A Bunch for the Weekend - # 100 - From the Archives

In April 2014 I started a series of weekly blog posts called "A Bunch for the Weekend" and they quickly became very popular among my blog visitors. 

So today to celebrate my #100 posts in this series - I decided to dig deep in the archives and show the first ten arrangements that I posted back in 2014.

# 1

The thought was to inspire and show how to do simple and easy arrangements. Show how to create a quick and uncomplicated arrangement that anybody could do themselves to enjoy over the weekend. 

# 2

This is the little "statement" that I add to the post - briefly explaining my thinking behind the posts:

"It's always a pleasure and lots of fun to buy a bunch of flowers for the weekend and 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 and easy 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."

# 3

# 4

# 5

# 6

# 7

# 8

# 9

# 10

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

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

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/

Flowers of the Month - June 2015

1 June - Floral Media - Houseplant of the Month - Peace Lily

It's the end of June and I'm back with 'Flowers of the Month' - where I'm featuring all the different flowers and floral arrangements I have posted during June.

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 June - Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - Sweet Peas

6 June - A Bunch for the Weekend - # 55 - English Garden Rose - Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll'

10 June - Floral Media - Flower Agenda - Week 23 - 26 - Lily

13 June - A Bunch for the Weekend - # 56 - Sweet Peas and Alchemilla mollis

15 June - Floral Media - The Green Gallery - New On-line Floral Magazine

17 June - Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and  Inspiration - # 7 - Alstroemeria

19 June - FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Happy Midsummer!

20 June - A Bunch for the Weekend - # 57 - Astrantia and Nectaroscordum

23 June - Do-It-Yourself Flower Tips and Inspiration - # 8 - Sweet William

25 June - Floral Media - The Flower Appreciation Society Workshop and Book

27 June - A Bunch for the Weekend - # 58 - Mixed Bouquet of British Summer Flowers

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'm taking some time off during the month of July to work on our house and garden and I will be back again in August with more Do-It-Yourself flower arranging from 'Of Spring and Summer'.

Have a wonderful and relaxing summer! 

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

[Styling and photography © Ingrid Henningsson - Of Spring and Summer.]
[Images of 1, 4 and 6 are 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

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 57 - Astrantia and Nectaroscordum

This week on 'A Bunch for the Weekend' I'm featuring some beautiful Astrantia and the spectacular Nectaroscordum - an unusual bulbous perennial. 

Astrantia is a very pretty, delicate star-shaped flower and in this case it's one called Astrantia major 'Hadspen Blood' - it has stunning dark red bracts and flowers.

Nectaroscordum is a bit of an odd flower - its of the Allium family and has leaves that smells of garlic. It has beautiful bell-shaped flowers flushed pink or purplish red with some green. As the flowers fade they become erect and they make very attractive dried flowers.

You'll need:

- 7 stems of Astrantia

- 3 stems of Nectaroscordum

- a neutral small vase

- three mini vases in similar colour to the flowers. 

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 all the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.  

Put the flowers 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 to get the right proportions.

The Nectaroscordum has long, tall stems but I have cut them very short for this arrangement. I wanted to show off the inside of the flowers by cutting the stems short and putting them in a vase that would 'force' the flowers to point upwards.

The colour of the Astrantia is picked up on the inside of the bell-shaped Nectaroscordum flowers.

Two very different flowers that you might not usually combine in an arrangement but I think they make exiting and interesting companions.

Enjoy your flower arranging!

Have a Great Floral Saturday and a Happy Weekend!

I will see you next week with more Do-It-Yourself flowers from 'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ 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 - # 10 - Alchemilla and Astrantia

'A Bunch for the Weekend' - this week is a bunch of Alchemilla mollis and Astrantia major 'Ruby Wedding'. It's the combination of the ruby coloured Astrantia against the almost acid green small frothy Alchemilla flowers - that I find have an interesting texture and colour combination. 

I'm walking in the footsteps of Christopher Lloyd and Sarah Raven here - both fans of the 'unsafe' colour combinations. Both have written books on the subject - Sarah's The Bold and Brilliant Garden and the late Christopher Lloyd's book Colour for Adventurous Gardeners are books that explores the more unusual colour combinations. 

The flowers are from my garden and I used a vintage apothecary jar as a vase. I tied a short Jane Means gingham ribbon in green and white around the top.

There are quite a few stems - 12 stems of Alchemilla and 14 of the Astrantia. I conditioned the flowers as usual by removing all lower leaves that would end up below the waterline in the vase and cutting all stems at an angle before putting them in a clean vase with fresh water preferably over night.

The unusual colours make it look really fresh and lively - perfect for a hot summers day. 

Have a Perfect Floral Friday and a Great Weekend!

See you again on Sunday for another Floral Quote.

xoxo Ingrid

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