FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Late Summer Palette

FLOWERS is a series of blog posts that Titti Malmberg, of HWIT BLOGG, and I create a couple of times a month. Each time we work to a theme and we post at the same time.

We met on the internet and became friends. Titti lives just outside the beautiful coastal town of Karlskrona in Sweden, and I live in London, a vibrant big city.

In FLOWERS blog posts we share inspiring tips and ideas, and show that arranging flowers does not have to be difficult and expensive.

This time on 'FLOWERS by ingrid and titti' -  the theme is 'A Late Summer Palette'. 

Autumn has such an amazing colour palette and these two Dahlias are no exception. As a third little side arrangement I used a jam jar where I added a few stems of pink Sedum and a few little short stems of dark Cotinus foliage. Both from my garden. 

I also gathered some golden hops from my garden and displayed them in a little basket. 

The big leaves are from a plant called Vitis coignetiae. It's a very vigorous climber that can grow several meters each season - so you need to give it plenty of room to grow. The leaves turns bright red later on in the autumn. 

Later flowering Dahlias will mix well with autumn berries and autumn coloured leaves. Dahlias are not very long-lasting but while they are flowering they are magnificent. So enjoy them while you can! These Dahlias are from Forever Green Flower Company.

I have used two vintage giant pickling jars for the Dahlias. The two small wicker baskets with handles and the hessian adds to the late summer palette.

My collaborator Titti Malmberg over in Sweden has also been busy creating a post with the same autumnal theme. So why not pop over to her blog, HWIT BLOGG, and see what beautiful creations she has come up with. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous and floral Friday and a great 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.

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

[Styling, text and photography © Ingrid Henningsson/Of Spring and Summer.]
{Flowers from Forever Green Flower Company.]

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FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Happy Midsummer!

It's midsummer and Titti and I would like to wish you all a Happy Midsummer!

I have put together a summer bouquet especially for today. It's full of frothy bright green Alchemilla mollis, dark coloured Astrantia and Aquilegia and some small bright pink Gladiolus italicus.

It's always something special about summer flowers. All of these are grown in Britain and again most of them are from Forever Green Flower Company.

Simply a perfect and lovely bunch to celebrate midsummer with.

Titti Malmberg - my Swedish based collaborator - who I work alongside on FLOWERS - also has a new post on her blog HWIT BLOGG - so please follow the link and go over and see what she has created.

Titti and I are taking a break over the summer and we will be back with more FLOWERS in August. 

Have a Very Happy Midsummer!

I'll see you next week with more floral delights from 'Of Spring and summer'. 

~ xoxo ~ 

Ingrid

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:

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FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Say it with Flowers!

The theme for this week's FLOWERS is 'Say It With Flowers'. We often associate certain flowers with a particular meaning. Roses with love, Lily-of-the-valley with return of happiness, violets with innocence and so the list goes on. This was something that was very popular in Victorian times. 

We still sometimes use flowers this way but today we choose more whether it's a happy or a sad occasion. In early spring we might buy daffodils to cheer us up because we relate daffodils with springtime, sun and a new beginning. Later in the spring we will buy tulips that we often look at as a happy flower. Lilies on the other hand a lot of people associate with sadness. 

BUT I have chosen to do something different. I picked three white but very different flowers - Gypsophila, Gladiolus and Stock. Instead of looking at flowers having a meaning - I'm looking at flowers and how you can very, very simply style them in different ways.

I have used the same flowers in two different ways by adding a selection of props. Sometimes I'm using the same vase or container other times a different vase.

In the first image of each flower it's a vintage look in the second it's more of a contemporary look.

The whole colour scheme is very simple - it's white with a few touches of black.

I have added a mix of black and white contemporary fabrics, white napkins, white vintage enamelled jars from France, vintage lace, a Finnish glass bowl and vase, old books, a vintage funnel and a bowl with vintage dice and curtain rings.

I wanted to show how you can make the same flowers look good in different environments by simply changing the styling using vintage or contemporary fabrics and other props. 

If you go over to Titti's blog you can see her interpretation of this week's theme. Here is the link to her blog. 

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a lovely floral Friday!

Titti and I will be back later in June with some more FLOWERS with a new and interesting theme.

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Spring is in the Air!

Yes, spring is definitely in the air here in London! Titti and I thought it would be a suitable theme for this weeks FLOWERS.

To capture the feeling of spring with flowers is not difficult at this time of year - flowers are in abundance and the colours are fabulous.

For this spring bouquet I have used white and pink tulips, some ranunculus in a couple of different pink shades and for green foliage a small leafed eucalyptus. 

I also made a second mini arrangement in a very small watering can - four ranunculus with a few little sprigs of eucalyptus and some raffia to hold it all together - just leaning to one side. A charming way to display a tiny arrangement. 

The large container is a zinc florist bucket that I have had for many years and it's still in use almost every day. Talk about good value for money!

The big arrangement is made straight in the container and I have grouped a few of the same flower together to prevent the flowers looking like dots.  

The piece of floral fabric that I'm using as a tablecloth picks up the pink and green colours in the flowers. A quick and easy way to make a base for the arrangement and to blend and tie it all together.

I think spring has arrived in the south of Sweden too - were Titti lives - I can't wait to see what spring-like flowers she has to show us. Here is the link to her blog. 

Have a lovely floral day!

We'll be back later in the month with another 'FLOWERS' -also with a spring theme. Before that I'll see you later in the week.

You can also find me on:

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FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - A Floral Easter!

Daffodils is a classic spring flower and will often flower around the time of Easter. The bright yellow colour is a welcome sight in any garden or park. 

This daffodil that I have used here is one called Narcissus Tête-À-Tête and its only about 20 cm tall. Small and very sweet and perfect for using as single stems in any small vase or container.

I have a collection of clear glass bottles - from as small as 5 cm to quite tall ones. Some are new but most of them are vintage often picked up in charity stores or flea-markets for very little money. 

Some have company names embossed in the glass, others are old perfume bottles and some have worn labels on the side.

When I cut the flowers in my garden I made sure I cut the stem as long as possible. The flowers are not very tall and to get the right proportions you want to have the flexibility to pair up the right size flower with the right size bottle. 

Start by putting the flowers with the longest stems in the taller bottles. Match the other stems to shorter bottles and vary the height of the flowers so that there is variation in each container.

In this case I have put most of the bottles on a little white painted footstool with a vintage metal bird my son gave me for Mother's Day.

This kind of flower arrangement can go down the middle of your Easter table or gather the collection on a tray and place it on a side table. Small bottles like these are charming on a bedside table in the guest bedroom or on a coffee table.

Pick some daffodils from your garden and dig out some bottles and make little arrangements - what could be easier!

Titti over on HWIT BLOGG is also  doing a floral Easter theme - so go over and see what she is up to.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a wonderful floral Friday and a very Happy Easter!

I'll see you on Sunday with another Florets - a floral quote from someone passionate about flowers.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

For more floral inspiration follow me on:

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FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Bouquet to Give Away

On FLOWERS this week Titti and I are featuring floral bouquets to giveaway for a special occasion. I wanted to spend a bit more time and effort on it and make it look just that little bit extra special. 

My intentions were good - BUT it didn't work out as planned.

So what happened? Well, I went to buy flowers from my trusted local flower seller, a few streets from where I live, and he wasn't there! I thought, what do I do now? The florist is a nice choice but often too expensive, so my option was one of the many supermarkets. So off I went to Tesco and bought two bunches of mixed flowers - a mix of white roses, multiculoured carnations, some dark chrysanthemums, white phlox and white lilies. 
     

I made a hand-tied bunch, used raffia to tie around the stems and then cut all the stems the same length. 

I then used some of Jane Means' pretty ribbons to hide the raffia. I used two different grey ribbons - a light silver grey and a dark grey together, made a big bow, left the ends quite long and finished off by cutting the ends of the ribbons at an angle.

There are many different ways of wrapping your flowers - I quite like to use plain brown wrapping paper. Florists often use several layers of both cellophane and tissue paper.

I simply wrapped the flowers in one layer of brown paper and finished off with a piece of dark grey ribbon.

While assembling the bouquet I left the phlox sticking up above the other flowers like little bits of froth. I also positioned the two lilies at the back - with lots of unopened buds they are going to need lots of room when the flowers open up.

This is a bouquet that will last for a while - which will be nice for the person you give it to. The roses will last for a little while, the carnations and the chrysanthemums will last longer and the phlox and the lilies will last the longest and what is nice is that they still have lots of buds that will open up and keep the bouquet going for up to two weeks.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous floral Saturday!

Titti over on HWIT BLOGG has also created her version of 'Bouquet to Give Away'. So head over to her blog and see her interpretation. 

I will be back tomorrow with another floral quote by a flower lover.

Ingrid

~ xoxo ~

[All ribbons are from Jane Means Ribbon Collection.]

For more floral inspiration follow me on:

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FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - White Flowers for the Table

The theme for this weeks FLOWERS - is 'White Flowers for the Table'. I decided to do a table setting using the two key words in the theme as inspiration - white and table. So I gathered together a whole lot of different white objects, some clear glass as well as the added touches of silver and green.

The flowers I'm using are all white - roses, parrot tulips and hyacinths - even though the flowers are white there are a lot of added green in them - buds, stalks, leaves and multi-coloured petals. 

I put everything out on a table just to see what it all looked like together - white napkins with little black touches, heirloom wine glasses and silver plated cutlery, some small vases, Marimekko tealight holders and IKEA plates. 

An interesting mix of old and new - newly bought or handed down from older generations.  

As a little finishing touch I made a very small bundle of pussy willow and tied it with some natural raffia. I placed it on the napkin next to the cutlery just as a little reminder that spring is soon here!

Below is the final table setting inspired by the theme 'White Flowers for the Table'. 

Easy, quick and simple - with the tealight and the flowers pulling it all together and bringing it to life.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a fabulous floral Friday!

Titti over on HWIT BLOGG has also created her version of 'White Flowers for the Table'. So head over to her blog and see her interpretation. 

I will be back next week with more floral delights from Of Spring and Summer.

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

FLOWERS by ingrid and titti - Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm celebrating Valentine's Day with three floral arrangements - a big mixed bouquet with two different tulips, ranunculus and cherry blossoms. A small arrangement with some rather special and very unusual pink tulips and a tall arrangement with just cherry blossoms on their own.

All three arrangements are just right for Valentine's Day - soft, feminine, pretty and romantic! 

The background in the photographs is a painting that I took off the wall, propped it up behind the flower arrangements and in the process I turned it sideways. I liked the contrast but also how some colours were matching - but I'm not sure the artist would be pleased with me turning her painting around!

The small arrangement with the very pretty pink and white tulips is quick and easy. The stems are cut very short and put in a small container in a contrasting colour. Cut the stems at slightly different lengths so they splay out a bit and don't end up standing straight up. 

Double tulips also called peony tulips are so stunningly beautiful - they almost take your breath away. 


One of my favorites is a pink one called Angelique others with great names are Lilac Perfection, May Wonder, Carnaval de Nice and there is a white one called Mount Tacoma.  

This spring try to find some branches with flowering blossoms. Bring them indoors - help them along by making two cuts at the bottom of the stems - one sharp diagonal and one vertical up the stem. This is to allow as much water as possible to be absorbed and help the buds to open.

If the buds are tightly closed you can help them along to open up by putting them in warm water and in a bright but not too hot place.
Cherry blossoms can be a bit tricky - the flowers are fragile and will quite easily fall apart if knocked by mistake - but once you have arranged them and they have happily started to open their flowers are just stunning. 

Oh, the delights of spring and the wonders of nature. 

Enjoy your flower arranging! 
   

My Swedish collaborator Titti Malmberg over on HWIT BLOGG is also celebrating Valentine's Day - so go over and have a look at her interpretation.

Have a fabulously Happy Valentine's Day! - and I will see you next week with more floral delights from Of Spring and Summer.

Ingrid

~ xoxo ~ 

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

You can also find me on:

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

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

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