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.]

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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 ~

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Creative with Flowers # 5 - Pink and Purple Scented Stocks

Scented stocks are one of my favourite flowers and what's so great about them is that they are available for many months of the year - usually from January to August, but they peak from about March - July.

They come in quite a few colours - white, cream, burgundy and like here in purple, lilac, pale pink and cerise pink.

They are usually called scented stocks - their botanical name is Matthiola - named after the Italian physician and botanist Pierandrea Mattiola (1500-1577). Stocks were popular in Elizabethan gardens, where their spicy fragrance led them to be called 'gillyflower' a popular name for any flower with a strong, clove like scent. 

When you get them home - trim the stems and especially cut away any white parts of the stem as they will not take up water. Also remove any leaves that would end up below the water level in the vase. 

These small containers are tea-light holders and I have simply put one of the little flowers in each cup - floating in some water. They only last for about a day but can easily be replaced with new ones.

The container I have used is a vintage pickling jar with tall straight sides. They will hold even quite tall flowers and it's big enough to take a large bunch which is useful if you want to make an arrangement with some impact.  

Stocks looks fabulous on their own but is very versatile and can be mixed with peonies, Alchemilla mollis as well as many other flowers.

I love the soft colours, the sweet scent and the delightfully frothiness of the individual flowers. It's a flower that has a romantic and cottage feel to it - as well as its being contemporary and timeless in design.
  

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

I'll be be back soon with more floral delight from Of Spring and Summer.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

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