A Bunch for the Weekend- # 112 - A Few Late Tulips

It's Friday and it's time for 'A Bunch for the Weekend' and why not grab some of those late tulips while you can!

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."

How can you not love tulips - while I was growing up in Sweden all you could get was the simple single tulip in a few different colours.

Nowadays tulips seem to come in all kind of shapes and sizes; and in every colour of the rainbow as well as multicoloured.  

These late double tulips are also called Peony Tulips because when they open up halfway and fully they resemble a peony flower. 

I adore tulips and I'm very fond of multicoloured ones. This tulip has very interesting outer layers of petals. 

I often prefer these large tulips before they open up fully. It's a stage when you can very clearly see the adorable multi colored layers. These last three images are the same tulips but are taken a few days earlier. 

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be here on Sunday morning - with another floral quote by someone passionate about flowers.

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Flowers: A bunch of late Tulips from my favourite farmers' market flower stall - Forever Green Flower Company - who comes to my part of London twice a month.]

[Vase/Container: A large clear glass pickling jar - bought at one of the many antique markets in London. The second container is a florist's zinc bucket - if you ever see any don't hesitate to buy them! ]

[Other props: Three shimmering mini vases, linen fabrics and a small Swedish rag rug - 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 12 400 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/

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/

Creative with Flowers - # 21 - Pink Dahlias and Eucalyptus

I'm still enjoying the last few flowers with summer colours - like these pale pink Dahlias with a white and soft yellow centre. Aren't they gorgeous? 

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

I love bringing flowers home from the farmer's markets and my local dependable flower stall - sometimes I will also venture to one of the nearby supermarkets.

My routine is always to condition the flowers as soon as I get home - even before I do anything else!

So make sure to 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 have used three little bottles from IKEA as my vases for the Dahlias and Eucalyptus. I found the set at a local charity store.

They have quite a narrow neck so perfect for just a few stems.

I have used one Dahlia stem and one or two stems of the Eucalyptus. That was really all that would fit into the narrow neck - but I have then repeated the same arrangement in all three vases. Keeping the three containers together as a little group works well and has more impact than just a single vase on it's own.

As my little side arrangement for a few short Eucalyptus - I used a very small preserving jar.

I have also used a few props: a small place mat from Sweden in a rag rug technique; a mini watering can with a ribbon from Jane Means' Ribbon Collection; and some Victorian iron works from a local reclamation centre. 

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 FLOWERS by ingrid and titti. Hope to see you then. 

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Styling, photography and text © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
[Gorgeous Flowers and foliage from: Forever Green Flower Company.]
[Ribbon from: Jane Means' Ribbon Collection.]

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.

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