From the Archives - January 2016 - Pink Spring Flowers

This post is part of a new blog series called 'From the Archives'. It will be previously posted blog posts that I feel are still relevant for some reason or another. 

It will always be a post from the same calendar month as we are in or it could be some of my favourite flowers from the same season - that still lifts my spirit. 

Flowers are so ephemeral - but their beauty caught on camera never fades.........!!

It's a very pink bunch for the weekend this week - a bunch of pale pink tulips, some small pink gerbera, a bunch of bright pink ranunculus and some beautiful and very pink hyacinths.

As a vase I used a small vintage pickling jar - this one has a funny little strawberry and some lettering in the glass. It has tall straight sides and I also needed something that had a wide opening but that would hold the flowers in a compact shape.

I was also looking for something that would raise the arrangement off the table and I thought a pail of books would do the trick. On my bookshelves I found six books that all had pink spines to match the pink flowers.  

I also added a piece of chevron pink and white fabric, a small pink vase and a large vintage pink and green floral patterned bowl in the background.

  

 I have chosen flowers within a very tight colour palette - but the flowers are very different in size, shape and texture to still give a varied and interesting arrangement. 

It's such a pleasure and privilege to be able to have access to beautiful flowers at this time of year. A time of year when the weather is still dark, grey, cold and rainy even snow outside our windows - so what a treat to have flowers to arrange, style and photograph!

I hope this might have inspired you to find some flowers in a monochrome colour scheme and make an arrangement for the weekend.

Have a lovely floral weekend! 

xoxo Ingrid

Florets - Floral Quote - # 141 - by Vic Brotherson

'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.

" A collection of small glass bottles (condiments or perfume bottles are perfect) is an indispensable quick -fix for a table decoration or an awkward narrow shelf and the best part is they are economical to fill. Top them up with water and arrange on the table to ensure you get different heights and then fill them with a mix of roses.

When filling the bottles make sure all the stems touch the base of the vases, otherwise they can become top heavy (one of my pet hates). Also, try to ensure the stems run cleanly and simply beneath the flowerheads, as this is much more pleasing to the eye."

~ Vic Brotherson ~  

[Vic Brotherson: Top London florist, founder of the flower shop Scarlet and Violet in North West London and author of two books Vintage Flowers (2011) and Vintage Wedding Flowers (2014).]

[Quote: From Vic's first book Vintage Flowers.]

[Flowers: I have used a mix of two different pink tulips - the stems are cut very short. All flowers from my local flower stall in North London.]

[Vases/Containers: A collection of vintage blue ink bottles bought from various London antique markets over the years.]

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

*****

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back tomorrow morning with another Floral Media - a brand new video showing how to make a simple floral arrangement. 

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

*****

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/

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous and floral Valentine's Day!

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Flowers: 10 tulip stems from my local flower stall. Cut very short, leaving very little foliage then packed tightly into the cup.]

[Vase/Container: Ceramic cup by Lotta Zerrander, Swedish potter.]

[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 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 - # 32 - In the Pink Zone!

The beautiful tulips just keep coming - and this time it's all about being in the pink zone. It's a very gentle and soft pink - the tulip petals look like they have been stroked with a brush of pink paint.

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!

I had bought the cherry blossoms the day before - but was still thinking about what to combine them with. I thought some pink tulips would be perfect - so the next day I went out to find some. 

I went to my usual flower stall - that is about 5 minutes from my house and asked if they had any pink tulips - as I could not see any. The guy went off for a while and this is what he came back with and I knew I had to have some.

Cherry blossoms can be a bit tricky - the buds and petals can easily fall off if you knock the branches. There is no guarantee that the buds will even open up especially if they are too tight. They are not long lived. They should have two cuts - one at an angle and a second lengthwise up the stem - with a pair of secateurs. Some people also say it's a good idea to put the branches in warm water. That is suppose to help the flowers to open up.

The large main arrangement is in a white vintage jar from Sweden. It's bought at a 'loppis' - the equivalent to the American flea market or the UK car boot sale. 

The very small rag rug in pink and white is also found at a Swedish loppis.

As I probably have said many times - I love jars with writing on them and here are two more with partially worn labels - that I think just adds charm and patina.

The large tailor's scissors was passed on to me by my mother. An old pair that she used while I was growing up.

It's still cold, dark and wet here in London - but combinations like these pink tulips and cherry blossoms gives us hope that spring will soon be here. Let's stay in the pink zone until then!  

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous floral Wednesday!

Thanks you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer'. I will be back on Friday with another 'A Bunch for the Weekend'. I'll see you 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 and an email will come right into your inbox.

P. S. If you are looking for more floral inspiration you can go over and have a look at my Pinterest boards. 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/

Tiny Blooms - # 38 - Tulips in Mini Vases

I'm making a few changes to my my blog and one small change is to bring back 'Tiny Blooms'. It was right from the beginning a very popular series of blog posts, but for many reasons I decided to put it on the shelf for a while. But here we are - I'm relaunching it and I'm hoping it will be as popular as it was before.

I hope you'll enjoy it!

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!

I had so much fun creating this series of flower arrangements for a feature in Gatherings Magazine. It was the spring issue 2013 and I was the Contributing Floral Styling Editor.

The lovely Editor in Chief was Heather Spriggs and Gatherings Magazine was published both as an E-magazine and in print, but it's now sadly no longer being published. 

The feature was called Bulbs in Bloom and run over four pages. Half was about tulips and the other half was about daffodils.

Here is some of the text I wrote:

"Over time, philosophers and writers have often used the metaphor of spring to explain the power of remaining positive and optimistic. No other season has so much anticipation and hope for a fresh start and renewal - the world is full of potential." 

Some of you might have seen the magazine - but these images has never been published on my blog before. 

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back on Wednesday 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 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/

Flowers of the Month - December 2016

It's almost the last day of December 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'.

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.

A Bunch for the Weekend - Winter Bouquet

Florets - Floral Quote by Malin Hidesäter

Creative with Flowers - Pink Tulips

A Bunch for the Weekend - Paperwhites

Florets - Floral Quote by Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo

Creative with Flowers - White Amaryllis

A Bunch for the Weekend - Blue Hyacinths

Florets - Floral Quote by Hege Barnholt

Creative with Flowers - Pink Hyacinths

Happy Christmas! - Ilex Berries

Happy New Year! - Fruiting Eucalyptus 

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer - I will be back tomorrow with some end of years words. I'll see you 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 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 - # 27 - Pink Tulips

This week on 'Creative with Flowers' - I'm featuring a bunch of bright pink double tulips. A great flower for this time of year especially if you don't keep them too warm.

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!

The two main colours in the colour scheme are pink and blue with a bit of grey mixed in. There are also a mixture of vintage and new. Contemporary with just a small selection of old antiques. 

Tulips will last longer if you are able to put them somewhere cool at night and during the day in the house keep them away from radiators, fires, electronics that generate heat and out of the sun.

The small cups that I'm using as candle holders for some tea-lights are by the Swedish potter Lotta Zerrander. Whenever I'm in Sweden I always visit her workshop in the south of Sweden in an area called Österlen. In conjunction to her home and workshop she also has a shop and a beautiful gallery. It's all converted from an old Swedish farm that is lovely and very charming.

Not only can you use her little cups as candle holders but also as cups for tea or coffee or at this time of year for hot glögg. I also often use them as vases for small bunches of flowers.

Tulips continue to grow after they are cut, so to allow for the change in height you can cut the stems a bit shorter than you would normally do. Then just enjoy the growth and seeing the flowers opening up is a pleasure to watch.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer'. I will be back later in the week with more floral delights. I'll see you 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 and an email will come right into your inbox.

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

Creative with Flowers - # 8 - Pink Peony Tulips and Ranunculus

This series of blog posts - called 'Creative with Flowers' - are about using flowers in 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 usual my arrangements will be quick and easy - and there will always be a riot of colour!

This week on 'Creative with Flowers' I'm a very lucky girl. The lovely Cel Robertson who runs the organic flower farm in Norfolk - Forever Green Flower Farm, had the most amazing pink tulips. 

The tulip is called Tulipa 'Aveyron' and they are an early double peony flowering tulip. The resemblance to peony is striking. It's a deep rose pink colour with white and green markings on some of the outer petals. 

The ranunculus are in three different shades from pale pink to really dark almost wine coloured.

I have combined over-sized pink tulips with gorgeous pink ranunculus - but instead of mixing them in the same vase - i chose to give them each their own container. 

I accidentally broke one of the tulip stems so I gave it's own little glass jar.

I got these cute little acrylic spoons a few years ago - they are from the French company Sabre Paris.

All the little arrangements sits on a Swedish pink and white rag weaving and in the background are four newly made cushions made from off-cuts vintage fabrics and patchwork quilts. 

Two pink but very distinctly different flowers - that here shows off their beauty in separate vases but positioned next to each other.

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

I'll be be back on Friday with another 'A Bunch for the Weekend'.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

For more floral inspiration follow me on:

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/ 

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 76 - Three Pink Flowers

I found three pink flowers at the flower stall this morning - deep pink tulips, very light pink hyacinths and some rununculus in varying pink colours. 

Instead of making a mixed bouquet I decided to arrange the three flowers separately - each in their own vase. I still wanted to show the flowers together and what ties them together is not only the colour pink but also the containers that I have used. They are all made out some sort of metal and all in a dark silver grey colour.

All three flowers are arranged casually in their containers - with the tulips I have kept as much of the foliage as possible - I only removed broken and bruised leaves. 

With the hyacinths I kept the small bulb bit at the bottom and that way it's easier to keep most of the leaves intact. Again I only removed any that were broken. It's nice to be able to have the green tips breaking up all the pink of the flowers.

Finally with the ranunculus I did remove all the leaves and separated the unopened buds from the open flowers. Most buds don't open once the flowers are cut - but they do offer some visual variation so I do use some of them - often the larger once and the once with the most colour.

Also remember to protect any surfaces under the containers - metal do rust and leaks can occur. 

This ends up as quite a big arrangement - so you will need a large table surface and it will also make quite some impact both in size and colour. 

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

I'll be be back on Sunday with another 'Florets' - a floral quote by a flower lover.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

For more floral inspiration follow me on:

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ofspringandsummer/ 

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