FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Flowers in August

My Swedish collaborator Titti Malmberg and I are back with a new season of FLOWERS.

Over the spring and summer there has been quite a lot of changes in Titti and my lives. Titti has made a move - away from the island of Öland - where she had lived for many years. She has moved a bit further south on the mainland but still lives along the coast.

I have started to train as a florist and did a Certificate in Floral Design during the spring. I will continue with a more advanced level soon. In the summer months we have had some long overdue work done on our house and garden and at times it has been like living on a building site - but hopefully it will look great once its all done.

The theme for this FLOWERS is 'Flowers in August' - and I have chosen to feature three late summer flowers - Dahlias, Sedum and Snapdragons.

I still have limited access to all my props and my 'photography studio' - but I was able to find a pretty basket, a large glass jar and two white vases.

Using a basket to display your flowers in you will need to put the flowers in a waterproof container of some sort. I just used a low wide glass jar. The flowers look pretty just resting on the edge of the basket.

The light pink Snapdragons or Antirrhinum, which is the botanical name, is a lovely contrast to the dark pink Dahlias and the still green Sedum.

I arranged the large pink and yellow Dahlias in two vintage vases. The two white vases are the same colour, has narrow necks and both has deep ridges all the way around but they have different shapes.

The Dahlias came with plenty of leaves and quite a few buds - but I removed all that as I just wanted the large flowers. I also cut the stems short as I wanted the flowers to sit just above the top of the vase.

I used three Dahlias in each vase - remember the rule of uneven numbers - use three, five or seven flowers - it looks more natural and is easier on the eye.

Three flower heads fitted snugly in the neck of the vase and gives the arrangement a feeling of being large and generous.  

The last arrangement is a little bit of an exploration on an idea that I had. I started off with a very large straight-sided vintage pickling jar. 

I divided up the flowers and cut the stems three different lengths. I filled the jar with just a little bit of water. The short ones went in the bottom of the jar, the medium length went half way up the jar and the longest at the top. 

The longer stems are hidden by the shorter flowers - so what you have is 'a jar full of flowers'. This is not an arrangement that will last very long. Flowers needs air circulating around them so you run the risk of of the flowers inside the jar going a bit 'soggy'. But its a fun and different way of displaying flowers.  

Please, go over to HWIT BLOGG and have a look at how Titti has interpreted the theme of 'Flowers in August'. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

I will be back soon with more floral delights.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 39 - Hot Pink Hyacinths

'A Bunch for the Weekend' is a few days earlier than usual - it's Valentine's Day on Saturday and Titti Malmberg and I are posting another FLOWERS on that day.

So today on this weeks 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some hot pink Hyacinths.

You'll need:

- 10 stems of Hyacinths in a hot pink colour

- a very large pickling jar with high sides - this one is a vintage one from Sweden.

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- florists snippers or scissors

- a florist bucket

There are a few things that you need to do differently when it comes to Hyacinths. A few years ago you only really grew Hyacinths from bulbs - often because you didn't have the option to buy Hyacinths as cut flowers. Even if you did find some they didn't last very long.

At some point something changed and today you can easily find Hyacinths as cut flowers. What is different with them though is that they come with part of the bulb still attached. At the bottom of the stem where the whole bulbs used to be is now just a round plug. What is left of the bulb keeps feeding the flower and it stays fresh for much longer.

All you need to do is to tidy up any broken or loose leaves and re-cut the bottom of the round bulb end with a knife.

Just add enough water to cover the plug and remember to keep changing the water every two days.  

You also need to take into consideration that the flower stems take up a lot more space in the vase or container - so you need to use a vase with quite a wide neck.

Like I have done here - it's a vintage pickling jar that I bought some years ago in Sweden at a 'loppis' - the Swedish equivalent to flea market or car-boot sale. 

The high sides of the jar also keeps the Hyacinths sitting straight up - preventing the heavy flower heads from bending over as they quite often do. The clear glass highlights the beautifully coloured stems and even the bulb plug becomes part of the arrangement. 

I wanted the hot pink colour of the flowers to really stand out - so I have just added more clear glass jars and bottles - all with little funny stoppers and a platter with flowers picking up the colour in the Hyacinths.

Just like with tulips - NOW starts the season to enjoy all the beautiful Hyacinths!    

Have a Happy Floral Day and Enjoy the Rest of the Week!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 19 - Red and Orange Dahlia

There are so many wonderful Dahlias around at the moment - so this will be a week of Dahlias. It's that time of year and I'm not complaining - I love Dahlias. I wished they would last longer in the vase - but you cant't have everything.

So here we go again with some more - so on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' this week I'm featuring some striking red and orange Dahlias.

I chose a clear glass container to use as a vase. It's a vintage pickling jar that I bought at a 'loppis' in Sweden for not a lot of money. 'Loppis is the Swedish equivalent to flea-market or car-boot sale.

I love the dark colour of the stems on these Dahlias - they are such an interesting contrast to the red and orange. And I also love how you can see the stems criss-crossing through the clear glass - making a pattern all on their own. 

I find that you often never know if a Dahlia bud is going to open up or not. The tighter the bud the less likely it is to open up and develop into a flower. Sometimes they open just a little bit - like the ones in the picture - it's all very unpredictable. But mostly you'll get the advice that once cut the Dahlia buds will not open.

Buds are decorative in their own right and there is no need to discard them completely. It all depends what look you are after. A mass of just big Dahlia heads of flowers or an arrangement dotted with buds - breaking up the sea of colour. Buds or no buds - both are worth trying.

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.

Have a Wonderful Floral Friday!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid