Practise Makes Perfect

Hungry for new information, I was a bit disappointed that my last floristry class was a repeat of the one day course that I did a number of weeks ago. But of course practise makes perfect and while I think the classic hand-tied bouquet I made this time was marginally improved from my first efforts, I decided there was no point admiring my handiwork and took it apart to use the flowers in putting together some smaller posies.

Classic Hand-Tied Bouquet

The first bouquet is made up of just oriental helvetica lilies. The lilies have such a lovely shape and form when fully opened that three stems can provide a dramatic look on their own, so I have just paired them with some aspidistra leaves to provide a border of foliage.

Lilies and Aspidistra

The second bouquet is made up of white avalanche roses, double lisianthus rosita and million stars. The roses and lisianthus are blousy and delicate, and the million stars just add a bit of variety and height as they are placed slightly taller than the other flowers. With a slightly haphazard look, it's almost like they could have been picked from the garden that morning and would be perfect for an English country garden summer wedding.

Roses, Lisianthus  and Million Stars

The smaller posy is a bunch of million star and lisianthus, perfect for a tiny flower girls hand.

Grouped together, these three bouquets could easily work as a table centre display or the bunches could be repeated and dotted along the length of a trestle table to provide visual variety.

Disappointment long forgotten, I love the fact that the course has prompted new ideas in me. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have even known where to start with creating a bouquet, but after leaning just a few tips and techniques, I've got a willingness to try new things and experiment. It doesn't need to be perfect, but it's all practise. 

What's in a name?

I'm not quite sure where the name for this blog originated from. After brainstorming various combinations of words to do with styling, interiors,  floristry, design and crafts it all seemed a bit too obvious and not really a reflection of what I wanted this blog to be about.

Part of making a transition is being able to take yourself out of the 'now' and transport your mind to where you want to be in the future. For me, The Pale Room symbolises the idea of a really serene, calm space where I can be creative, a place away from the clutter of everyday life. It's a blank canvas where anything is possible and the only limitations are my imagination.  

I have a very strong sense of the colours, the look and the feel of that space. Dusky whites and blues, weather washed woods and soft furnishings in natural, textured fabrics that create an earthy feel. Filled with sunlight and empty of noise, it is the perfect environment to let ideas take shape. 

The following images are all from The Linen Works and reflect the mood of The Pale Room. 

 

A friend also sent me these images, unfortunately I don't know where they originate to credit the photographer or stylist, but they capture the distressed white washed look that I envisage for The Pale Room. 

The soft chalky whites and the grey-blue palate of Farrow and Balls paints, and fabrics from The Linen Works are exactly the colours and textures that I would love to use to furnish in my creative space.

 

For now The Pale Room is a mental space, where I can visualise what my exciting new career could be. Someday it could potentially be a physical space, a studio, a workshop, or a garden shed! It's up to me decide, which is pretty exciting.....

As for The Butterfly.... who knows... I need to think about that one....

The Future is Bright!

When I walked in to week two of my floristry course I was intrigued to see buckets of orange flowers awaiting us. When our tutor told us the names of the flowers - 'Lion King' carnations and 'Miss Piggy' roses I couldn't help but laugh at how appropriate they were. The ruffled petals of the carnation certainly looked a bit like a lions mane and you could easily associate the tightly curled petals of the rose with a snout or a tail!

On closer inspection of course the flowers had beautiful varying shades of coral, salmon, orange and peach all of which looked in harmony next to each other. Our project for this week was to make a section hand-tied bouquet, and we would also be using aspidistra and aralia leaves. The first task was to group the flowers into small sections using the foliage to wrap the flowers.

Then each of the smaller sections were combined to create a larger arrangement, using the foliage to divide and frame the clusters of flowers within the bouquet. Some people have a phobia about carnations, as they have a history of being associated with funerals and garage forecourts, but by combining and grouping three of them together, they take on a different aesthetic and almost look like a completely different flower which I think is stunning. 

I think my celosia got a little bit lost in the bouquet as I didn't have them up high enough, and so, after a few days at home I decided to give them pride of place in a smaller hand tied posy. I dissected my section hand-tied bouquet and practised my spiral design again to create what I think would actually make a lovely wedding bouquet for the more adventurous bride! And even though our tutor tries to steer us away from clashing colours, I couldn't resist putting this little arrangement in a bright turquoise ceramic jug.

I think the colours totally pop against each other and look pretty cool actually!

On The Verge Of Obsession

After two evenings attending my floristry course, I'm think I've developed something of an obsession. Suddenly all I think about are flowers. Their names, their shapes, their colours, the varieties, the possibilities.... and more overwhelmingly than anything else, how on earth am I going to develop my skills at being a florist, fast! There's no such thing as having 4 years to hone my craft here....

I know, I know.... baby steps etc. etc. and while finances (and a lack of space in my flat!) means I can't buy flowers to practise with everyday, I can definitely read and read and read about flowers. It's all knowledge, and even 15 mins a day working towards a goal is steady progress.

In week one of the course I did a very, very simple gift wrap bouquet. Even I could manage it! Using a combination of bright pink snapdragons, H3O roses, celosia and dahlias we created a bouquet where the intention is to give them to someone who has an interest in flowers and would like to arrange them themselves at home. The bouquet ensures that all the flowers can be seen and are grouped together to create an impact.

Having taken home my flowers, I practised my spiral and hand-tied bouquet arrangement again with the results as follows....

I love how the white tips of the snapdragon opened up over the course of the week, lending a paler hue to the bouquet. The celosias had beautiful deep pink feathers and the roses balanced the colour combination of the two perfectly. 

My 'Boy Scout' dahlia's were too short for this bouquet, so took pride of place in a structured vase of their own -  standing together for a more modern look. 

Check back later to see my results from week two.... 

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..... 

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.

A Step In The Right Direction.....

Home alone last weekend I decided to head to Columbia Road Flower Market. One of the only street flower markets in Europe, it is a sight to behold early on a Sunday morning. Crowds throng the narrow road which is lined with stalls selling cut flowers, pot plants and trees. The sellers bring a smile to your face with their market banter as they fill the air with the sound of '3 for a tenner!' and witty throw aways to the ladies looking to fill their houses with flowers for the week.

You are recommended to go early to get the best of the flowers, but as I couldn't drag myself out of the bed and with the never ending upheaval of the London transport system during the weekends these days, it was about 12 before I finally got there. It was almost impossible to navigate through the crowds but I wasn't deterred and still managed to buy more flowers than I could reasonably carry. It's all too easy to get caught up in the atmosphere of this lovely street and I now remember why I always want my other half to go with me - another pair of hands is useful when you are loaded down with sunflowers, peonies, stock, irises and eucalyptus!

I finally managed to get home with all my purchases and set about putting them into some vases and 'arranging' them (if you can even call my efforts that.....). The peonies are just beautiful, even as tight buds before they open up into big blowsy blooms. My irises were also all closed up when I bought them but within a day of sitting on the windowsill in the sun, they looked like a flock of birds when their delicate petals burst open into a mass of blue and yellow.

I think both my flower arranging and my photography skills (or lack there of...) leave a lot to be desired so I decided to take a one day floristry course to see if I could improve on my basics. What a great day! I managed to learn a lot from the tutor in just one session, and was a little bit more proud of my creations that I got to take home.

Using gorgeous avalanche roses, snapdragon, oriental lilies and astrantia 'million star' along with some pencil eucalyptus and aspidistra, I created my first hand tied bouquet, where I had to master the technique of creating a spiral design. That was fine until the bouquet got so heavy I thought my arm was going to start shaking trying to hold it all together!

After some yummy cake and tea, the afternoon was spent creating an arrangement using oasis in a very cute basket. The dahlias had the tiniest hint of a pale salmony pink colour on their outer tips, which complimented the double lisianthus and spray rose perfectly. The tips of the stock and the unopened lisianthus buds look like they dance above the rest of the flowers.

Don't think I'll be leaving the day job just yet... but at least it's a step in the right direction! For now, I planted my sunflowers and can see them every morning from my bedroom window - a great start to any day.