Flowers of the Month - May 2017

Today is the last day of May and it's time for another round-up of what I have been up to this last month. 

In 'Flowers of the Month' I feature all the different flowers and floral arrangements that I styled, photographed and posted exclusively on my blog 'Of Spring and Summer'.

I post about four times a week so by the end of the month I have quite a few images to look back on.

The title of the post under the image - is also a link to the post - if you would like to see it again or you missed it.

At the end of the post is a little message to all of you! 

3 May - Creative with Flowers - Pink Ranunculus

5 May - A Bunch for the Weekend - Bluebells

7 May - Florets -Floral Quote - Sweet Peas and Clematis

10 May - Creative with Flowers - A Flower in a Bottle

12 May - A Bunch for the Weekend - A Few Late Tulips 

14 May - Florets - Floral Quote - Forget-Me-Nots and Grape Hyacinths

17 May - Creative with Flowers - Pale Purple Sweet Peas

19 May - A Bunch for the Weekend - Pink Peonies

21 May - Florets - Floral Quote - White Rose and Solomon's Seal

24 May - Creative with Flowers - Purple Stock Flowers

26 May - A Bunch for the Weekend - Pale Pink Anemones

28 May - Florets - Floral Quote - Pink Roses

29 May - Tiny Blooms - Pale Pink Ranunculus

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer'.

I also wanted to tell you that I'm now taking a few months off from posting on my blog. It is a little bit longer than usual but a lot of big changes are taking place right now that takes up a lot of my time. All good - just time consuming! 

Have a wonderful summer holiday and I will see you back here in the autumn. 

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 around 12 400 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/

Creative with Flowers - # 42 - Pale Purple Sweet Peas

This week on 'Creative with Flowers' - I'm featuring Sweet Peas surrounded with props in similar colours.

This is a little "statement" that I add to the post - briefly explaining my thinking behind the posts:

"This series of blog posts - called 'Creative with Flowers' - are about using flowers in new and creative ways. It could be about how the flowers are combined - maybe in a little bit of an unusual way. It might be the choice of vase - maybe not a vase at all but a container that could be anything from jugs, bottles, jars, tins or teapots - vintage or new it doesn't matter. 

As always my arrangements will be quick and easy - and there will always be lots and lots of colour!"

Sweet Peas or Lathyrus odoratus as they are also called - is a favourite summer flower. They do not have a long vase life - BUT their beauty and scent makes up for that.

The botanical name comes from the Greek lathyros for pea or pulse and odoratus for fragrant. Simply - 'fragrant pea' so a perfect name for the little flower.

I painted the small vintage shelf the other day - it used to be dark brown - really too dark to work as a prop - this lighter colour is much better. 

I love the little cup made by the Swedish potter Lotta Zerrander. I always visit her studio, workshop and gallery, out in the countryside, whenever I'm in Sweden.

The lovely cake tin is also from Sweden - bought in an antique shop in the part of south-east corner of  Sweden called Österlen. 

Sweet Peas are lovely just on their own but can also be mixed with Alchemilla mollis, Nigella or Scabiosa. Or try them with other delicate summer flowers.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back on Friday with another 'A Bunch for the Weekend'. 

I'm looking forward to seeing you here then - a new post bright and early first thing in the morning. As usual a new colourful flower arrangement made with fresh flowers.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Flowers: Pale mauve Sweet Peas - from my favourite local street flower stall in North West London.]

[Vase/Container: A vintage glass jar - from one of the many London antique markets. 

[Other props: A vintage painted wooden shelf, a white and light purple patterned fabric, a cup by the potter Lotta Zerrander based in Sweden, a vintage cake form and three vintage cream ware jars - all from stylist's own prop collection.]

[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 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/

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 109 - Mauve Sweet Peas

It's time to do a little bit of planning for the weekend and to buy some flowers is ALWAYS a good idea! 

Hello, that is why I do this blog series called 'A Bunch for the Weekend'.......

Here is a little "statement" that I add - to briefly explain 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 in 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, easy and most affordable 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."

I always feel that there is something very special about sweet peas. 

The ruffled shape of the petals, the almost endless range of colours and their intense sweet scent - are some of the reasons for these flowers being so popular. 

I have simply put twenty stems of of sweet peas all the same colour in a vintage French Pernod glass bottle. I found the bottle at a car boot sale in Suffolk a couple of years ago. I love the texture and the shape of the bottle.

All I had to do before putting them in the glass container was to trim the stems - so very quick and easy!  

I borrowed three sea urchin shells from my daughter. They match the colour of the flower petals perfectly. The very thin muslin adds some interesting texture to the image.

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 new floral quote by someone passionate about flowers. 

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Flowers: Pale mauve sweet peas from my favourite local street flower stall in North West London.]

[Vase/Container: A vintage French cafe Pernod glass bottle - bought at a car boot sale in Suffolk.]

[Other props: A vintage basket, a cup made by the Swedish potter Lotta Zerrander, three sea urchin shells and some muslin fabric - all from stylist's own prop collection.]

[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 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 boards showing how to arrange flowers. 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 - 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