Wild carrot

I spied Queen Anne's Lace in my local market! 

A sure sign that Summer is on her way.

Queen Anne's Lace is one of my favourite ever flowers. Strangely enough, most of my favourite flowers are Summer flowers. I don't enjoy Summer very much. But I adore Summer's bounty. Dahlias, Lavender, Hydrangea, I love them all.

 Q A Lace is just the most delicate and pretty flower.

More about Queen Anne's Lace.

Queen Anne's Lace is a true taste of Summer, because it is also edible. A herb of yesteryear.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Eight// Octo-ber in review

Fun fact: October was once the eighth month of the year, before Julius Caesar gifted himself July. And whilst he was in the mood for rearranging the calendar, he posthumously presented Augustus with August. *

So the Octo in October makes little sense anymore. Come to think of it neither does the Dec in December.

Eight has been a bit of a theme for me this October.

It has been eight months since we left Sydney. I am happier for having made that decision. Life is pretty grand. We love our new city. I love being a florist. And things are only looking better and better.

It has also been eight years since I went on the first date with my boyfriend.  

Eight years ago he bought me pizza. He's a tad more sophisticated these days.

Whilst I was busy styling some photographs of the new (old) ring, I thought I'd try my hand at styling an emerging trend. Recently i've been seeing the 'bed of moss' look appearing in more and more wedding photographs. Don't know what i'm talking about?

Moss ring box on pinterest. Always a good place to get your head around trends.

Or, try here.

What else had me excited this October?

Max Gill Design

How to display flowers in your home

The Mrs Box

Silk & Willow

Bash Magazine

We fell in love

Ben Adams Photography

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine


*I stand corrected on the whole calendar thing, my painfully intelligent Brother sent me the following:
'The Senate named July after Caesar, in recognition of his achievements. And Augustus was JC's grand-nephew, so August was not named for him posthumously but inter vivos, by the Senate, some time after Caesar's death.'

So, there you go.

Sláinte

Parfait? Fondue?

Terrariums are very much in vogue at the moment.

Why not? They are pretty darn cool.

Terrariums

It is easy to DIY a terrarium if you have a little know-how and the right 'ingredients'. My favourite terrarium plant is the ever versatile succulent. Let's face it, it is incredibly hard to kill a succulent, making it perfect terrarium material. 

In my cocktail tumbler terrarium I put a bed of moss (ask your local florist) and three succulents. Easy as!

Succulents don't need much water at all. But it's a good idea to give your moss a mist every so often to keep it looking lush and green and alive. Add any whimsical touches you like.  Toadstools, plastic soldiers,  seas shells, acorns. Inspiration is endless. Raid the toy box.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Drawing by Gareth Hipwell

Bows and pearl pins

You are not a florist unless you have a large stash of ribbons and pearl pins. 

Ribbons are fundamental to floristry.

I have just spent some time organising my own ribbon station. Colour coded, of course.

Cream, pale blue, lavender and twine, these colours are must haves. 

But you never know when a bride is going to ask for neon orange and sky blue. Together.

Some weddings are all about colour!

My current ribbon crush is this ebony + ivory striped ribbon.

It's a classic look.

I am also lusting over the stunningly beautiful plant dyed silk ribbon from 

Silk & Willow.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Take stock

If anyone ever offers you garden grown stock flowers freshly cut from the garden,

grab them with wide open hands.

Don't hesitate.

Take that stock.

They smell delicious.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine 

Spring abundance

Spring just keeps on coming!

This is the communal garden at our apartment complex.

Happy Friday// almost end of the week.

K xx

Ebony + ivory

Friday evening wedding inspiration coming at you! I had a play around with some velvety deep lipstick pink ranunculus and some chincherinchees this afternoon. Chincherinchees is an impossibly fun word to say. CHIN- CHER- IN- CHEES. Try it.

I am rather in love with this dapper striped ribbon.

Ebony and ivory is a classy, timeless look.

K xx

Flowers, Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something...

Blue

Every florists knows that blue is a loose concept. A vague concept. Blurred. We push the boundaries on what is considered to be blue. That is because there just aren't that many truly blue flowers out there. And we might not say it, but a lot of florists avoid dyed flowers like the plague. Sorry. But truth. We will of course create wonderful wedding arrangements with dyed orchids and the like, if that is what your heart desires. After all, they're your flowers.

Flowers to use for a blue palette:

delphinium

forget me not

iris

lavender

cornflower

love in the mist

hydrangea

The flowers that are truly blue, like hydrangea and forget me not, are so special. It is such a wonderful hue to have incorporated into flower arrangements.

I am a big fan of blue.

Other things I am a fan of:

The Mrs Box has me swooning like a loony this week.

I can't get enough of gold leaf crowns.

And, buttery yellow David Austin roses.

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

The foraged bouquet, long weekend x2

The 'foraged' and 'I just picked these' look in floristry remains ever-popular. You know something is truly fashionable when you can find Pinterest boards dedicated to its existence. The foraged bouquet is no exception. And why wouldn't it be an admired and imitated look? It's beautiful. So delicate, so textured, so interesting.

But don't be deceived, it is not always an easy look to recreate. It can often be easier to construct a perfectly uniform and domed bouquet like this one. The foraged look is ambiguous, open to interpretation. After all,  beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

It's not easy to photograph either. So many elements. So much to capture.

Here are some examples of foraged done right.

A wild foraged bouquet

10 foraged foliage bouquets

Modern, eco-friendly wedding inspiration

Wedding decor with foraged greenery

DIY foraged bouquet

Just-picked wedding flowers

Wedding flowers: wildflowers

Summer daisies and peach roses

I spent this past (long) weekend foraging. On the beach. And in the garden. With some of my finds I threw together my own foraged arrangement. I really love the emerald tones from the foliage. I'm a foliage devotee.

K xx

Flowers, Styling and Photography by Moss & Vine

Farm

When I was a teenager, I lived on a small lavender farm. Of course, being a teenager, I didn't much appreciate my surroundings. Now that I'm a florist I can only imagine the fun I would have if my backyard was once again hundreds of flowering rows of lavender.

Mostly we distilled the lavender to make pure essential lavender oil. If you know anything about aromatherapy, then you'll know that lavender is a magical plant. Its oil is powerful. The oil we produced was award winning!

I still have bottles of oil from this farm. The scent is beautiful and very familiar. I have madeleine-esque moments every time I hold a bottle beneath my nose. Today I use the oil in my washing, to freshen up my mattress, on my kitchen floor when I mop, in baths, on my temples for headaches, on my skin to dry out blemishes, and I regularly burn it in my oil burner. You can read more about the powerful properties of lavender oil here.

Of course, this versatile flower is very pretty in wedding arrangements too. The wonderful thing about choosing a lavender wedding bouquet is being able to hang it upside down and dry it afterwards. A keepsake for all time. 

K xx

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine