Amaryllis - Houseplant of the Month

Every month The Flower Council of Holland choose a Houseplant of the Month and for December 2017 it's the Amaryllis.

All these colourful and seasonal images are from The Joy of Plants.

Here is also a link to The Flower Council of Holland with lots of information about how to use and how to take care of Amaryllis.

Have a happy floral day!

The Joy of Plants: Expose # 19: Christoffers Blommor

I hope you love this video as much as I did! 

I loved the fact that it was filmed in the beautiful country of Sweden.

It features the Swedish florist Christoffer Broman and his shop in the oldest part of Stockholm as well as his house in the archipelago. 

Blommor means flowers in Swedish.

His shop in Stockholm's Gamla Stan, that he opened in 2001, is legendary and as he says himself he likes to make flowers look modern but not overly trendy.

There is also a second shop in Södermalm - the southern part of Stockholm.

By some he is considered the best florist in Stockholm.....!

Here is a link to Christoffers Blommor. 

Video by The Joy of Plants.

Columbia Road Flower Market in East London

Every Sunday for the last 150 years there's been a flower market at Columbia Road in east London.
Have look at this short video and make sure you visit it on a Sunday morning when you are in London. It's a great experience and lots of fun!

Also have a look at this page on The Joy of Plants were they will give you a lot of background about the market.

[Video: The Joy of Plants]

Houseplant of the Month - Pure Green Plants

Every month The Flower Council of Holland feature a different houseplant with details about the plant such as origin, different species and cultivars. You'll also find lots of advice on how to look after the plants.

Its October and time for another interesting Houseplant of the Month and this month it's all about pure Green Plants.

The interior shop West Elm,Tottenham Court Road, London branch is continuing to feature The Flower Council of Holland monthly houseplants. Here is a link if you want to have a look at what they have created using all green plants.
    







[Images from The Joy of Plants and The Flower Council of Holland.]

Houseplant of the Month - Alocasia - A Tropical Superstar

Houseplants and botanicals are very trendy and has become more and more important to a lot of people. Creating space for green plants in in your home is beneficial in several ways. 

How do you start building a collection of houseplants? What should you buy if you don't know anything about the plants or how to look after them?

Read on and I will pass on some inspirational tips. 

I grew up with a grandmother, mother, aunts and other relatives and friends who had houseplants on window sills, tables and on little plant stands in the corners. 

One relative would proudly tell anybody who wanted to listen that she had 100 houseplants. That was not very popular with the person that was asked to look after her plants when she went on holiday! 

Obviously over the years I learned a lot about how to look after houseplants and had a few myself. 

Later on when I started traveling and lived in different countries - having houseplants was out of the question. When we started having children - houseplants was not really on the agenda.

Very few houseplants from then on found their way into our house. A few plants given as gifts quickly died but others did survive. I have one that is still going after 25 years!

If you follow me on Instagram you'll might have noticed that more and more of my images has been of houseplants. Well, I will admit that quite a few new plants has found their way into our home lately..........! 

The houseplants you can buy today, many are quite different, compared with those early days back in Sweden. But even back then we all had big Monstera and rubber plants. 

Every month The Flower Council of Holland feature a different houseplant with details about the plant such as origin, different species and cultivars. You'll also find lots of advice on how to look after the plants.



They also feature lots of images showing how to display the plants in your home.

From this month, September 2017 till December, West Elm London store in Tottenham Court Road will display a different houseplant in their windows. 

This month it's Alocasia, in October it will be a selection of Green Plants, in November it will be Cyclamen and in December the plant will be Amaryllis.

Start with one or two plants and see how you get on. Before buying any figure out where you are going to put them. Plants need light, water, air and the right temperature as well as feeding during the growing season.

The trick is to find the perfect place with the perfect light level and temperature for each plant. Then the next trick is to give it the right amount of water - more houseplants are killed by overwatering than underwatering.

Embrace the green trend and above all enjoy! 

Images: The Flower Council of Holland  
  

Floral Media - A Winter Gathering by The Joy Of Plants

Here are some tips and lots of inspiration for setting your table this holiday season. In this very short but phenomenally inspirational video you'll find many new and trendy ideas. It's only just over one minute long - so it won't take up a lot of your time 



The video is made by 'The Joy of Plants' and this is what they say: "December is packed with celebrations: Christmas, Hanukkah and – of course - New Year’s Eve. A month full of mince pies, turkey, glasses of fizz and a few days when you let yourself recover from all the indulgence. A time when the table looks even more appealing than usual, and we stretch out on the sofa with warm blankets and cost slippers. A month of pure enjoyment, which is even easier with our December dossier."

The Joy of Plants is an initiative from the Flower Council of Holland.

I hope you'll enjoyed the short video and that you'll find lots of inspiration.

*****

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer - I will be back on Wednesday with some more floral delights. Hope to see you then. 

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[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:

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Floral Media - Easter Decorations from The Joy of Plants

Do you need some new and fresh inspiration for Easter? Take a look at this short video from The Joy of Plants and Funny How Flowers Do That - on how to decorate your Easter table this spring. They are being creative with both flowers and other plants. There are also some links below on how to do some of the decorations.

Here are a few of the ideas featured:

- grey linen table cloth and napkins that are folded into long shapes and placed in between the two plates

- grey plates

- gilded cutlery

- pretty heirloom crystal glasses

- a flower or foliage on each plate next to the menu

- tall tapered white candles

- individual flowers straight on the table cloth

- small vintage glass bottles with just a few flowers and branches

- cover eggs with moss, flowers and fern and hold it all in place with thin gold wire wound around the shape and positioned at each place-setting

- little nests made from moss, flowers, thin branches and planted half eggsshells - placed on a piece of wood with a candle

- individual potted bulbs wrapped in hessian fabric and tied with narrow ribbons

- eggs with fern, leaves and flowers glued onto the shells

- a few brass objects placed around the table

Printed menus and here is what was served:

Starter 

Risotto Cake with Pistachio Pesto

Main

Pan Roasted Duck with A Parsnip Puree and Red Wine Gravy

Dessert

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Here are a lot of lovely ideas to use for inspiration when you invite friends and family over for Easter.

Here are the links to how to make some of the decorations:

- Moss covered eggs

- Printed menus

- Decorated Easter eggs

- Individual potted bulbs

- Tree-trunks with nests of moss and flowers

- Eggnog with flowers

Have a wonderful and very floral Easter!

I'll see you later in the week with some more floral delights from Of Spring and Summer.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

All images provided by The Joy of Plants.

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

Floral Media - Flower Agenda - week 9-12 - Freesia

I'm back this month with another 'Flower Agenda' - where the Flower Council of Holland feature a special cut flower every month. This month it's all about the Freesia.

Freesia was first found in South Africa where the flower is called 'Cape-lily-of-the-valley'. It was given it's name by the South African botanist Ecklon in 1830. He named it after his friend Dr Friedrich Freese. 

The freesia are grown from tubers and they come as single or double flowers. It also comes in a wide variety of colours - white, yellow, orange, red, blue, pink and purple - as well as bi-coloured and multi-coloured. Many varieties have a beautiful sweet scent and they carry on growing in the vase. 

Here are some care tips: 

- Use a clean vase and fill it with water at room temperature.

- Add flower food for a longer vase life.

- Trim the stems diagonally with a pair of sharp and clean flower scissors.

- Don't place freesias in a draught, in full sun or near central heating.   

- Also don't place freesias near fruit or vegetables that emits  ethylene gas which will cause the flowers to age more rapidly.

- Remove wilted flower heads to encourage further flowering and change the water in the vase every two days. 

Traditionally a spring flower but is now available all year around and its one of the world's most popular cut flowers. 

It can be used in many different ways - in bud vases with just one or a few stems in each vase. Mixed with other flower in larger bouquets where it will provide fabulous colour and texture to the whole arrangement.

The freesia has wonderful long arching stems that gives interesting long, lovely lines and the flower buds keep opening along the stem ending at the tip in little green buds. 

I hope you have enjoyed my little feature on freesias and why not try some this season yourself. 

Have fun with your arranging and I will be back with another Flower Agenda next month - when I will be featuring Gerberas.

[All images are provided by the Flower Council of Holland.]

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous floral day!

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

Floral Media - Inspirational Fun With Hyacinths

Here is a short video with some inspirational fun to do with hyacinths.

With the individual little flowers - not only can you make necklaces but you can also make napkin rings  and small garlands to decorate your table - or why not hang a mini garland around a vase of flowers or a photograph of a loved one.

I'll be back on Friday with the last 'A Bunch for the Weekend' for 2015.

Have a happy floral day!

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~ 

[Video provided by: The Joy of Plants.]

You can also find me on:

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

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

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

Floral Media - Houseplant of the Month - Peace Lily

Houseplant of the Month the month of June is the Peace Lily.

Every month the Flower Council of Holland in collaboration with people from the horticultural sector chooses a plant that does well as a houseplant and is well liked by the public.

Here are some facts about the Peace Lily:

• The Peace Lily comes from the rainforests in South America.
• It loves a damp, moist atmosphere .
• The Peace Lily comes in different sizes - from mini to extra-large.

• The Peace Lily doesn't like a dry atmosphere - brown points on the leaves means the air is too dry.
• The Peace Lily grows happily in a bathroom.
• Keep the Peace Lily outside in a sheltered out of the sun position during the summer. 

• The white spathes are not the flowers, the flowers of the Peace Lily are tiny and are found on the pointed spadix.
• Peace Lilies represents peace - the white flower is the symbol of the white flag.
• It's a plant that is known for its air purifying characteristic.

• Keep the plant in a light position but not in direct sunlight.
• It likes regular lukewarm water with added plant food during the growing season.
• Don't let the root ball dry out.
• Regularly spray the leaves with lukewarm water. 

• Remove any dead flowers.
• Leave the plant to rest during the winter in a cool but light position and it will flower year after year.

Here is a fun little video showing how to make a living wall using Peace Lilies.

Here are two links to The Joy of Plants - Funny How Plants Do That - the UK branch of The Flower Council of Holland.

*************

Have a Happy Floral Monday!

I will see you later in the week.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Images provided by The Flower Council of Holland.]

Floral Media - Houseplant of the Month - Hibiscus

It's May and it's time to feature another house plant!

The Flower Council of Holland do a campaign that they call 'Houseplant of the Month' - where they every month will highlighting a particular plant.

In the month of May they are featuring Hibiscus as Houseplant of the Month. 

Indoor plants are popular again and green plants are featured more and more in interior magazines and on blogs.

Urban Jungle Bloggers are very much on target with this trend where Igor Josif and Judith de Graaff are doing a great job promoting and encouraging more green plants in the home.

The Flower Council of Holland is an organisation that promotes plants and flowers.

 

A link to more good stuff about flowers and plants on Flower Council of Holland.

Here are two links to The Joy of Plants - the UK branch of The Flower Council of Holland - Funny How Plants Do That.

*************

Have a Happy Floral Monday!

I will see you later in the week.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Images provided by The Flower Council of Holland.]