Florets - Floral Quote by Lotta Jansdotter

"I like to use everyday vessels rather than traditional vases in my flower displays. Many wine bottles have nice shapes and colours that work well in a groupings, for example.Or, why not use a mixture of drinking glasses, served up on a tray, and display them in the living room?
Placing a single branch or a stalk in a vessel gives a nice, clean look. 
Placing a few flowers in a bowl of water is another lovely way to make a simple arrangement."

~ Lotta Jansdotter ~ 

[Lotta Jansdotter: Scandinavian born and now based in Brooklyn, New York, designer and author.]

[Quote from: Handmade Living by Lotta Jansdotter.]

[Flowers: Alchemilla mollis and blue Agapanthus flowers.]

[Vase: Vintage pressed glass sugar bowl.]

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

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral Sunday!

I'll be back on Monday with another Flower Agenda which will be all about Alstroemeria.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

You can also find me on:

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 18 - Agapanthus Seed Pods

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring Agapanthus Seed Pods.

Maybe a bit of an unusual flower arrangement - but when I came back to my garden after my summer break all the Agapanthus flowers were over and done with. All that was left was a whole lot of wonderful seed pods and I just had to use them!
  

For the main arrangement - you'll need:
- 10-12 stems of Agapanthus with the seed pods intact
- a 25-30 cm tall vase with a not too wide opening

For the second small arrangement - you'll need:
- one stem of Agapanthus - where you'll remove all the seed pods
- a small vase with a narrow opening

I treated them as normal flowers and conditioned them as usual. The flower stems have no leaves attached so I didn't have to remove any - but as always I cut the stems at an angle and put them in a clean container with cool water for at least a few hours.

The arrangement lasts for over a week and you can also dry the stems and/or collect the seeds for propagation.

With one stem I went even further and removed all the seed pods leaving a head that looks a bit like a 'bottle brush' - giving an interesting silhouette as a single stem in a contemporary vase.

The vase is from Paradisverkstaden on the island of Öland. 

Two little props - a toy washboard that I had as a child and a candlestick carved in stone from the island of Gotland in Sweden. The stone is polished to an almost silky smooth finish to the touch.

A close-up of the single seed pods on a piece of fabric designed by Lotta Jansdotter - one of my favourite contemporary fabric designers. Lotta was born in Sweden but now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. 

Have a Great Floral Friday and a Lovely Weekend!

xoxo Ingrid

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Spring Wreath

The theme for this week of FLOWERS is 'Spring Wreath' and making a spring wreath was both a challenge and lots of fun. I wanted a wreath that I could hang on a door or in a window; or one that I could just lean against a wall. 

I also wanted a wreath that would last for more then a day - neither did I want to use oasis or make one using just twigs. 
I didn't make it very easy for myself as I imposed quite a few restrictions.

I had to think long and hard about what was available to buy or what I could find in my own garden - especially at this time of year when plants have a lot of fresh soft growth. I wanted something that would not whither away or drop their leaves but stay green for a while. 

What I ended up using was rosemary and box/Buxus sempervirens from my own garden - I knew both would last for a while without water. I also used a small amount of Alchemilla mollis flowers that lasts out of water for a few days.

I started off with a wire coat hanger that I shaped into a circle. Using the notch for cutting wires on my Felco secateurs I cut off the hook on the hanger. That part is up to you - some of you might like to keep the hook as it could be handy to use if you want to you hang it up. You could paint it or cover it with fabric.

I made little bunches of box and rosemary. Trim the stems to the same length and wrap florist's wire around the bottom of the stems. I then wired the bunches onto the coat hanger. Starting at the top right - overlapping the bunches to hide the ends - winding the wire around as you go along. When you have done the right side you do the same on the left. 

I used a bunch of Alchemilla mollis to hide the gap at the bottom - even though I later turned the wreath around so that the Alchemilla was near the top.

For some added interest I made two little arrangements to go with the wreath - the last of the pretty English bluebells and some lovely stock flowers.

I cut the stems of the bluebells very short and packed them tightly in a vintage enamelled container - that was once used to contain soda crystals.

In a Victorian blue and white floral patterned vase I stuck three stems of stock flowers. 

And I continued the blue theme with some other bits and pieces of knick-knacks - a large oval platter, a pretty mini cup my daughter gave me as a present and a contrasting checked blue and white fabric. 

My collaborator on FLOWERS - Titti Malmberg over on HWIT BLOGG is also posting about spring wreaths today - so make sure to go over and see what she is doing.

Here is also a link to all the previous FLOWERS that Titti and I have done.

Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

See you later in the week.

xoxo Ingrid

Flowers from the Flower Market - # 3 - Bluebells and Cow Parsley

I was very pleased to see that a brand new flower stall had joined my local farmers' market. So this time my 'Flowers from the Flower Market' is from Forever Green Flower Company - run by the lovely Cel Robertson and her husband Robert.
Their farm is based in Norfolk and they grow their own flowers and sell seasonal hand-tied bouquets and posies.

I loved the combination of English bluebells and cow parsley and bought three bunches.

Their flowers were very popular - they sold all but four of their bouquets on their first day at the market. A great start for Cel and Robert and for British grown flowers and I'm pleased to say that I was one of their first costumers!

While I was conditioning the flowers I separated the bluebells and the cow parsley - as I wanted to make a few different arrangements. 

In the first one I put all the bluebells in an old vintage jug from Sweden. It has little blue bell-shaped flowers on the side. The fabric is by Lotta Jansdotter.
   

I love the frothiness and simplicity of cow parsley and put all the stems in an opaque bulb vase - in my second arrangement. 

I wanted to keep everything almost white and very simple - so placing a few small vintage glass bottles with the flowers - on a little stool worked out well.

In the last arrangement - I combined all the bluebells and the cow parsley - using again the big jug and this time - wanting to make more of a statement - I placed the jug on a selection of blue and white china plates and finishing it off with a blue and white floral fabric.

Have a Wonderful Floral Wednesday!

See you later in the week!

xoxo Ingrid

FLOWERS by ingrid & titti - Tulips

I know I'm a little late - it was Tulip Day in Sweden on the 15 January and it was also National Tulip Day in Holland on the 18 January. It is the official beginning of the tulip season in both countries and the season last till the end of April.  

I love tulips and any day is tulip day for me!! I love fringed tulips, parrot tulips, single tulips, double tulips, lily flowered tulips, multi coloured tulips - almost any will do and I'm a happy bunny! 

I was excited when Titti and I decided that our theme for this our next instalment of FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - was going to be Tulips.

In the first arrangement I have used two different coloured tulips - one very pale pink and the other an almost fuchsia coloured tulip. The container is an old zink florist flower bucket that I normally use when I condition my flowers - but I liked the neutral grey against all the pink.  

I couldn't believe my luck when I was out looking for tulips I also found some waxflowers that picked up the two pink tulip colours. I used some of the waxflowers in the large arrangement and I also made three small arrangements in three mini vases. 

I added a couple of votive candle holders - it is still winter so some candle light is always nice at this time of year.  

In the other arrangement I have used the same pale pink tulips but this time mixed them with some white tulips - for a very pale pastel look. 

The vase I used is an Art Deco 1930's pale green vase with a handle - that makes it look like a jug but it is not - it would never pour very well. 

The pink and white fabric is by the Swedish designer Lotta Jansdotter - now based in Brooklyn, New York. A little light green mini glass vase picks up the green. 

Here is a link to HWIT BLOG - so you can go and have a look at Titti's lovely floral arrangements.

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Here are also links to the first two FLOWERS by ingrid and titti:

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Christmas.

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - White Flowers for New Years.

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Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

Back soon!

xoxo Ingrid

Florets - Floral Quote by Rebecca Tanqueray

"The simplest and quickest way to bring a table to life is with flowers. Not only do they add colour and interest to the scheme, but they will also give a special touch to any occasion and need not cost a great deal of money. For tabletop flowers, large structured bouquets aren't necessary. Something simple and subtle works best, even for a smart dinner. Single stems (or even just individual flowerheads) placed in glasses along the centre of the table are far more modern than a stiff, formal display."

~ Rebecca Tanqueray ~ 

[Rebecca Tanqueray - British, former Deputy Editor of Elle Decoration (UK), writer on interiors and design for newspapers and magazines; author of several books on interior design.]

[Quote from Table Style by Liz Belton and Rebecca Tanqueray.]

[Pink and purple scented stock flowers in vintage glass bulb vase. Fabrics by Lotta Jansdotter's Glimma collection from Windham Fabrics.]

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

Florets - Floral Quote by Lotta Jansdotter

" As a designer, I get a lot of inspiration from plant life and flowers, so it's only natural that I like to have floral arrangements in my house. Flowers bring beauty and tranquillity into our home. I tend to like plants that are simple in their looks and structure. Many of the floral arrangements I make are not really "arrangements" at all: I simply place a branch or a flower in a vase. Don't overcrowd the vase; less is more."

~ Lotta Jansdotter ~ 

[Lotta Jansdotter - Swedish, based in Brooklyn, New York, fabric designer and author of many design books.]

[Quote from Handmade Living by Lotta Jansdotter.]

[Alliums in laboratory glass container and a handmade white pottery vase. Fabric: Pearl Bracelet by Lizzy House for Andover Fabrics Inc.]

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