Growing, Sowing and Arranging Flowers by Jane Wrigglesworth
I luuurrrrve this bouquet by Joy Proctor. It’s so very pretty with the burgundy anemones and deep red cabbage roses. It’s tied together with black berries, sweet peas and lovely mid-green foliage. Gorgeous!
See more of this moody design that was created for a film photography workshop over at Style Me Pretty.
Need inspiration for home-picked flowers? Check out these gorgeous spring creations. This lovely arrangement by Meades Florist (above) includes tulips, roses, chamomile and clematis. It’s a simple bouquet that works with any flower – whatever is popping up in the garden now.
This is a late spring arrangement (above) with foxgloves, campanula, dahlias, snapdragons and yarrow. All these blooms are long lasting in the garden, and the vase – it would make an excellent summer display too. You can see this arrangement over at Casa di Stile.
Who doesn’t love ranunculus and cabbage roses with their soft, billowing petals and sheer elegance? Ranunculus come in all colours, so if orange is not your thing, there are a multitude of other hues that will fit the bill. This arrangement features over at 100 Layer Cake, the flowers by Brown Paper Design and photography by Annie McElwain.
I LOVE this arrangement by Charlotte of Tradgardsflow with tulips, cowslips, geranium and lily of the valley. So very simple yet so elegant.
A reader (Amy Wenden) recently asked me what flower might be a good substitute for peonies. Her sister is getting married in March next year and has had her heart set on these sumptuous blooms. But given that peonies flower in spring, it’s unlikely she’ll find any around at that time. So the plea was for a flower that looked similar and one that would be ripe for the picking in March.
Well, I reckon roses are their best bet. But it’s the double flowered roses they need to look out for, and one that has what’s referred to as a ‘deep cut’ shape (basically, lots and lots and lots of petals). Many of the David Austin roses have this shape, as do the centifolia roses (which are nicknamed cabbage roses). But my pick would be Rosa ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ (sometimes called the Eden rose), a climbing rose that has huge, cup-shaped flowers. It’s exquisite, and it repeat flowers, so with a bit of luck it will bloom on cue. It’s available from Tasman Bay Roses, although realistically, a first-year rose bush is unlikely to provide enough blooms for a full bouquet.
There are many other cabbage roses available, but first, compare the photos above. The top photo (from Vintage Rose Collection) features the dreamy ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ rose (top) and the peony ‘Sara Bernhart’. See how similar they look?
The middle photo showcases yellow cabbage roses (found here), and the bottom one (from Martha Stewart) features pink cabbage roses. All pretty similar in form to the peony don’t you think?
