Font Sunday: Tea tins

The Design Museum in London plays host to a photo-sharing afternoon on Twitter every Sunday, all about fonts in different contexts. There's a different subject each week, and people share photos of interesting fonts.

Today's subject was tea packaging, which was the perfect excuse for me to grab a few of my tea tins, chop some bits from the garden, and join in the font photography. You may have noticed that I am a big fan of pretty containers (especially anything Tiptree) and of good tea!

There isn't much flowering in the garden now. I had some hollyhocks, but they've been eaten by caterpillars or some other hungry so-and-so. (The Very Hungry Caterpillar seems like an adorable story until you notice the downside of hungry caterpillars). But I had fountain grass and bunny-tail grass, sedum, a few asters, salvia, and a couple of David Austin 'Cariad' roses.

The tall tin is from Postcard Teas - a lovely shop on Dering Street, just off New Bond Street. The owner, Tim d'Offay, goes to the tea plantations himself to see how the tea is grown and to check the conditions in which the workers are living. The teas are delicious, and if you go to the shop, Tim or one of the other lovely people working there will make you a cup of the tea to try before you decide which to buy.

The shorter tins are Wedgwood. As well as teapots and cups, the company also makes beautiful tins of tea, in different shades of blue.

The pink Cariad rose was especially welcome after yesterday's rugby result. I've never understood rugby, but after living with lots of Welsh rugby fans in Swansea, if I had to support anyone, it would always be Wales!

Finally, here are George Orwell's instructions for making a good cup of tea. The article was called 'A Nice Cup of Tea' after the phrase that brings us such comfort, but I think "good" is more appropriate. Also, the phrase "nice cup of tea" sometimes reminds me of the film Vera Drake; not very comforting! I agree with most of what Orwell says, particularly that the best tea comes from India and Sri Lanka (I am a bit biased, though), that it should be very strong and leave you feeling "wiser, braver or more optimistic after drinking it".

I'm about to embark on a research project for university, and I know the one thing that will help me to get through marathon study sessions is an endless cup of tea!

British Flowers Week: A Mad Tea Party for Alice's 150th

2015 is a year of a few special anniversaries. One of these is the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

When I first read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, my favourite chapter was A Mad Tea Party. I loved how conversational and silly it was, I loved the setting and the characters. I didn't want the chapter (or the party) to end. I also loved the meeting with the Queen of Hearts, even though she was terrifying. The Duchess freaked me out though, especially after I saw a television version in the 80s.

Today is Alice's Day - the day that Lewis Carroll first told the story of Wonderland to Alice Liddell, who inspired the books. If you were lucky enough to be in Oxford today, you may have seen the celebrations, including a line up of 150 Alices!

When I did flowers a couple of weeks ago, I had the tea party in mind.

I often do - I bought this Alice cup when I visited a friend in Oxford, and another friend sent me this cake stand from Jersey.

Last month, I got rainbow cake fit for Wonderland, from Brighton cake and ice cream cafe Cloud 9. (This anniversary Mad Hatter cake is quite something though.)

There were "bunny ears" grasses to represent the White Rabbit and the March Hare, and a few strongly-scented red roses to keep the Queen of Hearts happy. There were also chamomile flowers, which I've wanted to grow for years, ever since I learned that they symbolise energy in adversity.

There were jam and marmalade jars, but no mustard.

I have three copies of the book because I love the different covers so much. I'm busy today and tomorrow with a flower stall (come and visit me - it's at the Garden Museum from 10.30!), but will dig out one of my copies and have a read again.

Brews and bells of Ireland

By some marvellous synchronicity, on the day Ireland said yes to equality (see The Pansy Project, which I've mentioned before), I was given a bundle of presents from Ireland: lots of Irish breakfast tea and Irish flower seeds.

I've only been to Ireland once - a fleeting weekend in Dublin five years ago to meet some friends who were staying there. I spotted these coffee pots when we went for tea one afternoon. I'd love to fill them with flowers!

Home is where the heart is

This morning I read a brilliant blog post from Duck Egg about decorating a rented home. Duck Egg does lots of gorgeous, vintage-inspired pieces for the home, from animal silhouette fabrics and lampshades to herb pots and kitchen tables. The post included ideas such as getting long, bright curtains, propping up framed prints if you can't use nails on the walls, and brightening up the room with flowers or plants. It's well worth a read if you are renting but want to make some changes to feel like your home is really home.

I had a look through some photos from when I was living in a small flat that felt bereft of personality. I love colour so much, I found it truly depressing to live in a place that was all cream and brown. I didn't do that much, really, partly because I had barely any budget for decorating, but the little things I did - displayed flowers I'd grown or bought, kept a pot of seed-grown basil in the kitchen, made a table runner and tablecloth, baked cakes and served them along with tea in pretty cups and saucers, and put up some cotton bunting that my florist friend, Auriol, had made me - made a difference.

This all reminded me of an interview I read with Jonathan Harvey, the writer of the play and film Beautiful Thing. I can't find it, but I'm sure he said that even though the main family, Sandra and her teenage son, Jamie, lived on their own in a council flat in Thamesmead, Sandra would have made it look as nice as she could. If you watch the film (and I recommend you do - it's very nineties...which I like...but it's such a tender love story, it's my third favourite film), you'll see for yourself.

The Chelsea Flower Show and the Gunpowder Tea Plot

You can now have afternoon tea at the House of Commons while Parliament is in recess during the summer, which sounds rather wonderful to me. So I took a magazine photograph of the Palace of Westminster tea and a picture of a flowery Union Jack flag (designed to celebrate 100 years of the Chelsea Flower Show) and stuck them on a jam jar. I filled the jam jar with bits from the garden – roses, scabious, orange thyme and chocolate mint. It smelt beautiful.

I found it difficult to get the exposure right because of the white roses, especially when the white roses were positioned on the side.

I have no idea what varieties of tea they serve at the House of Commons. I suspect they don’t serve gunpowder tea (which is a real tea; I haven’t just made it up), but if anyone is lucky enough to have afternoon tea there and discovers that they do serve it, please let me know!

Dignity and new beginnings

It has been a difficult year so far for many people I know. Friends are losing jobs, two friends lost a parent, and some family members and friends have been very ill. I can only hope that things get better and that everyone finds some peace and happiness soon.

I went to the flower market today for the first time in months. Because the winter has been so prolonged, there were lots of spring flowers which had flowered later than usual. I bought some white muscari, which smells like bubblegum. I also bought white dahlias – I know it’s too early for them, but they symbolise dignity and they were so beautiful, I thought they would go well with the muscari.

I made a few posies in jam jars, a tea caddy, mini milk bottles, and a jug. I added some late-blooming daffodils, symbolising new beginnings, and Oliver Twist pittosporum from the garden.  It was nice to get back in the swing of floristry, and these are exactly the kind of arrangements I love making – pretty and textured, scented, country kitchen style flowers in complementary containers. I do like Tiptree jars and caddies – the labels are so beautiful, I never remove them.

Proof that you don’t need to spend lots of money on flowers: one short stem of muscari and a dahlia bud in a tiny jam jar. Small but perfect.