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

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

Here's one I prepared earlier

This Easter long weekend i'll be putting together the wedding flowers for a lovely couple who happen to be my immediate neighbours*.

The bride is beautiful and has great taste. I know this because she has elected to have floral arrangements dominated by white roses. White roses with: white orchids, magnolia foliage with some trailing ivy, and ivy berry for texture. Pure class.

The only left field request is a fully wired trail bouquet (like this one I made previously, pictured above).

Now, why is a fully wired trail bouquet a strange request?

It's nothing to do with the fact tear drop shaped bouquets haven't been truly popular since 1992. Trail bouquets are making their way back into wedding vogue. The under representation of this style is more to do with the cost of the fully wired trail bouquet. Most brides are pretty conscious of the massive cost that their dream day adds up to. That's why the simple dome shaped hand tied bouquet has been staple for a couple of decades now. Simply put, a natural stem bouquet is a cost effective option. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of flowers, and A LOT of time to make a trail bouquet. Meaning, florists charge much more for them.

Sometimes though, the trail bouquet is indeed requested, and it can be a nice change for a seasoned florist (of which, I am not one...yet). The trail bouquet allows for the use of flowers that can be difficult or even impossible to use in a hand tied bouquet. This is because every single bloom in the trail style is cut from it's natural stem and put onto a wire (picture if you will, three dozen roses decapitated, then every single stunning cymbidium orchid flower cut from the stem they share, and the best magnolia leaves plucked from their branches). This allows for the stems to be bent and arranged into place to create the tear drop shape. It makes for a very secure and neat arrangement, and held against the ivory silk, satin and lace of wedding gowns, it looks stunning. But, as you might be beginning to imagine, this is a time consuming arrangement, pretty as it can be.

Now, i'd better get to work on this beautiful wedding.

K xx

*They are lovely neighbours

Watch this space!

I was recently part of a creative collaboration involving some of the coolest creatives I know. The end result was a beautiful collection of images for my floristry portfolio.

A massive thank you from the depths of my gratitude reserves goes out to Erin Black, the dizzyingly talented photographer, who brought the whole thing together with faultless professionalism. And to the stunning singer songwriter, Sarah Bird, who put her model hat on for the occasion. And while I attempt to conquer technology and get these photographs up on Moss & Vine, here is a tiny sneak peek.

This is a wired posy bouquet of roses and hypericum berry (also known as St John's wort, also known as a noxious weed, and at $10-$12 per bunch wholesale at the markets, it is a rather expensive weed). This design is characterised by the formal and even placements of the flowers and its perfect dome shape. It is 'dressed' with camelia leaves ringing the base of the dome, and a decorative handle bound with a complementary ribbon. It is a popular choice as a wedding posy as it won't lose it's shape. Each flower, leaf and bunch of berry is individually cut from it's natural stem, wired onto an artificial stem, and then taped with special floristry tape. All of the individual elements are taped into this final arrangement.

More images to follow.

K xx

***P.S Erin was also behind the header and footer pics here on Moss & Vine.
Contact her at erin.a.black@gmail.com
You can check out Sarah Bird's music at www.sarahbirdmusic.com
Flowers by Moss & Vine