Lest we forget

11/11/15

Thrifted

October is BUY NOTHING NEW month. I am currently on a year-long mission to refrain from buying any new clothing items; the only new items going into my wardrobe as of June 1st 2015 will be thrifted and gifted. It's working out fine, I already have more than enough clothes anyway- most of us do. The impact of cheap, fast, and disposable fashion on our environment and society is horrendous. The 'buy less, make it last' movement should be a standard mantra, but sadly it is not in our modern world where status and materialism reigns supreme. It is crazy, especially when you can find the things you need- or the things you think you need- through other avenues. Make do, borrow, thrift. Sustainability is everyones responsibility. In the FLOWER INDUSTRY too.

I have always loved thrifting for vases. Some of my best buys have been found in charity shops and on market stalls. I thought I'd put together a post to illustrate the beauty brought to my home through thrifted vases. I've chosen four of my favourites.

What: Vintage depression era glass,

Where: from a market stall,

Featuring: pink and blush ranunculus,

Cost: I can't really remember the cost of this one, but under $20 certainly, 

it was bought for me by my Mum a few years ago now.

See it filled with stunning roses HERE.

What: Vintage brass bud vase,

Where: from a collectables store in Robertson, NSW,

Featuring: my favourite blue hue of hydrangea,

Cost: from memory I paid $17 or $18 for 2.

See the pair of them filled with sweet smelling stock HERE.

What: Vintage milk-glass vase,

Where: a retro collectables store called S t o n e C o t t a g e in Berridale, NSW,

Featuring: creamy white ranunculus,

Cost: this was $15 (I got a small discount because I know the lovely owner).

See it filled with garden-cut spring blossom HERE.

What: Vintage milky-green agate vase,

Where: charity shop in Crows Nest, Sydney,

Featuring: may bush,

Cost: this was $13 or $14.

See it with blush tulips HERE.

It is also possible to create beautiful displays just with what is already in your cupboards, or growing in your garden, like I did HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and even HERE. 

Of course, buying second hand vases isn't saving the world. But applying this approach to all of the purchases you make, goes some way to ensuring that you are treading more lightly upon the earth. When it comes to flowers: choose in-season flowers, buy direct from the grower if possible OR take your snips into your garden to see what might be available, invest in good quality artificial flowers, avoid imported varieties which are sprayed with an array of chemicals in order to pass quarantine, take your vase along to a florist and ask them to create directly into it rather than wrapping your flowers in waste heavy packaging, and limit the flower food you use- clean water and freshly cut stems should be enough.

 Below are helpful links with information about sustainability across many aspects of everyday life:

GOOD GUIDE

THE TRUE COST

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

1 MILLION WOMEN

+1 Million Women (Australian Climate Coolers) 

Kate  x

Styling and Photographs by M o s s & V i n e

Jasmine: The Language of Flowers, part 3

September, when the smell of jasmine is carried on the warm evening air. My nose 'spotted' this flowering jasmine vine long before my eyes had a chance. 

Sensuality // beauty // grace // elegance // friendliness.

The smell of jasmine is particularly strong at night. Its fragrance is said to be an aphrodisiac, and a relaxing antidepressant. Jasmine oil is therefore used extensively in aromatherapy. Burning the essential oil of jasmine in Eastern cultures is considered to promote love, wealth, and prophetic dreams.

"No perfume without jasmine."

Kate  x

Styling and Photograph by M o s s & V i n e

PART 1

PART 2

Links to love: September edition

Why are there pink magnolias on bare branches in winter, and white magnolias on glossy green trees in summer? This is the question I asked my Mum recently. HERE is the answer for all you readers who don't have a green-fingered parent close to hand.

My Dad gave me a sweet, mossy birds nest on the weekend. It makes me want to start a COLLECTION. (Only nests that have been blown out of trees, of course).

I am sharing this just for the CUTE FACTOR!

FIONA has given me a supreme case of wanderlust.

Aesthetic perfection HERE, HERE & HERE.

This is the SWEETEST idea, and perfect keepsake.

This was the INSPIRATION for seeking out my own milk glass vase. Success! If you are ever in the Snowy Mountains, stop by Stone Cottage, Berridale where I found the above milk glass vase that I promptly filled with white ranunculus.

I mean, seriously, RANUNCULUS make me stupidly happy.

THE MRS BOX just launched a new collection. Yes, I had to buy another one to join the one I was given for my BIRTHDAY. They are hard to resist.

A simple, fresh, spring MEAL I am itching to make/eat.

THIS new-born shoot incorporating flowers is beautiful.

This would be a DREAM COME TRUE to attend.

Wishing you happy spring days.

Kate  x

Styling and Photographs by M o s s & V i n e

Violets are violet: The Language of Flowers, Part 2

Roses are red,

violets are blue.

Sugar is sweet,

and so are you.

Violet  sweet beauty // modesty // faithfulness // 

"I return your love"

Zeus, who was in love with Lo, a beautiful nymph, sought to hide Lo from his wife Hera. He transformed Lo into a white cow so as not to arouse Hera's suspicion. However, when Lo wept over the taste of the coarse grass she was obliged to feed upon, Zeus transformed Lo's tears into sweet-smelling violets that only Lo was allowed to eat.

The Romans associated violets with innocence, they were often chosen as the flower to place on the graves of small children.

Gray, The Secret Language of Flowers, 92

An English myth tells the story of King Frost, who felt lonely in his harsh and solitary ice palace. Eventually, he decided to look for a pretty girl to make him happy. His courtiers found a shy girl called Violet and, falling under his spell, he relented and promised his people six months of milder weather. Violet pleaded with the king to allow her to see her people again, and since he loved her, he granted her wish to visit them each spring. His only condition was that she appear in the mortal realm in the form of a plant, coming back to her husband's icy home each winter.

Gray, The Secret Language of Flowers, 95

In France, violets became strongly associated with Napoleon Bonaparte and the Empress Josephine. She wore violets on their wedding day and on each anniversary Napoleon sent her a posy of violets. Josephine grew an assortment of violets in her garden, setting a trend in France. At her funeral, violets were showered down upon her coffin as it was lowered into the ground. after he had been exiled to St Helena, Napoleon asked to visit Josephine's tomb in 1814. He picked some violets growing around her grave and they were found in a locket around his neck when he died. Napoleon was nicknamed Corporal Violet or La Pere Violet.

Later Napoleon III chose the violet as his personal symbol. When he first met his future wife, Eugenie, she was wearing a violet gown and her hair was decorated with fresh violets. She held a posy of violets at their wedding and the flowers became the couple's special anniversary symbol.

Gray, The Secret Language of Flowers, 95

The Language of Flowers, Part 1 can be found HERE.

Kate  x

Styling and Photographs by M o s s & V i n e