Purple Rain

I love the colour purple. Its strong, deep hues, a combination of reds and blues, are both rich and cool at the same time. One of the most requested colours for bridal flowers lately, I thought I'd give a quick run through some of the options available if you're thinking of using purple in your wedding.

Incredibly versatile, it can be soft and pretty with pinks, creams and lilacs but can also work with creams and vibrant sunny yellows, and I love it with orange (its opposite on the colour wheel) and lime green. Mix it with reds and you have a very seductive combination.

These above and the lilac flowers below are Eustoma, more commonly known as Lisianthus. Sometimes mistaken for a rose and also known as a chinese rose, its not related but you can see where the confusion arises. Like the rose it does have soft blousey petals but its perfect spiralling buds are all its own.

If you like natural country garden style flowers these below are Veronica. They work really well with Lisianthus, thistle and spray roses for a cottagey feel. They look sweet popping out of mixed spring bunches too and are relatively inexpensive and widely available pretty much all year round.

When you're choosing flowers, whether for a vase at home, a gift or a wedding it helps to think about the effect that different types of flowers have on your arrangement. Your florist will advise with this but its usually a good idea to have a combination of linear and rounded shapes.

Clematis below has a beautiful lightness to it. Its stems curve and climb and can lend a lovely rhythmical  movement to your arrangement so that it flows and looks natural.

Hydrangea in contrast are quite a weighty flower with large heads of lots of little flowers. As a general rule, its a good idea to keep your heavier focal flowers towards the base of arrangements and lighter smaller blooms towards the top. In vases, space and foliage help to balance out different shapes.  

This Hydrangea is a lovely variety with the most amazing variation of colours on one head. And no, this is not a trick of the light, these flowers actually have green, pink, lilac and blue tones on each tiny head. Amazing aren't they?

If you prefer cleaner lines there are still plenty of options out there if you're looking for purple flowers. Vanda orchids come in a few different shades of purple from the more commonplace vibrant pinky purple, to dusky browny purples that would work well in vintage themes, and this new variety which is a great strong "Cadbury's" purple. 

Tulips are perfect for classic, clean bouquets and do come in purple, although they look more pink here they are definitely more on the mauvey/magenta side of purple. As always I'd recommend sticking to using using them when they're in season as not only are they cheaper they're also much stronger and longer lasting.

So there it is purple - the colours of kings and queens and er, Prince - the tiny put him in your pocket prince of pop. Hence Purple Rain. And it has been raining quite a lot here, just not purple. That'd be worrying.

Spring Flower Workshop Part II

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.  The idea for the workshop was to demonstrate some spring flower arrangements in upcycled vases. 

I decided to use containers that we all have lying around at home - such as tin cans, jam jars and glass ramekins (if you enjoy a posh pud now and again as I do, you are bound to have a few of these lurking in your recycling bin). But rather than recycle them, we were going to reuse and upcycle them by looking at different ways we could add some pretty. 

We started the session with a small hand tie of Tulips and Genista, spiralling the stems and tying lightly so as not to crush the delicate stems, and cutting to size to suit the proportions of the tin cans.

Then I demonstrated how to make a little front facing tied posy suitable for a jam jar - using groups of Hyacinths, Muscari, Feverfew, Tete a Tete and Paperwhites.

Before moving on to work on a petite oasis arrangement in a ramekin. These sort of arrangements are great for using odd stems from larger bouquets, or a few cuttings from the garden - be sure to condition the flowers and foliage well before using them in oasis.

We used Ranunculus, Lisianthus, Waxflower and a few heads of limey green button Chrysanthemums. Roses would work equally well.

Lastly we looked at ways to decorate the containers. I'd brought along tin cans painted with tester pots from Farrow & Ball, and wrapped jam jars with wool in aqua shades. Hannah from Make & Do had used Enamel paint to give her jam jars a tint of pink.

The class then decorated their vases with fabric trimmings and ribbons from Make and Do's well stocked shelves.  At the end of the afternoon, they had 3 little spring arrangements to take home and hopefully picked up a few tips on how to recreate them at leisure.

It was such a lovely afternoon, hopefully we'll do it all again soon, but with a summer theme. 

Perhaps in time to inspire your Jubilee tea party decorations?..

Spring Flower Workshop

Its a gloomy January day, but I've been having fun trying out a few ideas for an upcoming Floristry workshop at Make and Do in Caversham.

Spring flowers never fail to cheer me up. I just love the simplicity of Tulips, the heady scent of Hyacinths and the plump and heavily petalled perfection of pretty Ranunculus.

For this workshop I'm going to be giving tips on how to turn everyday containers like jam jars and tin cans into pretty vases, and demonstrating how to make petite tied arrangements - perfect for your kitchen window, bedside table, for budget weddings and thank you gifts.

The workshop costs £35 (which includes tuition, all flowers and containers) and takes place Sunday 1st April 2 - 4.30pm, at Make and Do, Prospect Street, Caversham. Check out their website at Make and Do, and phone 0118 3276717 to book.

Simple vases - Fishbowls

Another instalment of simple vases...This week its all about fishbowls. As a florist, I have to admit these are a very useful little vase. A great curvy shape, simple and clean, they've become a modern classic.

They're so versatile too. When brides are on a budget, the ubiquitous Gerberas in a goldfish bowl is often the go-to choice du jour for table arrangements. Its something that your local florist can either do cheaply for you, or you could hire the vases, buy the cut flowers and pop the flowers in yourself on the day.

Another simple option is Calla Lily twisted round the inside of the vase, with a few grasses. Its so simple, your florist will really make it look its best, but it is one you could attempt to DIY. Just mind you don't snap the stems, as those Calla Lily's can be quite expensive.  In spring, Tulips would be a cheaper alternative to the Calla Lily's, and work in the same way, spiralled around the inside of the vase.     

I love this shot of Tulips. Crisp white tulips, a few stems of grass and simple table settings keeps this clean and fuss free.

For something a little different and dare I say, rustic, you could try vines, or branches inside the vase.  In this case, the use of a couple of Lily heads tucked into the arrangement, gives the finished vase a slightly Ikebana feel.  Simple, modern and minimal, and very effective.

I love succulents, and they look great planted in a fishbowl. Some wood-chippings, pebbles, or stones that co-ordinate with your theme, are all you need to complete the look. Love the little flag - it could double as a nifty table number for wedding tables.

And lastly, why have one fishbowl when you can have three. Groups of fishbowls look great.

For a wedding, make the top table table stand out by having a group of three bowls of different sizes, with different arrangements of themed colours and flowers in each.

Or stick to the same flowers (in this case, Cymbidium Orchids) but use different sized vases and stack them one on top of the other for a very striking centrepiece.

Failing that, goldfish centrepieces anyone?

Piccies from here, here, here, here & here