Uncategorised

How to Arrange Flowers – the Thought Behind the Blooms

There is one thing I am super passionate about and its sharing my knowledge and my love of flowers, so over the next few weeks I’m going to be running a series of in depth floral principals I always think about before I grab my stems. If you want to up your floristry game, you’re definitely going to want to tune in each Wednesday to get my pro tips.   When you are arranging flowers there is a certain floral harmony that hits that visual sweet spot and today I’m going to let you in on the secret! It’s all about balance. I’m not about to lay down a whole pile of floristry rules, because lets face it, rules and nature don’t feel like they go hand in hand. But there are a few rules you should be thinking about that will elevate your floral game. I’ve cherry picked the best to share with you over the next few weeks. This week we’re kicking off with an overview of the 4 shape principals that I always think about when I’m choosing flowers...

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Wedding Flowers

Wedding Wednesday – Carlie’s Bright Country Garden Flower Celebration

  Carlie and her man got married at the end of May – for me a time when the gardens are bursting with summer colour. The Chelsea Flower Show has graced our screens and everyone who's anyone is thinking about flowers! If I were to marry again, May would be my month. The peonies are just popping up, delphiniums are in full swing and sweet peas have burst onto the scene with all the scent and wow you’d expect.   Carlie’s brief was a perfect cacophony of colour – blues, whites, oranges and just a smidge of zesty green. The vibe – country garden, just picked and everything tied with raffia. Boy oh boy is it the perfect time of year to carry off this palette! We just provided Carlie’s personal flowers – a gorgeous bouquet for her to hold, 2 for her maids and some bouts for the men and women. I love doing personal flowers, it sets the scene for the whole wedding and if budget is tight this is the perfect way to make your bucks go that little bit...

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DIY inspiration

DIY Summer Flower Crown Tutorial

  Summer to me is always a celebratory time of year. We’re done hibernating and want to get out there and socialise. BBQ’s, weddings, festivals …dancing! I hope I’m setting the scene! Come rain or shine, summer is about channelling your inner hippy – colour, loose clothes AND, in my humblest opinion, flowers in your hair! Our DIY Summer Flower Crown Tutorial will have you reaching for the scissors and whipping one of these beauties up in no time at all – perfect if you're about to slip out to a festival, informal gathering or wedding!     Step one The tools of the trade The great news is you don’t need loads of floristry gubbins to make your crown: •    some sharp snips •    some wire (floristry or garden wire will do the job) •    around 1m of decorative ribbon •    some floristry tape, which you can easily get hold of at most florist shops or craft stores such as Hobby craft       Step two Choose your flowers This is where the fun really kicks in – this is your crown and you can customise it however you like – go bold or...

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Wasing Park, Wedding Flowers

Wedding Wednesday – Louise and Lewis Blush and White Wedding

  I think blush and white is one of those colour palettes of which I will never tire. It’s the perfect romantic tone – not too much white and just the right amount of pink without going super girly. Its like a grown up romance novel translated into colours. All the tenderness you want with just the right amount of sexy.   Louise and Lewis married at the ever-beautiful Wasing Park back in April. The flowers were a seasonal affair, which works so well at this venue. Louise trusted us to go to town on the flowers and so in true Green Parlour style we did; with ranunculus, blousy roses, the last of the seasons anemones, lilac, trails of jasmine and astilbe. It encapsulated everything I adore about spring, wild abundance, un-arranged perfection and the perfect mix of textures. Plumes of fountain grass shot through the designs to give that delicate movement which I adore and I may have also snuck in a sweet pea or two, because there were some beauts available at market when I was collecting the fleurs and...

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DIY inspiration

Flower Club Week 1

    Welcome to the launch of our very first Flower Club! We are so totally excited about sharing this with you! We've been toying with the idea for a while so we hope you love it as much as we do! Every Monday we release a new Flower Club is designed to allow you to create DIY flower arrangements at home simply, with no effort (apart from putting by around 30 minutes of your time) You can dip in and out, so you're not stuck with a whole load of kits you don't have any interest in AND there's also a weekly flower-a-long where you can join us to see real-time how to make the arrangement. This weeks arrangement is a Spring inspired vase with some of our favourites - lilac, anmeones, tulips, seasonal foliage, ranunculus, guelder rose and forsythia. Not to mention you get the vase to keep too! You get some written instructions to talk you through how to make the weekly arrangement and to keep for future reference.

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Pretty Things, Some little thoughts

A Tour of Columbia Road Flower Market

A two minute tour of Columbia Road Flower Market Believe me when I say I could have easily spent the whole of Sunday filming and snapping the toing and froing of London's second most famous flower market. I'm used to heading off in the small wee hours to Covent Garden Flower Market, but haven't ventured up on a Sunday jaunt to Columbia Road Flower Market for some time. Its not that I haven't wanted to, its just time runs away! For me Columbia Road has a lot more soul than Covent Garden, and although its not geared up towards florists, it really captures everything that I think a flower market should be about. When I first visited Covent Garden, goodness, about 16 years ago I was expecting this mecca of creative hustle and bustle, bright lights, bright colours, independent retailers and amazing sights and sounds. A vibrant barter atmosphere! And it was in some respect like that, but it just felt a bit 'grey'. The building was old. It felt unloved. Whilst the produce you could buy and the traders are amazing,...

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DIY inspiration, Pinterest inspiration, Some little thoughts

DIY Spring Flower Tutorial

    Something I noticed since we filmed our very first flower tutorial for YouTube was just how much I say 'so' Its funny how been put in-front of a camera and having to sit there and edit it makes you pick up on all those little quirks. Anyway, that's very much by the by ... we've been wanting to do some online flower tutorials for a while, and this is our very first proper attempt. we are learning as we go along, so please bare with bare with! In our first DIY flower tutorial we're teaching you how to create a spring garden design for your table. I cannot tell you how amazing this looked (and smelt) when it was finished. There was a plethora of spring flowers - lilac, english narcissi, anemones, moss and some rather beautiful seasonal foliage. In total this project took around 30 minutes, so its more than achievable to re-create at home and can be made a few days in advance of your gathering, so really there is no excuse not to have a go. Despite the tweaks that...

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Some little thoughts

February – Journal

  Spring flowers (well almost) Today is the first day I've really walked outside and thought 'SPRING!' There's a warmth in the air and that feeling that the days are once again getting longer. Today the shop feels like a euphony of spring with the most wonderful of scents and colours, so much so that I couldn't help but down tools and take some snaps of what we've got going on. The anemones are totally stealing my heart at the moment, the brighter the better! The power of colour at this time of year is crucial - I think it sees us through the last few weeks of winter and makes us realise that spring really is on the horizon! Joy!     How darling are these pink ranunculus - the most perfet shade of baby pink and I'm always reminded of marshmallows when I look at them. They have the appearance of been such a delicate flower, but never before have I met such a fighter. These guys go on for weeks and can survive quite a time without water too. They are perfect...

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Uncategorised

January – Journal

The frost is in the air and as long as there are blue skies I'm happy. I sit and write this whilst trying to cajole the little guy to bed. My efforts, are however, wasted, and secretly I'm quite happy sitting by the fire just that little longer. January. The month of fresh starts, resolutions, hunkering down and comfort food. On tonight's menu, pie - not the homemade version because today I've been flouncing around doing my flowery thing. January gets a bad rep for flowers, but I have to admit its one of my favourite times. The clear down after the decorations have gone leads to endless places to decorate with Spring bulbs and flowers. Little jars scattered on windowsills where once a garland or two sat. All those deep, rich colours swapped for fresh whites, a scattering of powder blue and pink. The shop has been filled, re-stocked (just like my energy levels after our Christmas break) and is now a homage to spring. Ranunculus grace the flower stand, along with scented lilac, spring hyacinths and blush...

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