From the Archives - 29 December 2014 -Tiny Blooms - Cyclamens as Cut Flowers

This post is part of a brand 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.........!!

This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms - are about small arrangements. Small - might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems in each container. It will also be that the arrangement is minimal both in presentation and that it's quick and easy to do. Apart from that there are no other strict rules - I'm allowing myself a lot of creative freedom!

Over the month of December I've been doing a few inspirational posts - that I've called 'Black and White Christmas' - and as it's still December - here is another one for the the New Year. 

Well, they are mostly white - with some black additions - and mixing contemporary elements with some vintage. 

As my 'tiny bloom' I have used yet again some white Cyclamen - but this time it's the smaller variety. But instead of displaying the whole pot with the flowers - I decided to use the cyclamens as a cut flower. 

I had earlier bought quite a few little pots with lots of cyclamen buds - I kept them outside and they very happily opened up its beautiful little flowers. 

So for this little project I cut about 30 stems and put them all in a little black vase.

As we are still in the holiday season - I added a Swedish vintage wooden toadstool, some plump cranberries and in the background I've displayed a mini Christmas tree.

All very quick and easy - the flowers last for about a week and if you plant the cyclamen in your garden - it will come back year after year.

Have a Lovely Floral Day!

I'll see you later in the week!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid 

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

From the Archives - 18 November 2015 - Tiny Blooms - Pink Chrysanthemums

Here is another post in a brand new blog series - called 'From the Archives'. These 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.........!!

This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms - are about small flower arrangements. Small - might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems in each 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!

Chrysanthemums, pink and vintage bottles - some of my favorite things!

I found some pink spray Chrysanthemums - 'spray' just means that they are multi-stemmed - and I cut some stems down to their single flowers. 

My daughter and I spent a few hours at the Country Living magazine Christmas Fair last week. There are some lovely stalls that I go back to every year. On one antique stall I found these adorable mini vintage bottles - bought five and I had an instant little collection.

Combining the two makes a charming display - the bottles are only just over 11 cm tall - so they are perfect for one or two stems.

To photograph them I have displayed them on an old French linen tablecloth - but a small collection like this works very well on a little tray - keeping them together gives them more impact.

Chrysanthemums are available all year around but are particularly welcome at this time of year when cheep flowers are sparse on the ground. Here in London its raining, its dark early and very windy. Well, the pink colour reminds me of spring!!

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

From the Archives - 3 November 2014 - Ornamental Cabbage

A blogpost from deep in the archives - posted last time also on 3 November - still just as relevant as it's seasonal and one of my favourite autumn flowers/plants.

It was also the beginning of a new and very popular blog series called 'Tiny Blooms'.  

***** 

I'm starting another blog series or column - that I'm calling 'Tiny Blooms' and it will be about small arrangements. Small or tiny might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems in each container. It will also be that the arrangement is minimal both in presentation and that it's quick and easy to do. Apart from that there are no other strict rules - I'm allowing myself some creative freedom here!

In this the first 'Tiny Blooms' - I'm diving straight in and almost breaking some of the rules. 

I'm using some rather long-stemmed ornamental cabbage - you should have seen them before I got hold of them, they were twice as tall - BUT there are only three of them.

I have also reduced the flower head taking off the greener outer leaves and just leaving the really stunningly colourful ones in the centre. I also love the amazing colour on the stems and wanted to show part of them.

So after conditioning the flowers - I reduced the heads by taking off a lot of the lower leaves - I trimmed the stems so that they are in proportion to the container - and in this case allowing for some of the beautiful stems to show - rather then having the flower heads rest on the edge of the container - as you probably normally would do.

I tried to tie some purple raffia around the stems - to hold the three stems together - but in the end decided that it didn't work - the heads looked too squashed together - instead I just let the three stems lean to one side. I didn't want a stiff arrangement and as I said before I wanted to show the stems. 

I changed from purple raffia to black twine and tied some around the neck of the cream ware container - just with a double knot and leaving the ends to casually hang down. 

Voilà - a seasonal, quick and easy arrangement - using some colourful 'tiny blooms'.

  Have a Lovely Floral Day!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid 

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

Tiny Blooms - # 43 - Orange Tulips and Geum

This week on 'Tiny Blooms' I'm featuring mainly orange - orange double tulips, lily-flowering orange tulips and orange Geums - a little orange daisy like flower. They are all British grown!

Here is a little "statement" that I add - to briefly explaining my thinking behind these particular posts:

"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!"

Double tulips are often spectacular - and often multicoloured like this one with all it's beautiful colours from orange to green to pink and yellow. 

This one is called 'Orange Princess' - what a great name!

I have mixed them with an orange Geum called 'Queen of Orange'.  

Lily-flowering tulips are some of the most elegant - here is one called 'Ballerina' - another great name.

Just putting two or three stems in a vintage glass bottle is very effective and looks very stylish. It's also very quick and easy......!!

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

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

[Flowers: Two different orange tulips and some orange Geums - from Forever Green Flower Company - my favourite local farmers' market flower stall in North West London.]

[Vase/Container: Vintage light green glass bottles - from stylist own prop collection.]

[Other props: Vintage large and small light green glass bottles - from stylists 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 12 000 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/

Tiny Blooms - # 41 - Pale Blue Grape Hyacinths

This week on 'Tiny Blooms' I'm featuring a bunch of grape hyacinths in a gorgeous pale blue colour.

I have put them in a floral blue and white Victorian jug that picks up the blue colour in the flowers.

Here is a little "statement" that I add - to briefly explaining my thinking behind these particular posts:

"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 love to match the colour of the flowers with a similar coloured vase or container. Here the colour of the grape hyacinths are very similar in colour to the floral pattern on the old jug. The little vintage ink glass bottle also picks up the pale blue colour and the contemporary black metal plate makes an interesting contrast.

Grape Hyacinths also called Muscari are easy to grow in the garden and will spread quite easily. They are a welcome sight in the early spring.

Stems are usually short so these flowers are perfect in jars, small vases or jugs. 

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

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

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

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

[Flowers: Grape Hyacinths from my local flower stall in North West London.]

[Vase/Container: Vintage Victorian blue and white floral patterned milk jug bought at a London antique market.]

[Other props: From stylists own prop 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.

*****

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/

Tiny Blooms - # 40 - Pink Limonium in Mini Bud Vase

This week on 'Tiny Blooms' I'm featuring pink Limonium in a pink mini bud vase.

Here is a little "statement" that I add - to briefly explaining my thinking behind these particular posts:

"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!"

While making larger arrangements you often make little off cuts that are perfectly fine but they are too short or in the wrong place. 

I always keep these little stems and make up small side arrangements. I often use something called bud vases. They can be tall and slender or you can also find short ones. They almost always have a narrow neck to hold just one flower stem. 

I'm using a short and dainty one here and I have cut the stems very short and then filled the vase with as many stems as I could fit in.

The colourful abalone shell is an interesting contrast to the arrangement and so is the wire basket filled with twine and balls of torn rags. 

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

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

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 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/

Tiny Blooms - # 39 - Snowdrops

One of the first flowers to appear in the late winter are Snowdrops or Galanthus as they are also called.

They are hardy little things - you can often see the leaves and flowers push their way through a blanket of snow.

The common English snowdrop is called Galanthus nivalis - from the Greek - gala meaning milk and anthos means flower. The second part of the name nivalis means snow-white as it often grows near snow.

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!

All the little snowdrops you see in this blog post I have cut in my own garden. 

You need a certain amount of plants growing in your garden to be able to cut enough even for a small bouquet. So if you just planted some you might have to wait a few season to be able to cut a handful and still leave enough to enjoy in the garden. 

You'll need about 10 to 20 stems to make some impact - but even 3 little stems will do to show off their beauty.

Use any small vase or container with a narrow opening to hold the stems in place. They last for about 4-5 days.

Enjoy these little beauties while they are here!

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

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

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/

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/

Tiny Blooms - # 37 - Two Pompon Dahlias

Dahlias comes in many different shapes, sizes and colours. Today we are taking a look at some pompon dahlias in two different colours. 

This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms' - are about small flower arrangements. Small - might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems. 

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 love dahlias - they were out of fashion for a long time but are now back in favour and they are more popular than ever. 

At this time of year my two nearest farmers markets are now selling dahlias in every colour of the rainbow.

I find it very hard to resist the temptation to buy a bunch of every colour. Well, that is never a good idea! Some dahlias only last for a few days but most last for about 5-7 days.   

Enjoy the dahlias while they are around, mix a few colours or just use one colour on it's own. Leave a bit of foliage at the top to bring in some green between the big flower heads. Also keep the flower buds as a contrast and added texture - even though they might never open up if they are closed tightly.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back later in the week with some more floral delights. 

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.

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

Tiny Blooms - # 36 - Blue and White Delphiniums

Delphinium is loved both by people growing it as a cottage garden flower - as well as by slugs - but we are not going to discuss slugs here today.....

This series of blog posts - called 'Tiny Blooms' - are about small flower arrangements. Small - might be the size of the container or it could be the size of the flowers or the amount of stems. 

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!

A bunch of delphiniums goes a long way - I only have five stems here and I simply put them in a tall clear glass vase with straight sides. 

A row of glass bottles with just a single stem in each bottle would also look fantastic along a windowsill or mantlepiece. 

These tall almost regal flowers are also soft and romantic. The flowers open from the bottom so pick stems that have open blossoms only halfway up for the longest bloom time.

You don't need to do much to delphiniums - their loose, country-garden style is very much suited to make simple quick and easy arrangements.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer' - I will be back later in the week with some more floral delights. 

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.

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