Creative with Flowers - # 26 - Blue Hyacinths and Purple Anemones

This week on Creative with Flowers - I'm featuring a mixed bunch of Hyacinths and Anemones. An interesting and colourful combination of flowers.

This series of blog posts - called 'Creative with Flowers' - are about using flowers in creative ways. It could be about how the flowers are combined - maybe in a little bit of an unusual way. It might be the choice of vase - maybe not a vase at all but a container that could be anything from jugs, bottles, jars, tins or teapots - vintage or new it doesn't matter. 

As always my arrangements will be quick and easy - and there will always be lots and lots of colour!

Sometimes on some hyacinths you can find little short offshoots - mini flowers growing in among the leaves. I always try to use as much of the flowers as possible - so in this case I made a side arrangement using the small flowers.

I put them in a silver plated jug. One of my finds from one of the many London antique markets. By now most of the silver is worn off - but I kind of like it that way - full of patina. 

I removed all the leaves on the Hyacinths and used a clear glass container as a vase. The Anemones has a ruff of leaves around the stems just below the flower. If it's in good condition it adds a lot of texture and some greenery. 

The Hyacinths has a lovely scent and lasts for approx 7- 10 days - so very much good value for money.

The Anemones on the other hand do not last for that long, maybe 5-7 days. They are also much more delicate - both petals and stems are very easy to damage while handling the flowers.

The two flowers complement each other in both colour and texture and gives a lot of visual variation. I have also added some darker props that picks up the black in the centre of the Anemones.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer'. I will be back on Friday with another 'A Bunch for the Weekend'. I'll see you then.

Ingrid 

~ xoxo ~

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

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Creative with Flowers - # 22 - Pink Hydrangea and Eucalyptus

This week we are taking a look at some gorgeous deep pink Hydrangea and the foliage I'm using is the old dependable Eucalyptus.  

This series of blog posts - called 'Creative with Flowers' - are about using flowers in creative ways. It could be about how the flowers are combined - maybe in a little bit of an unusual way. It might be the choice of vase - maybe not a vase at all but a container that could be anything from jugs, bottles, jars, tins or teapots - vintage or new it doesn't matter. 

As always my arrangements will be quick and easy - and there will always be lots and lots of colour!

The Hydrangea is still going strong at the flower stalls. As we move into autumn the colours gets stronger, deeper and darker.

I kept a lot of the amazing dark green foliage on the Hydrangea. The foliage can often be damaged, torn or bruised so I rarely leave a lot on - but this time it just looked so good I left as much as I could on the stems.
  

While clearing out some old boxes from my loft I found this 30 year old Tampella fabric - a Finnish company very popular in the 1960's. Who would have known that it would still look this good today...!! And almost matching the pink flowers.

The grey-green Eucalyptus foliage contrast to the dark Hydrangea leaves and it also matches the light green bottles and jars that I have used as vases.

I'm so excited finding this old fabric - I love the colours and it has such a contemporary look and feel to. 

It's just a perfect fit for the way I love to mix old with new - vintage with contemporary.

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

Thank you for visiting 'Of Spring and Summer'. I will be back on Friday with another 'A Bunch for the Weekend'. Hope to see you 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 and an email will come right into your inbox.

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:

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Florets - Floral Quote - # 92 - by Malin Hidesäter

"Christmas is coming! The time leading up to Christmas, before everything gets stressful, is lovely. I buy wreaths and decorate the entire house with flowers, not least hyacinths, for their scent is a must in December. Of course, it's lovely to have Christmas baskets and potted hyacinths but cut flowers can bring just as much Christmas spirit into the home. Why not release the traditional flowers like amaryllis and hyacinths from their pots and bulbs and use them in exciting different ways?" 

~ Malin Hidesäter ~

[Malin Hidesäter: Swedish florist, flower expert, stylist, TV presenter and author of two books - Flower Power and Krukväxter.]

[Quote from: Flower Power (2007) by Malin Hidesäter and Anna Skoog.]

[Flowers: Pink and blue Hyacinths.]

[Container: Off-white vintage ceramic jars.]

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

Have a wonderful floral Sunday!

I will be back tomorrow Monday with another lovely floral 'Tiny Blooms' to start the week with.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

You can also find me on:

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A Bunch for the Weekend - # 65 - Pink Ranunculus and Eucalyptus

'A Bunch for the Weekend' - this week is a combination of pink Ranunculus and grey-green Eucalyptus foliage.

HOW TO:

You'll need:

- 20 stems of Ranunculus in any colour you like - make sure the flowers have not opened up too much - you want them to last as long as possible and once you put them in a warm room they will open up quite quickly.

-  10 -15 short stems of Eucalyptus foliage - if you get a few longer stems you can easily cut them into shorter lengths.

- a low vase or container - in this case I have used a vintage white jar.

- as props I have used a small Christmas tree wreath in the background, two sparkly tealight holders and piece of fabric in colours similar to the flowers as well as a piece of lace tablecloth. 

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 the stems at a sharp angle - this is to increase water absorption.

Put 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 and to get the right proportions.

Method:

- Start with the Ranunculus - remove any damaged leaves - or in this case I removed all leaves - they often look a bit sad.  - Measure the stems against the side of the vase and cut the stems so that the flower heads sits a bit above the edge of the the container.

-This kind of arrangement looks quite nice when you keep it fairly low and compact - cut the flower stems around the sides a bit shorter and the flowers in the middle a bit longer.  

- Keep the water level in the vase fairly low. Ranunculus stems has fine hairs that can encourage fungal growth.

-For the same reason don't overcrowd the vase/container or the stems will rot. 

- Keep an eye on the water level and change water every 1-2 days.

The big flower markets around the world start selling Ranunculus from end of November and the season carries on until around May. It's not unusual to be able to use Ranunculus for Christmas as well as Easter.

Enjoy your flower arranging and have a great floral weekend!

I'll be back on Sunday with 'Florets' - more floral quotes from people passionate about flowers.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid

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

You can also find me on:

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