From the Archives - 7 December 2012 - Floral Feast

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.........!!

Inspired by the season and the fact that I wanted to use some red berries I came up with this very easy and very quick arrangement. 

My local florist, Achillea, always has inspiring displays outside as well as inside their shop and this time was no exception. I picked some Ilex with red berries and some berried ivy. I also said that they didn't need to wrap it up, but as I turned my back for thirty seconds she had it all wrapped up in brown paper and matched the berries with red raffia!

The Ilex verticillata that I chose is a holly that is also called Black alder or Winterberry. At this time of year there are some other twigs with fruit or berries that you can use, like crab apples or rose hips. 

The berried ivy is just normal ivy, but it's only mature ivy that has berries. I have plenty of ivy in my garden but it is clipped every year so it never reaches a mature state and therefore no berries. I love the colour and texture of the berries combined with the glossy pointed leaves.

Just like with all cut flowers you need to condition both the Ilex and the ivy. Remove any branches and leaves that will sit below the waterline and cut the stems at an angle. You will need a pair of secateurs to cut any woody stems and you should also split the stem at the bottom to increase the surface area, to help the plant absorb water. 

I have used a large clear glass vintage apothecary bottle, a small glass container, a red and white enamelled candle holder, red raffia, some small mostly red vintage Christmas baubles and a torn strip of black & white fabric with a pattern of snow crystals. 

I put the Ilex in the big bottle and tied the piece of fabric around the neck.

I arranged the ivy in the little bottle and twisted the raffia around the top.

The vintage enamelled candle holder is made by the Swedish company Kockums. I put a partly burnt candle in the holder, I didn't want it to be too tall, and arranged the little vintage baubles around it.

I am hoping to be able to inspire you with more seasonal and very easy floral arrangements every Friday for the next few months.  

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

Sarah Raven - How to Create a Christmas Wreath Vase Centrepiece

I have featured Sarah Raven many times before - but if you have missed my previous posts - here is some background information about Sarah. 

To begin with Sarah trained as a doctor, then as a florist before becoming a gardener, a BBC Gardner's World presenter, a teacher, the writer of many both gardening and cookbooks and she also runs her own business. I have done some of her workshops and I can tell you she's also a lovely lady and lots of fun.

Here is a brand new video where Sarah is showing you how to create a Christmas wreath vase centre piece for the table. As usual she is using a few different and exciting ingredients. The wreath also has a lot of colour and will work for both Christmas and any New Year festivities.

This wreath has beautiful combinations of plants and foliage and I think its just lovely - I hope you like it too!

Have a Lovely Floral Friday and a Great Weekend!

See you next week!

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

Florets - Floral Quote # 44 by Paula Pryke

"Using Moss. In winter I find myself using moss in far larger quantities than at any other time of the year, both as a base and as part of the design. For the flower arranger there are several important types of moss. The clump-forming bun moss or looser flatter carpet moss are great for covering bulbs or mechanics in arrangements. Sometimes we use decorative green bun moss as part of the design, as its deep green velvety texture adds depth to arrangements."

~ Paula Pryke ~

[Paula Pryke: British, London based florist, founder of Paula Pryke Flower Shop and School; and author of fifteen books.]

[Quote: From Flowers Every Day by Paula Pryke.]

[Flowers and moss: White waxflowers and carpet moss.]

[Vase: Off-white bulb vase and white plate for the moss.]

[Vintage props: Psalm books and gold baubles.]

[Other props: Black and white fabric with snowflakes, tea-lights with washi tape and black and gold twine around vase.]

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

Have A Wonderful Floral Sunday!

See you soon!

xoxo Ingrid

FLOWERS by ingrid x titti - Christmas!

Welcome to the first FLOWERS by ingrid and titti.

In my introduction to our collaboration last week I talked about that both Titti and I are Swedish - but I live in the middle of London and Titti lives on this beautiful island called Öland in the Baltic Sea on the East Coast of Sweden. 

Titti and I found each other through the blogging world - we both love working with flowers, we are both photographers and we are both very excited about our new collaboration.

I also introduced you to Titti's blog HWIT BLOGG that she has been writing since 2010 and here is her introduction to me and my blog.

The new column will have a different theme each time; this first one is Christmas and we chose to do two different arrangements.

The first arrangement is very much about colour and dramatic contrasts. I have simply used several branches of Ilex verticillata - a particular kind of holly that produces bright red berries on bare stems in the winter. The two containers I have used as vases are - a large clear glass vintage apothecary jar and a new red miniature bud vase.

To add to the festive holiday mood I have used a fabric with red dots, black and white baker's twine, some red and silver baubles in a Marimekko bowl and three traditional Danish felt Christmas tree decorations on a red ribbon.  

Round red berries against a fabric with almost the same size red dots makes a fun and interesting composition.

The second arrangement is more about using natural materials. I made a very primitive wreath from dried Clematis cuttings; I have also used moss, pine cones and dried orange slices.

Some other lovely props that I have used are some white honeycomb paper pompoms and for a touch of copper - a Swedish antique pot filled with pine cones.

I have to admit that I cheated when it comes to my little tulip arrangement. It looks like I have planted some tulips in a terracotta pot - but it is in fact three cut tulip flowers that sits in a small container of water inside the pot. I finished it off by adding some green moss around the flowers. 

Here is a link to Titti's - HWIT BLOGG - so you can go and have a look at what she has done. 

I hope you will enjoy our first FLOWERS by ingrid x titti.

Have a Wonderful Floral Day!

See you soon!

xoxo Ingrid