Tiny Blooms - # 40 - Pink Limonium in Mini Bud Vase

This week on 'Tiny Blooms' I'm featuring pink Limonium in a pink mini bud vase.

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

"This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms' - are about small flower arrangements. Small - might be the size of the flower or the amount of stems I'm using; or it could be the size of the container. 

It can also be that the arrangement is minimal both in presentation and that it's simple, quick and easy to do. Apart from that there are no other strict rules - I'm allowing myself a lot of creative freedom!"

While making larger arrangements you often make little off cuts that are perfectly fine but they are too short or in the wrong place. 

I always keep these little stems and make up small side arrangements. I often use something called bud vases. They can be tall and slender or you can also find short ones. They almost always have a narrow neck to hold just one flower stem. 

I'm using a short and dainty one here and I have cut the stems very short and then filled the vase with as many stems as I could fit in.

The colourful abalone shell is an interesting contrast to the arrangement and so is the wire basket filled with twine and balls of torn rags. 

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday - when I'll be back with more floral delights.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

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

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 91 - Colourful Parrot Tulips

I'm staying with tulips for one more week - so in this 'A Bunch for the Weekend' I'm featuring some very colourful parrot tulips.

The vase I'm using also follows on from last week - it's the well known Savoy vase designed in 1937 by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

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, 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.

Parrot tulips are a group of spectacular and flamboyant flowered cultivar of tulips. Each one is unique with its irregular shape and attractively fringed petals. The petals can also be feathered, curled, twisted or wavy.

It's believed that their name comes from their resemblance to parrots - both the feathers and the bird's beak.

The Savoy vase has a wavy shape - but the sides are straight. This particular vase is only 12 cm tall so if you cut the stems quite short it will keep the flowers very nicely contained - almost in an upright position. 

 I have styled the flowers with a selection of items in different matching red colours.

This red beaded tea-light holder is one of the many things I have found at the charity store. It gives off a glimmering glow that is beautiful at night.

The large red beads are from a bracelet that broke. I liked the individual beads - so I kept them and I have continued to enjoy them for what they are - just simple colourful beads.

The huge variety of colour and style plus the long season make tulips one of the most versatile and inexpensive flowers around. 

So why not go out and buy a bunch this weekend!

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. 

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.

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Tiny Blooms - # 22 - Pink and White Lisianthus

This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms' - are about small flower arrangements. Small - might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems in each container. It can also be that the arrangement is minimal both in presentation and that it's simple, quick and easy to do. Apart from that there are no other strict rules - I'm allowing myself a lot of creative freedom!

Lisianthus is an old standby - almost always available at the florist or the supermarket. Make sure most of the flowers have started to open - many of the closed buds might never open once cut. Any small bent stems with buds will not also straighten.

The flowers come with quite tall stems and they look wonderful used in taller vases. You can also cut the stems short like I have done here. 

The little vases I have used are the Lyngby Vase made by the Danish company Lyngby Porcelain. The design was released in 1936 and has become an iconic vase. It comes in several different sizes and in three colours - white, black and light grey.

The flowers are from my local supermarket and I have cut the stems short so that the flowers rest just above the edge of the vase. I have put the white flowers in the black vase and the pink flowers in the white vase - both contrasting nicely in colour and texture. 

Two little flower arrangements that are very simple, quick and easy to do. Enjoy your flower arranging! 
     

Have a Lovely Floral Monday!

I'll be back later in the week with more floral delights from 

Of Spring and Summer.

Ingrid

~ xoxo ~

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

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 67 - Lisianthus, Stock and Pittosporum

Here is the second installment of my experiment that consists of for a few weeks only buying cut flowers from the supermarkets. Have a look at my last blog post where I talk about and explain what and why I'm doing it. 

This time I went straight to Tesco - it was cold and raining and I didn't fancy getting wet. They had lots of already made up bunches of mixed flowers - but I'm more interested in bunches of just one type of flowers.

I bought two bunches of pink Lisianthus with a few white ones with a pink edge mixed in. They where dated the 10th and were looking fresh with no bruised petals - so I was happy!

All of the pink and white Lisianthus I put in a vintage jug that has a wide band around the middle in a matching pink colour. A few short stems went in a mini bud vase. 

I also bought two bunches of pink and white stock - they did have some Pittosporum foliage mixed in - which I thought would come in useful.

When I came home and unwrapped them I found that some of the flowers were not as nice and fresh as I would have liked. You couldn't see that as they were wrapped in both brown paper and cellophane - and as you can't unwrap the flowers in the store before you buy them it's a bit tricky and you might end up with flowers looking a bit sad and past their best. Shame on you Tesco! 

I made up two bunches - one with white stock and some Pittosporum foliage mixed in and a second similar one using the pink stock. For these two arrangements I also used little vintage jugs - a pink and a white one.

In a few weeks at the end of my experiment I will make a conclusion of my findings! So - stay tuned for more news on the subject!!

Enjoy Your Flower Arranging and 

Have a Fabulous Floral Friday and Weekend!

I'll see you again on Sunday with another Florets - a floral quote from someone passionate about flowers.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

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

You can also find me on:

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 52 - Pink Spray Carnations

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some bright pink spray carnations in two different pink colours.

I bought them at the big supermarket chain Tesco. I wanted to show what you can do with the type of flowers that you find at the supermarket.

You'll need:

- 20 stems of spray carnations in two different bright pink

- a medium sized jug in a contrasting colour - here I have used a light blue jug as a colour contrast to the pink

- a blue ribbon to tie around the handle of the jug

- a vintage basket full of ribbons, a blue vintage glass bottle, three blue bud vases, a blue vintage tobacco tin, a small stepping stool, a pink and white piece of fabric and a pink honeycomb pompom.  

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors

- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

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. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

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

Put in a clean container with fresh water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours, to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.

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

The bunches of flowers you see at the supermarket or petrol station often don't look very inspiring. But for very little money and not a lot of time you can make even the most mundane bunch look a whole lot better.

I bought two bunches of mixed spray carnation - in two different pink colours. As usual I conditioned them, cut them down in size and put them in a blue jug. By surrounding the jug with some pretty objects in both matching and contrasting colours you can make the flowers look that extra special.   

A basket full of beautiful ribbons and I have chosen ribbons in different blue colours from Jane Means collection of ribbons. It has always been such a pleasure to work with Jane and to be able to use her fabulous ribbons.

I have also tied a bow on the jug using one of Jane's blue ribbons. By tying a simple bow on the handle as a decoration -  you can make the arrangement look that little bit more special. 

A vintage blue glass apothecary bottle and a pink honeycomb pompom - combining old and new - both with interesting textures.

Supermarket flowers are not always a bad thing. Sometimes they are Fairtrade or even grown in your country, they are also almost always very cheep and has a 'best before date' - so you know they are fairly fresh.

Choose wisely, condition them well and with a little bit of imagination you'll end up with a beautiful flower arrangement.

Have a Great Floral Saturday and a Happy Weekend!

I will see you next week with more DIY flowers from 

'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer]
[Ribbons designed by Jane Means.]


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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 46 - Bright Yellow Daffodils

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring three different daffodils. Their botanical or Latin name are Narcissus.

The three are: 

- the small Narcissus with an orange middle is called 'Golden Dawn' 

- the single daffodil with the ruffled cup is called 'Carlton' 

- the large double daffodil is called 'Golden Ducat'.

They are all from the organic flower farm Forever Green Flower Company - so all British grown. 

You'll need:

- about 25 stems of daffodils, here I have used 9 'Golden Dawn', 9 'Carlton' and 7 'Golden Ducat' 

- a medium sized clear glass containers - I have used a clear glass apothecary jar

- three shimmering mini glass bud vases in gold, silver and green

- five little toy "spring lambs"

- a small piece of fabric - green with cream dots

- ribbon, a light yellow grosgrain stitched ribbon from Jane Means, to tie around the neck of the container

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors

- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

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. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

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

Put in a clean container with fresh water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours, to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.

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

Arrange the flowers in your hand - making a round dome-shaped bouquet - mix the flowers so that you have an even spread of the three different sized flowers throughout the arrangement.

Before you make the final cut - put the container at the edge of the work surface and hold the arrangement next to it to measure where to cut. You want the lower flowers to sit just above the edge of the container.

This arrangement is as bright as they come and really show that spring is here to stay. I certainly welcome bright yellow daffodils at this time of year - but maybe not so much yellow the rest of the year. What about you - is yellow a colour you use all year around? 

Have a Happy Floral Saturday and 

Enjoy Your Easter Weekend!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

[Ribbon by Jane Means.]

[Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.] 

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 Nikki Tibbles

"Those featured here all have a seductive, alluring quality - calla lilies, hyacinths, French tulips, arum lilies - each having a compulsion of their own. Uncluttered by leaves, they carry heavy, sensual flower heads, bowed over by the weight of their own petals. In a setting where surfaces are polished, mirrored, highly reflective, such flowers have a potent, submerging quality, with the heady, magical ability to drown the senses. Suspended in see-through vases, long-limbed stems cross and uncross; leaves unfurl in the heat and light."

~ Nikki Tibbles ~

[Nikki Tibbles: London based florist, Creative Director at the flower shop Wild At Heart and author of the book Wild At Heart.]

[Quote: from Wild At Heart by Nikki Tibbles.]

[Flowers: Five pink hyacinths.]

[Vase: Hand-blown glass vase.]

[Vintage: French linen sheet and purple glass beads.]

[Other props: Three mini bud vases and grey paper honeycomb pompom.]
[Styling and photography: © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer.]

Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

See you soon!

xoxo Ingrid