A never-ending list

I know, I know, I already gave you the somewhat definitive list of my favourite flowers HERE, but it turns out there were some notable absences. Like I said, it's a difficult list to contain.

Lilac

Hellebores

Freesia

They all deserve a loud and enthusiastic shout-out. It is a constantly evolving list as I learn about new flowers, handle new blooms, and continue to peruse on-line wedding flower inspiration. My current favourite sources? WE FELL IN LOVE and THE KNOT. *Swoooon* worthy, indeed!

Today I came home with a much needed bunch of sweetness in the form of hyacinth. Sydney has been experiencing biblical amounts of rain recently. And the perfect antidote to that is the heavenly scented, cheerily pretty, spring hyacinth. So that's one more to add to my list of favourite flowers.

World Hyacinth Day is celebrated on March 7th, when hyacinths are blooming in abundance in the northern hemisphere. According to the Victorians, hyacinth means: constancy, sportiness, impetuousness, and "I am sorry". They truly smell uplifting. Better than any perfume you could buy.

Kate  x

Photograph and Styling by Moss & Vine

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

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

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

Spring long weekend x1

We've been doubly blessed in the Australian Capital Territory, we have two long weekends back-to-back. Awesome. The snow has melted on the mountains, more or less, so there was no early morning drive up to Perisher for a day of snowboarding. Instead, I used my time wisely. Kind of. 

I went to Floriade Nightfest with a couple of friends. Floriade is a bit like a flower theme-park. A lolly shop for florists, if you like.

I got a haircut. And had my 'brows done.

I went shopping. A few times. Cabin fever set in about 36 hours into the weekend.

I watched/listened to much of the 2014 Last Night of the Proms.
S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R.

I re-watched Outlander from the beginning in preparation for the mid-season final. 

I bought the (first) Outlander book and am half-way through it.

I went to wander through the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

I've caught up on the laundry.

And I've still got the rest of today to...

read, probably, if i'm being honest.

Also this month:

The annual Bride-to-Be spin off mag Flowers and Wedding Styling was released in September, making me one happy, happy, happy florist. It is a long wait for this beautiful magazine to grace the shelves each year.

I've been obsessing over Lovestar. These vases are genius. So, so effortlessly cool.

My current flower crush is the exceedingly humble chamomile daisy. It must be a Spring thing. These sweet little daisies are the essence of this season.

I've been lusting after beautiful and unusual ribbon.

And thinking about cake styling.

Oh, and of course there was a flower crown for a wedding in there somewhere too. Here is a sneak peek. More to come (hopefully).

K xx

Flowers, styling and photography by Moss & Vine

Adoration

I just can't help it. I love ranunculus too much. I can't, and won't, stop arranging them in the vase, standing back to admire them, and then snapping photographs of them. I'm trying to hold on to the beauty for as long as possible. I know they will eventually wither and droop, but these particular ranunculus have been hanging out on my coffee table for nine days now. Stunning, gorgeous, pretty, divine. I just can't get enough. Enjoy!

They even made an appearance in the guest bathroom.

Happy Monday!

K xx 

Styling and Photographs by Moss & Vine

Pinkspiration

I've always been a pink loving girl. My adolescent bedroom was the ultimate homage to the colour pink. I've matured a bit in the years since I moved out of home. And so has my taste in colour schemes. Now I favour navy blue, mocha, sea breeze green, emerald, and rose gold. No matter what the colour inspiration is for your wedding, you will find endless examples of it on the world wide web. And I really do mean endless. 

Below is a particularly comprehensive link from the Queen of colour palettes, Martha Stewart.

Wedding Colour Palettes

And just because I still have a (secret) soft spot for pink, here is the prettiest Winter Wedding inspiration shoot featuring pink pops of colour. I can't get enough of that bouquet.

Winter wedding

K xx

Ranunculus boutonnière and photo 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