Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May

It’s the end of May, everything’s coming up roses, and I haven’t even posted photos of my spring flowers! So here’s a quick tour of the garden flowers from the last two months, both in the garden and after cutting.

April brought my one, solitary ranunculus (of the ten plants I’d tried to grow). It also brought tulips galore – golden Freeman tulips and red, scented Abba tulips, sweetly-scented and pretty pink Angelique peony tulips which open up the minute you put them in water, and sexy, red Rococo parrot tulips. There were delicate, scented narcissi and muscari and fairy-like snakeshead fritillary – I love the little arrangement I did with these (it was a present for my partner).

May brought more tulips – black parrot and blue parrot tulips, white Swan Wings fringed tulips and lilac Cummins fringed tulips. And, seemingly from out of nowhere, came the rose buds and the first roses.

The temperature might be going down, but summer is here.

Spring greens

Over the Easter holidays, I did deliveries for some contract work for my college. The tutors and technician needed a proper break, and I was happy to get some different work experience. It was a little bit scary having so much responsibility (the client is a chef with a number of restaurants all over London), but once the first day was over, I felt fine. The driver was brilliant, as was the supply tutor at college (who made most of the designs during the Easter break). The work involved packing and carrying flower arrangements (some were huge) to and from the restaurants, doing maintenance work at some restaurants (i.e. removing wilting flowers and topping up arrangements and outside plants with water), and making lots of small table arrangements on site for three of the restaurants. One day, I got to college at 7am, only to find my poor tutor madly trying to make arrangements that were supposed to have been made in his absence, so I helped out – and wow, I have never worked so fast or so instinctively! Doing this work has certainly tempered my tendency to over-think arrangements.

Here are some of the arrangements that I’ve made.

And here are some others in situ.

One restaurant had new arrangements three times a week. The old flowers would be thrown away, and it seemed like a waste, so one day I asked if I could take them back with me. My tutor gave me a new stem of cymbidium orchids that hadn’t been used, and I made a table centre for my friend and three little arrangements for me. I think this shows how effective simple arrangements and grouping the same flower and/or colour can be. These parrot tulips and orchids were used in different arrangements for the contract work, and they are two flowers that I wouldn't have thought of putting together, but I loved how the lime green colour and curvy shapes linked them so well.

Otherwise engaged

I haven’t updated my blog for ages as I’ve been busy with floristry work and studies. Ok, there’s another reason too – I got engaged on Easter Sunday, which was the day after I wrote my last post! It’s been a wonderful whirlwind the last couple of months. So far, we’ve booked the ceremony and afternoon reception, the photographer, and have meetings booked with the dress designer and the cake maker. I love the planning process and researching for ideas for decorations, music, readings. I don’t need to tell you that I’d decided on the flowers before the dress – the scents and flower meanings are just as important to us as the colours and types of flowers. And I also probably don’t need to tell you that David Austin roses are going to feature heavily.

Expect a lot of wedding-related posts over the next year!

Here is a photo of one of the giant eggs that featured in the Faberge Big Egg Hunt in London over Easter – I found this at Canary Wharf just moments after my boyfriend phoned me to say he had been offered a job in London (we’ve been doing the long distance thing ever since we met). It was the week before we got engaged. The egg is called ‘Love’ by Louise Dear…it felt like a pretty cool coincidence.

Eating Disorders International Conference

I had the privilege of doing event flowers for the Eating Disorders International Conference (EDIC), which was hosted by the UK charity Beat.

I know that Beat does amazing work supporting people with eating disorders, their families and carers, as well as research into the causes and treatment. They also run media campaigns to raise awareness and improve understanding of eating disorders. I was very impressed by the work they did with the British soap opera Hollyoaks a few years ago – it was the first time an eating disorder had been portrayed on television so carefully and in so much depth, from the effects on the person’s mental wellbeing to the harsh reality that eating disorders kill people.

It was wonderful to contribute something beautiful and natural to a charity that does so much good work.

I used the colours of the EDIC and Beat logos – pink and purple were quite easy to find, but naturally blue flowers that would work well was more of a challenge. The flowers also needed to last well in floral foam for the duration of the three-day conference.

In the end, I used Pacific Blue, Cool Water and Heidi roses, blue-purple and pink lisianthus, pink Asiatic lilies (which are not scented, unlike longiflorum lilies), purple bloom chrysanthemums and different kinds of eucalyptus for the two pedestals, and roses, eucalyptus, blue lisianthus and green skimmia for the long spray. I also added some ivy from the garden and decorated the pedestals with pink and blue organza, representing the pink and blue of the Beat logo.

Apparently some delegates commented on the scent of the (Pacific Blue) roses, which was noticeable when people walked into the conference room. And the organisers of the conference were happy with the arrangements.

As my first time doing event flowers for an organisation, it went pretty well. I’m happy with the arrangements I did and I really enjoyed the experience.

A big thank you to Beat, and to the people who helped me do the arrangements, including my friend Manish – a non-florist who has a natural talent for floristry!

Spring/Summer Collection 2012

As it’s Easter, I thought I’d add some photos from the past month. I’ve used lots of spring flowers – scented narcissi, irises, ranunculus and anemones, as well as pink, summery roses: huge Sorbet Avalanche spray roses and scented Auguisa Luise garden roses.

This gift posy uses florist hyacinths, paperwhites and ranunculus.

The next few pictures feature hyacinths that I’ve grown in the greenhouse. The blue is Delft Blue, the pink is Pink Pearl, the yellow is City of Haarlem, and the purple is Woodstock. They smelt gorgeous.

And here are some arrangements using City of Haarlem hyacinths, Pacific Blue roses (which are also scented), lisianthus and skimmia.

A sea of crocuses

Opposite Cadbury World in the pretty village of Bournville is a beautiful park. I went for a walk there last weekend and saw a sea of crocuses, worthy of a Wordsworth poem.

We have a little cluster by a tree in the garden, which are beautiful close up, but not quite so impressive at a distance!

Daffodils, continued

I'm snowed under with coursework and work for an event (details in due course), but here is my daffodil textured cushion, after I had added the spray of flowers on top. It had been in the fridge at college for a week, so the foliage and daffodils were not in peak condition, but I think the pink ranunculus and tiny narcissi work well. I could have used more ranunculus though, to push through the bright yellow.