Who doesn't love being given a bunch of flowers? It's such a lovely gesture and I'm not being ungrateful here but sometimes, you think I'm not really a yellow and orange coloured flower girl or I'm not a carnation girl. I'm not this or I'm not that but I think we all have our own personal preferences don't we? My personal preference is peonies, hydrangeas and I'm quite partial to parrot tulips too if anyone wants to buy me flowers ;o) Put it this way, the Grumps thinks twice before he comes home with a bunch of floribunda for me.
I was recently given a bunch with the following colours in. Crimson, orange, yellow, purple and fuchsia. Together, they were very colourful and to be honest, I struggled with how to arrange them as a collective bunch and then I hit on the brainwave of splitting them.
I extracted the carnations/dianthus and purple thistle and arranged them like this.
And they went on my kitchen window sill next to Snowy from Tin Tin.
I then separated the fuchsia gerberas and the peachy orange roses. And arranged them like so .....
.... before I took them round to a friend's as a quickie birthday present ;o) I was honest and fessed up to not buying the flowers and she was okay with that as it was a rather impromptu out of the blue invite.
And last but not least, I extracted the remaining yellow flowers (no idea of their name) along with some of the green foliage and arranged them like this ..... as I had no idea what to do with these :o(
And in a simple setting ... they don't look so bad. Just plain and clean.
So, together, they are not so hot but separated, I thought they looked the business and this way, you get three lots of flower arrangements.
Sometimes, you just need to think outside the box.
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Last Note :
- Carnations/dianthus generally get a bad rap. They tend to be cheap and cheerful, found on petrol station forecourts and generally thought of as a little boring. But buy yourself a bunch some time and try something like arranging a single carnation in a single bud vase. Put two or three of these together and suddenly we are talking something modern and funky instead of the usual carnation sprig in a vase on the table at the local curry house. Have a look at H&M homewares - they have some beautiful little vases there which I will be ordering.
Source (Pinterest)
- Or cluster them tightly together in a vase with a small opening so they fan out of the top like a little explosion.
Source (Pinterest)
- Strange but true. But my little instagram pic of my carnations has garnered the most likes ever in my Instagram history. Granted I don't have a huge following but I love that a little pot of much maligned flowers got so much love!
Stunning - you know how I love my flowers! In fact Poppy has inherited my love too and has an arrangement in her bedroom every week too! Years ago I couldn't dare spend money on lovely things like flowere or scented candles so now I really appreciate the all over the house! I LOVE the thistles! xx
ReplyDeleteOh gosh Poppy is a lucky girl - fresh flowers every week! They used to be my weekend treat when I used to raid Leeds market at the end of the day on a Saturday when I could buy armfuls for a pittance but I've stopped buying in recent years - they seem a rather indulgent luxury now but I always make an exception for peonies as soon as they come in season.
DeleteAnd yes the thistles add that little shot of colour to break up the sea of crimson don't they?
Love all your arrangements. The simple ones are always the best! Personally I love white tulips, pink peonies and blue hydrangeas...but those white carnations look so elegant, I might snatch some up next time I se them (I have a thing for white flowers)....
ReplyDeleteSounds almost identical to my likes for flowers but I can't do blue hydrangeas - I love the pure white ones! I go to a florist wholesalers some times and I've scooped up some fabulous fake white hydrangeas which I have dotted around the house to add some all year (non) colour! And have a play with a bunch of carnations some time and see what you can do. It might be fun.
DeleteThere are no ends to your talents Sue....if only you didn't live so far away, I'd have you around here once a week to work your magic with my flower purchases! xx
ReplyDeleteOh you're lucky if you have fresh flowers every week. I occasionally indulge in some white lilies and I love stocks (love the scent) when they have them in the summer but flowers are definitely an indulgent treat for me these days. We used to have a lovely pink hydrangea bush at our old house and it was always nice to take flowers and foliage from the garden. I really should grow more cutting plants but I am a little lazy.
DeletePretty much share the same favourites Sue. I must admit that I can't wait to buy tulips in spring, then have daffodils indoors at Easter and follow that with peonies. I must say my daughters wedding flowers were just sublime, I still look at the pictures in complete and utter admiration of her choices, knowing exactly what she wanted, so different to usual and how the florist interpreted her ideas. x
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's flowers were beautiful - and how she chose what she did and how it all came together was just lovely. I helped a friend with a wedding once (she decided I was to be her wedding planner) and I vowed not to go there again!
DeleteI will now look differently at the humble carnation, love your picture, they look so pretty opened out! Sue you have a great eye to make something fairly average look very stylish! Helen xx
ReplyDeleteI think that's it - they are a very humble flower and it's just knowing what to do with them. They are usually rather sprawling just left in a vase with long stems but when bunched close, they make much more impact. I have a family friend who is a florist and along the way, I must have picked up something from her along the way - for some reason, Professor Blauuw is the name of a blue Iris and that always sticks in my head and it must have been 20 years ago or more when she told me.
DeleteAnd thank you about the "great eye" ... I think I've just read a lot of magazines all my life and stored up a lot of images in my head of what I like.
Beautiful photographs! I love a carnation, the smell is heavenly
ReplyDeleteBecky x
I just went and stuck my head in the pot of carnations and I couldn't smell much from mine but I'll try it the next time I'm at the supermarket - I'll be the daft woman falling in to a bucket of carnations.
DeleteThe only flower I don't like is lillies as the pollen gives me (and my dad funnily enough) a raging headache & drippy nose as soon as I enter a room with them in. When the children were both born all the flower arrangements we received had darn lillies in so I cut out all the pollen stems so as not to seem ungrateful by lopping their entire heads off!
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I just love to see flowers in the house & am also prone to separating them out. Your arrangements look lovely. All hail the carnation :)
I love lilies but I'm the first to nip off the pollen stamens as soon as I catch a glimpse of them. I've been caught out by them before and you need to hoover up the pollen and not allow water near them which creates a dye otherwise and is a nightmare to get out of your carpets. But yes, cutting off the stamens seems less drastic than lopping off the beautiful heads.
DeleteAnd with me, I think I just like single colour arrangements best anyway. White is definitely my favourite peppered with lots of green foliage.
You have such a brilliant 'eye' for everything. x
ReplyDeleteHelen - too kind. I've just spent years doing a mental "pinterest" in my head that's all.
DeleteYour arrangements are lovely! Can't believe I pay upwards of $40 for just a small squat vase of flowers like your last picture when you have done it so well.
ReplyDeleteThe very last picture with the square glass vase was a Pinterest pic. But it wouldn't be hard to replicate with a cheap glass vase and a bunch of carnations or any other flower that takes your fancy. You could probably save yourself $20 in the process.
DeleteLove this, a sue! What a great idea! You're so creative. I will be stealing this idea :-) Lynne xx
ReplyDeleteNot that creative - it was only because I couldn't arrange the flowers together nicely which made me strip the arrangement apart. I'm probably tuned in to certain colours which work well together like the fuchsia and the purple which are from the same colour spectrum. But if you can pick out bits like this, then you have a good starting point!
DeleteGorgeous, Sue! My husband never buys me flowers because I'm so picky!! I too, don't like carnations (but can't explain why) and only really like white or pale pink flowers...and the choice isn't very big in Lidl, often! I always go to Wild at Heart at Liberty if I want something fancy for a friend, they do lovely bouquets made to order for £15 and come in a lovely Liberty bag you just can't beat x
ReplyDeleteThank you Alex. I can imagine you have quite a honed eye for what looks nice in an arrangement. I prefer white flowers myself and nearly always buy white for myself except when it's peony season as it's so rare to get white peonies. And Lidl doesn't have a great choice but I had a look the other day and a bunch of roses is about £3 (?) so at least you can buy quite a few bunches to make quite a lovely arrangement - there's something about masses of flowers which take it up a notch to make them look expensive. But I didn't know that you could get bouquets for around £15 at Liberty - at that price, I think I would just go there. I thought they would have a much higher starting price point! And yep - the Liberty bag is a lovely finishing touch isn't it?
DeleteOh, you arranged them all so lovely. I actually have the same vintage marmalade jar (well, very similar actually) and I also use it for flower displays (and photos). They look so lovely, don't they?
ReplyDeleteAs for the flowers....I'm not fussed about colours but my faves are also peonies, hydrangeas (what would Madonna say? :D) and tulips. Mind you, I don't really scoff at any flowers....I like to photograph them and if they're arranged nicely, they ALL photograph beautifully.
I have a few odd pots that I've picked up over the years and that I've hung on to which I think are lovely props or in this case - even useful! And flowers in teacups and marmalade jars look charming and sweet.
DeleteAnd what would Madonna say actually? This is obviously something I know nothing about? Does she not like people being picky about flowers?
Oh, Sue...I cannot believe Madonna hydrangea incident passed you by. ;)
DeleteHere (complete with the video) : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2034262/Madonna-impressed-floral-gift-fan-I-absolutely-loathe-hydrangeas.html
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love to have fresh flowers but not really mixed colours. Separating them into single colours is such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI don't have fresh flowers enough really but when I do, I nearly always go for a single colour arrangement too.
DeleteHow lovely. I will never look at carnations so disparagingly again. My mother-in-law is a florist and always dismisses them as 'church flowers' because they last for so long!
ReplyDelete