Flowers of the Month - October 2015

2 October - FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Vases, Bottles and Jars

It's the last day of October and I'm back with 'Flowers of the Month' - where I'm featuring all the different flowers and floral arrangements I have posted during the month of October. It's been a good run this month with lots of amazing and colourful autumn flowers available. I've been able to create, style and photograph a great deal so there are quite a few blog posts to cover.

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.

4 October - Florets - Floral Quote by Cath Kidston

5 October - Tiny Blooms - Pink Wild Carrot

7 October - The Monthly List - October 2015

9 October - A Bunch for the Weekend - Colourful Dahlias

11 October - Florets - Floral Quote by Shannon Fricke

12 October - Flower Agenda - Lisianthus

14 October - Do-It Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - Dahlias

18 October - Florets - Floral Quote by Erin Benzakein

19 October - Flowers and Ribbons - Jane Means' Ribbons

21 October - Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - Chrysanthemums and Snowberries

23 October - FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Autumn on the Doorstep

25 October - Florets - Floral Quote by Selina Lake

26 October - Tiny Blooms - Pastel Pink Tulips and Anemones

28 October - Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - Dahlias, Crab Apples and Rose Hips

30 October - A Bunch for the Weekend - Pale Blue Grape Hyacinths

I hope you have enjoyed all the flower arrangements from the last month - as much as I have enjoyed created them. 

Have a Great Floral Day!

I will be back again at the end of November with another 'Flowers of the Month'. Before that I'm back tomorrow with Florets and another floral quote from a passionate flower lover. 

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and photography © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
[Photo nr 7 provided by The Flower Council of Holland.]

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - # 11 - Chrysanthemums and Snowberries

This time 'Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration' is all about Chrysanthemums and Snowberries.

Here are a few facts and information about the flowers: 

- The Chrysanthemum is originally from the Arctic, parts of Russia, China and Japan.

- The name Chrysanthemum comes from the Greek chrysos that means gold and anthemon that means flower.

- Chrysanthemums come in many different forms and shapes; pompon, quill, spider and spoon are just a few of the interesting forms of the flower.

- Snowberries comes originally from North and Central America but now grows wild in many places.

- Snowberries are a member of the honeysuckle family.

- Snowberries are an important food source in the winter for many birds. 

Brilliantly white fluffy Chrysanthemums and round white Snowberries are very effective and mixes well together at this time of year. 

I wanted to take a break from all the strong autumn colours I have featured lately. I love strong colours but I also love white. So here is a quick and easy all white arrangement.

I have used a large white vintage apothecary container for the big arrangement and a small white contemporary vase for my secondary complementary arrangement. Adding a few white honeycomb pompoms along the way.

Here I'm showing the arrangement with an all white background - white marble table, white French linen sheet   and white painted wood panelling. The arrangement works just as well as a contrast to something much more colourful.

Why not try it in a few different locations around your home - maybe you'll find some interesting colour combinations! 

Enjoy your flower arranging!

Next Friday it's time for another FLOWERS from Titti and I. We will inspire on how to give your guests a warm and flowery welcome!  

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 61 - Autumn Colours

This weeks 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - is all in muted autumn colours. Pale purple and olive green Hydrangea with some rust coloured shades. Also mixed in are some pale grey green Eucalyptus leaves and some bright white snowberries.

HOW TO:

You'll need:

- 10 stems of Hydrangea in muted colours.

- 5 stems of Eucalyptus leaves.

- 5 stems of snowberries.

- 1 medium sized zinc florist bucket - for the arrangement

- 3 zinc florist buckets in various sizes - just to use as background props.

- 1 very small zinc container - to use as a side arrangement with Eucalyptus or snowberries.

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.

Method:

Hydrangea has very few but large leaves - leave them on if you like the look of them or take off some or all of the leaves. 

I have left a lot of the leaves as I feel they added interesting texture and colour.

Fill the containers with fresh, clean water. Trim the stems so that some of the flower-heads rests on the edge of the vase. Cut some of the stems shorter and position those around the edges of the container. Fill in with a few longer stems throughout for a bit of variety and movement.

Finish off by adding the Eucalyptus and the snowberris throughout the arrangement.

Change the water every 2-3 days and if possible re-cut the stems. The flowers can last for about 7-14 days. 

The four pieces of artwork are by my dear sister-in-law Amy Trachtenberg who lives and works in San Francisco. I have always enjoyed having her beautiful and very tactile artwork around the house and often try to incorporate them in my photography. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

I will be back on Sunday with another Florets - floral quotes by people passionate about flowers!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and Photography: © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
[Artwork by Amy Trachtenberg.]

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

Florets - Floral Quote by Shannon Fricke

"A visit to the local flower market is an experience sure to open your eyes to the colour opportunities that our floral world offers. A stroll through the botanical gardens works in the same way. And of course, seeing the beauty of flowers growing wild in a field, just as nature intended, reminds us that all the inspiration you need can be found there."

~ Shannon Fricke ~ 

[Shannon Fricke: Australian, interior stylist, freelance writer, television presenter and author.]

[Quote from: Sense of Style - Colour by Shannon Fricke (2006).]

[Flowers: Pinks and snowberries.]

[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 - this time it's all about Lisianthus.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Autumn Dreams

The theme for this weeks FLOWERS is - 'Autumn Dreams'.

After our summer holidays - the beginning of autumn is often full of expectations. We dream of new beginnings and new projects. 

I have spent the last two months renovating our house and garden. We are now putting things back in their place - but somehow somewhere in the middle of obsessively cleaning, de-cluttering, moving furniture and taking things to the charity store - I suddenly want to change things around. Hang pictures in different places or try them in different rooms, rearrange furniture and create new arrangements on shelves and mantelpieces. 

I'm having so much fun - but boy does it take up a lot of time. Looking, pondering and forever changing again and again. I will get there in the end! All part of a fresh start or dreaming of a new beginning.

Dahlias are spectacular at the moment and come in so many different colours. These two beauties are both salmon pink and I have taken off all the leaves, buds as well as half-open flowers.

I bunched the fully open flowers in a large clear glass pickling jar. I have kept the two different Dahlias separated giving them half the jar each. Looking fabulous just on their own - with no "interruptions" but the pure flowers showing off colour, shape and texture. 

The buds and all the half-opened flowers I put together in a second smaller vase next to the big one.

The seed heads from the common wild poppy - the one that self-seeds all over the garden, is one of my favourite. I carefully collect the seed heads and have them all winter as dried flowers in the house.

Hang the bunch upside down in a dark, dry place. Tie the stems with a rubber band that will tighten as the stems dry and get thinner. With string the stems will fall out. If you want to collect the seeds you can loosely tie a paper-bag around the seed-heads so that any seeds will fall into the bag. Then you can later sow them in your garden.  

    

I have started seeing Snowberries - the botanical name is Symphoricarpos - in the florists and local flower stalls. If the leaves are still nice - you can leave them on. I prefer to remove all the leaves leaving the pure white berries looking rather dramatic on the dark stems.

Here I have mixed the Snowberries with Foxtail Millet - the botanical name is Setaria. The two plants have both interesting texture and interesting contrast as well as a definite autumn feel to them.

This is such a wonderful time of year when it comes to plants, berries and foliage - so lets make the most of it and enjoy what's on offer. 

Please, have a look at Titti's blog HWIT BLOGG and see how she has worked around the theme of 'Autumn Dreams'. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral day!

I will be back soon with more DIY floral delights.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

Flowers of the Month - October 2014

I'm back again with 'Flowers of the Month' - where I'm highlighting all the different flowers I have used during the month of October.

The name of the flower - under the image - is also a link to the post where I featured the flower.

Chrysanthemums, Stock and Snapdragons

White Snowberries

Dahlias and Agapanthus

Crab Apples

Dahlias

Pink Snowberries

Dahlias

Sedum, Ferns and Ivy

Sunflowers, Chinese Lanterns and Crab Apples

Ornamental Cabbage and Chrysanthemums

Dahlia, Hydrangea and Vitis Grapes

Hydrangea

Sedum, Chrysanthemums, Heuchera Flowers and Grasses

Chrysanthemums x 2 and Soft Ruscus




Gerbera, Roses, Cornus and Crab Apples

I hope you have enjoyed the month of October in all its autumn floral glory!

Here is a link to the month of August flowers.

Here is a link to the month of September flowers.

Have a wonderful Floral Day!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 25 - Pink Dahlias and Pink Snowberries

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I'm featuring some large pink Dahlias and some branches of pink snowberries. 

I love the subtle pink in both the Dahlias and the snowberries so I wanted to combine the two in an arrangement - as well as making a small arrangement using the cut off lower branches from the snowberries - I also wanted to display some of the heads of the Dahlias in a different way.

You'll need:

- 10 stems of a large Dahlia

- a good bunch of branches of snowberries

- a large quite heavy or sturdy container in a neutral colour

- a small vase in a contrasting colour

- some kind of low container to float the Dahlia heads in -  in a matching colour to the small vase

- florist snippers and a pair of secateurs

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 a large container that is sturdy enough to hold the branches of snowberries - with a lot of berries they become very heavy. Start off by putting the snowberry branches in the container - they will bend and gracefully arch over the sides of the container. They will be hard to restrain so just let them do their thing and let them go wherever they want to go.

You'll probably need to cut off some of the lower, smaller branches - these will make up the second small arrangement of snowberries. 

Next put in the Dahlias - cut them a bit shorter to sit below most of the snowberries - by gently feeding them in-between the branches. 

For the floating arrangement use a low container - a bowl or similar. I have used a vintage cast iron Yorkshire pudding mould. Cut off most of the stems and float them in a little bit of water.

I have then used a matching black mini vase for the lower cut off branches and made a very small arrangement with only snowberries. 

The contrasting black gives the whole arrangement a bit of drama. The Dahlias last for about 4-5 days - but the snowberris lasts for longer. Any berries that might go brown - just gently twist them off and if you re-cut the ends of the stems they will last for about a week or even longer.

Have a lovely Floral Friday!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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