Sunday 26 June 2011

The Colours of Kas

I've recently been on holidays in Turkey in the Kas penninsula. I don't usually consider myself the type of person that enjoys holidays lying by a pool in 30 degree heat, usually opting for either city breaks, ski holidays or festivals, but I have to say I had an amazing week. Lots of rest and relaxation, having the hours to enjoy reading a book (I usually only get to grab 10 mins to read a few pages on the tube) and great company with good chat over lovely food and wine in the evenings meant I didn't want the week to end!

With work being so busy lately, it was probably the exact kind of holiday that I needed, allowing me a chance to escape the city and the daily grind and put life on pause for awhile. It also gave me a chance to  spend some time thinking about my future career and to let my mind wander as I pictured myself running my own flower business, creating beautiful posies, bouquets and arrangements. I picked a few flowers from the garden in the villa to put in some vases for the dinner table, just to make the place feel a little homely. 


The colours of the flowers in Kas were stunning. A palette of fuschias, hot pinks, pillarbox reds, purples, oranges and yellows all seemed to pop against the pale stone buildings and blue sea and sky.   






We have recently been at a wedding in Scotland, which by some miracle had the most amazing weather on the day, not too dissimilar to the heat we had in Kas. But it was the brides bouquet and flower arrangements that drew my attention, and captured the essence of the colours of the med. Hopefully these will be something I can recreate soon, as I've signed up to a foundation floristry course which I start this week - very excited! But for now, here are some pics of the wedding flowers, until I actually produce my own..... 










Sunday 19 June 2011

Tea and Inspiration

Wandering around my local neighbourhood is enough to give anyone the inspiration to get their hands a little dirty and attempt a bit of gardening. The roses, camellias and magnolia trees have burst into bloom over the last few months with the most spectacular colours and delicate flowers and have given me a longing to put my stamp on our own tiny patch of back garden.



I set about cleaning up all of the cherries that have fallen from the tree in the garden and emptied out the pot plants that unfortunately didn't survive the winter.  I don't know anything about plants so decided to take a bike ride to Petersham Nurseries based on a friends suggestion, to get some more ideas.


I have to say I could have stayed for hours, and not for just the plants and flowers. Anyone who knows me realises what a tea lover I am, and I found the best tea rooms there! After a long cycle to get to the nurseries, we decided to indulge in some tea and cake in their glasshouse rooms, and have a wander around the shop which stocks everything you could need for your garden along with some gorgeous household items like distressed furniture. Very much my taste in interiors!!





They had some amazing displays of flowers there, with pots upon pots of lavender and hydrangeas in glorious shades of pink. If only we hadn't been on the bikes I would have bought out half the garden centre!


  
I decided to try and recreate a little part of Petersham Nurseries in my own garden, and play around again with some styling and the skills I learned on my floristry course. Not sure I got it quite right, still missing a few vital elements like plants, however my red geraniums and egg yolk bright sunflowers are starting to come alive, and the spray roses have tiny buds which I'm sure will be beautiful one the sun comes out and they are coaxed to open up.




Watch this space as I come back with some more pics later in the summer as the garden develops.