A Bunch for the Weekend - # 102 - Rustic Country

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring pink waxflowers, purple Limonium with some good old parrot tulips that you might recognise.  

Here is a little "statement" that I add - to briefly explaining my thinking behind these particular posts:

"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, I 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."

After conditioning the flowers let them rest for a few hours or overnight just to give them time to absorb as much water as possible. If you are able to keep them in a cool place even better.

I have covered the table with a length of hessian fabric - leaving the cut edges 'raw' to give that overall feel of rustic country.

The two rustic terracotta jars are from Turkey. I bought them from a shop selling terracotta pots in all shapes and sizes right around the corner from my house. The shop was closing down and selling everything very cheap.

One has handles and the other one is a bit shorter and rounder and they are both perfect for flower arrangements. 

I bought the little green watering can at Chelsea Flower Show last year - but had not tried to use it for flowers yet. I put it under the tap to fill it with water and instead of filling up it started within seconds to leaking like a sieve. It just made me laugh as it was totally unexpected.  

The Limonium and the waxflowers are usually used as fillers for mixed flower arrangements. I thought they looked lovely together and mixed two bunches of each in the tall terracotta jar.

Filler flowers are usually sold for a lower price so perfect if you are on a budget. Lots of flowers and lots of colour for very little money. A perfect combination and a win, win situation!

Here is another image of the notorious watering can!

The deep pink parrot tulips I had used before in a previous blog post. They lasted for ages and I decided to use them again for this post. 

Here I simply swapped the container and put them instead in a matching terracotta jar. They looked perfect sitting in the background  of my 'Rustic Country' scene.

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 morning with another 'Florets - a floral quote by someone passionate about flowers. 

I'm looking forward to seeing you back here then.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Styling, photography and text © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
[Flowers: Rich pink parrot tulips, purple Limonium and pink waxflowers.]
[Vase/Container: Vintage rustic terracotta jars.]

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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.

P. S. If you are looking for more floral inspiration you can go over and have a look at my Pinterest boards. I now have just over 12 000 followers and around 200 boards all relating to flowers, flower styling and flower arranging. There are boards on individual flowers and shows how to arrange them. Other boards show different ways of using vases and containers. Simply click on the link below and it will take you straight there.

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

Florets - Floral Quote - # 139 - by Paula Pryke

'Florets - Floral Quote' is a series of blog posts where I feature quotes by authors - mostly well known but you will also find some obscure ones.

All of them have written one or several books about flowers, gardening, interior styling or interior design. Many are experts in their field but what is the most important is that they are all passionate about flowers.

I love books and in my ever growing library I look for quotes that I hope will be both helpful and useful for everybody who is arranging and styling flowers.

"Bright yellow is the happiest colour of the spectrum and it is no coincidence that yellow daffodils are the most popular cut flower. Some of my favourite bright yellows include ranunculus, mimosa and forsythia. I prefer to use yellow flowers monochromatically - mixed with other shades of yellow - as its brightness and lightness can dominate other flowers in mixed coloured arrangements. Also I like to team up yellow flowers that have dark brown centres (like sunflowers) with deep brown foliage and flowers. On the colour wheel, the opposite of yellow is violet and mixing yellow with purple or blue works well."

~ Paula Pryke ~ 

[Paula Pryke OBE: British, London based florist, founder of Paula Pryke Flower Shop and School; and author of sixteen books.]

[Quote from: Living Colour  (2001).]

[Flowers: Daffodils.]
[Container: Vintage basket.]

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

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Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous and floral Sunday!

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back next week with more floral delights from Of Spring and Summer.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Styling 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.

*****

P. S. If you are looking for more floral inspiration you can go over and have a look at my Pinterest boards. I have almost 12 000 followers and I have just over 200 boards all relating to flowers, floral styling and flower arranging. There are boards on individual flowers and shows how to arrange them. Other boards show different ways of using vases and containers. Simply click on the link below and it will take you straight there.

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 98 - Golden Acacia

It's rare that I feature yellow flowers on the blog - apart from maybe yellow daffodils at springtime. A time when we are all craving a boost of bright colour.

This time it's a bunch of very bright Golden Acacia or Mimosa as it's also called.

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, I 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.

What you see here - this bunch of unmistakably yellow flowers - just appeared in my kitchen one morning. Our daughter had just had a birthday and a very good friend had given this bunch to her. 

I became the lucky carer and handler and was determined to do a little photo shoot using the Acacia.  

I liked the idea of a rustic Mediterranean feel to the whole thing and thought it would be appropriate to use old terracotta, hessian sacks, a small vintage watering can, an old tile and a vintage basket. 

All the natural colours of the props worked well in contrast with the sharp yellow of the Mimosa.

And our daughter was very happy with the arrangement!

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. I'll see you back here then.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Styling, photography and text © 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.

P. S. If you are looking for more floral inspiration you can go over and have a look at my Pinterest boards. I have nearly 12 000 followers and I have just over 200 boards all relating to flowers, flower styling and flower arranging. There are boards on individual flowers and shows how to arrange them. Other boards show different ways of using vases and containers. Simply click on the link below and it will take you straight there.

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Late Summer Palette

FLOWERS is a series of blog posts that Titti Malmberg, of HWIT BLOGG, and I create a couple of times a month. Each time we work to a theme and we post at the same time.

We met on the internet and became friends. Titti lives just outside the beautiful coastal town of Karlskrona in Sweden, and I live in London, a vibrant big city.

In FLOWERS blog posts we share inspiring tips and ideas, and show that arranging flowers does not have to be difficult and expensive.

This time on 'FLOWERS by ingrid and titti' -  the theme is 'A Late Summer Palette'. 

Autumn has such an amazing colour palette and these two Dahlias are no exception. As a third little side arrangement I used a jam jar where I added a few stems of pink Sedum and a few little short stems of dark Cotinus foliage. Both from my garden. 

I also gathered some golden hops from my garden and displayed them in a little basket. 

The big leaves are from a plant called Vitis coignetiae. It's a very vigorous climber that can grow several meters each season - so you need to give it plenty of room to grow. The leaves turns bright red later on in the autumn. 

Later flowering Dahlias will mix well with autumn berries and autumn coloured leaves. Dahlias are not very long-lasting but while they are flowering they are magnificent. So enjoy them while you can! These Dahlias are from Forever Green Flower Company.

I have used two vintage giant pickling jars for the Dahlias. The two small wicker baskets with handles and the hessian adds to the late summer palette.

My collaborator Titti Malmberg over in Sweden has also been busy creating a post with the same autumnal theme. So why not pop over to her blog, HWIT BLOGG, and see what beautiful creations she has come up with. 

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.]
{Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.]

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

Take 3 Flowers! - # 5 - Tulips and Hypericum

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

Where 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. You can use lots of it to help fill out the arrangement and to provide support and structure for the other flowers.

I'm using three different red tulips - all within the red colour spectrum - and to that I have added Hypericum - that will supply both foliage and berries.

I know - I'm breaking the rules a little bit - it's 4 rather than just 3 flowers.  

To tell you the truth it was a special deal on the tulips - three bunches for the price of two and who can resist a special deal? I just thought: "The more the merrier...."

You'll need: 

- 10 stems of dark red tulips

- 10 stems of red and orange tulips

- 10 stems of dark red parrot tulips

- 5 stems of Hypericum

- a vase or container in a contrasting or matching colour - in my case I have used a brown vintage pickling jar from the company Höganäs in Sweden

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- florists snippers or scissors

- a florist bucket

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.

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

Put in a clean container with tepid water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours before making the final arrangement.

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

Start by arranging the Hypericum around the edge of the container - they will kind of embrace the tulips and make a nice edging. Then mix the three different tulips evenly in the middle - keep as many leaves as you possibly can on the tulips to make the arrangement look fuller.

The container I have used is a vintage pickling jar from my grandmother in Sweden. The dark shiny brown is a great contrast to all the red. I have surrounded the arrangement with some hessian fabric, some raffia, natural twine, pieces of wrinkly brown paper and a vintage wooden measuring stick. The red is picked up in some toy spades and a small garden fork. 

Most tulips don't have very long stems - so if you want some height don't cut too much off the bottom. Keep them pretty even in height and make a nice slightly domed shape. 

Tulips do continue to grow in the vase - some more than others - so if you want the arrangement to continue looking the same you will have to trim the stems at the same time as you change the water in the vase. Or you can leave the tulips to do their own thing - both ways works - tulips are always beautiful whatever you do.

Tulips are looking really fresh right now and they are also very cheep - if it's the same where you live - just grab the opportunity to get some fabulous looking tulips and start making your own arrangements.

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 - # 26 - Ornamental Cabbage and Chrysanthemums

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring Ornamental Cabbage and four different Chrysanthemums.

I love the ornamental cabbages that you can find at this time of year and I wanted to use some of the green ones and combine them with white and green Chrysanthemums. I wanted to make three small, low arrangement using some old jars leaving the green and white to be the dominant colours. 

You'll need:

- 3 stems of Ornamental Cabbage - in this case the variegated green kind

- an assorted selection of white and green Chrysanthemums

- 3 neutral coloured jars - the ones I'm using are vintage cream coloured jars, but they could also be glass jam jars

- some brown wrapping paper, baking parchment and some hessian fabric

- a handful of clothing pegs and some natural twine

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- florists snippers or scissors

- a florist bucket

  

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.

You need to cut all the stems quite short as the jars are not very tall. Place one cabbage in each jar - the lower leaves should rest on the edge of the jar. If you are able to find more than one kind of Chrysanthemum - put two or three in each jar and mix them up - so that each jar is a bit different 

I tide some natural coloured twine around the neck of the jar and just made a simple double knot - leaving the long ends to trail down the side. 

I added a few textured but neutral coloured pieces of paper and fabric - for the whole arrangement to sit on. A piece of hessian also called burlap - with frayed edges.

Add extra texture with some brown wrapping paper, a few sheets of baking parchment and some clothing pegs.

Use the arrangement down the middle of a dining table - on a side or coffee table - together or separately.

This arrangement definitely says autumn by using ornamental cabbage and Chrysanthemums - being two classic autumn flowers - but it's also has a light and airy feel to it.  

Have a lovely Floral Friday and a Happy Weekend!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

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