I would love to be able to arrange flowers rather than just dumping them into a pretty vase and hoping for the best. So when I was invited along to a flower arranging workshop with Marks and Spencer last month I jumped at the chance to learn a few tips and tricks from their Flower Expert, Simon Richards, and we had free rein over buckets and buckets of M&S flowers – perfect! They have even put together a special page of step by step flower arranging tips for us so do make sure you check it out.

Bright blooms

We started off by experimenting with brighter than bright blooms and using them to decorate a table setting. This is a super easy way of decorating a dining table and you don’t need many flowers to do so and it creates far more impact than just one vase in the middle of the table.

Simon encouraged us to use the flowers to decorate the plates, cups and glasses, as well as using petals to decorate the table setting too. Combined with the colourful crockery the flowers create such a happy, cheerful vibe and it couldn’t have been easier – whatever goes really!

Roses

Simon then gave us a masterclass in how to take care of and arrange roses. We were lucky enough to be using beautiful Dutch roses from M&S in soft pinks and whites, which made us feel all bridal!

The first thing to do is strip the stems of leaves as there should never been any leaves below the water level of your vase. We were then shown how to arrange them in a hand tied bouquet.

If you are lucky enough to receive a bunch of roses you should cut the stems at a diagonal and use a vase that narrows at the top as they will sit perfectly in that. Always make sure your vase is squeaky clean as bacteria will kill your flowers and add the flower food that comes with your bouquet but change the water every couple of days.

When I returned home with an armful of roses I tried to recreate Simon’s idea of dressing a table setting with flowers, this time using a slightly softer colour palette.

What is your favourite way to arrange flowers – got any good tips of your own?

Katy x

*This post was written in collaboration with M&S.

Last week I was lucky enough to be taken to the Chelsea Flower Show by the lovely folks over at OKA. We spent such a fun couple of hours playing in store with their amazing faux flowers (more on that in another post) and then headed off to the show, which I was very excited about as I’ve never been. It is beyond me how they manage to create such beautiful gardens ready to be shown at exactly the right point; everything looked and smelled amazing.

Having limited outdoor space of my own, I get very jealous of beautiful gardens and the potential for growing flowers, although I try my best on my balcony in pots. I would die for a cutting garden for a couple of reasons: firstly, I wouldn’t have to spend so much on flowers and secondly, the type of posies you can make from your own garden are so much prettier than shop bought flowers that can be a bit too structured for my tastes (simply because they usually last a long time once they are cut).

Whilst at Chelsea I was on the look out for inspiration for flowers to plant next year up on our roof terrace where there is a lot more space. I think I have managed to come up with a list of some of my favourite garden flowers, that aren’t too difficult to grow and are perfect to be cut for floral arrangements.

Foxgloves – provide good height in a garden and look wonderful cut to give height to a floral arrangement. I love the peachy coloured ones that I spotted at Chelsea.
Delphiniums – these are also good for height (you don’t want everything to be at the same level in your garden) and I love how delicate the individual flowers are. When cut they are very striking and look wonderful in a tall vase (pop over to my living room makeover to see how I styled them in that room). The pale blue ones are my favourites and we saw lots of them in the Chelsea gardens.
Scabious – I grow these in a pot of my balcony and they are just so pretty and cut really well as they last for a good amount of time. They are also very easy to care for and add a beautiful ‘wispy’ feel to a posy.
Hydrangeas – you can’t beat a couple of Hydrangea stems in a vase and these couldn’t be easier to grow or care for.
Sweet peas – I love growing these each year and they provide masses of flowers throughout the summer that look and smell amazing. They add the most glorious soft texture and scent to a floral arrangement.
Bleeding Hearts – these add a perfect amount of drama and definition to a floral arrangement and it’s the type of flower you never find in a florist so give the perfect ‘just cut from my garden’ feel to any vase of flowers.

What are your favourite flowers to cut from your garden?

Katy x

*Thank you to OKA for the lovely day – all photos taken at the Chelsea Flower Show.

There is nothing I like to do more than a bit of pottering at home at the weekend. It’s my favourite.

This weekend was all about trying to get our balcony ready for the warmer months. It has been looking pretty neglected after winter and that was dragging our newly decorated living room down too, as this looks directly out onto the balcony. Everything needed a good clean and the plants needed a bit of TLC to help them on their way to new sprouts and blooms.

My little sister was visiting from Manchester on Friday so we popped out for lunch and I made use of their car whilst we were at it and dropped into a lovely garden centre tucked away in Dulwich. I stocked up on a few new plants to replace dead annuals from last Summer and because it was pouring with rain and we were forced inside I couldn’t resist a few new house plants.

I was so tempted by the Lilac tree that you can see tucked away at the back but we already have a very large pot on our balcony with a Wisteria tree so I don;t think there would be room for another.

Apricot Blush tulips? Total swoon!

I would LOVE an Olive tree and a Magnolia tree when I have a proper garden.

I bought a couple of tropical plants for my terrarium as well as a new String of Pearls because the last one I bought died instantly! I also bought the most beautiful Anthurium clarinervium house plant.

Once home I did a few things to get the plants back into shape and to help them grow as well as possible. I started by re-potting a couple thats roots were outgrowing its pot and a couple that had been in the same pot for about three years so probably overdue some new nutrient rich soil. For the others I topped up the soil level as I find being up on the sixth floor when the soil dries out the strong wind we get takes away quite a lot of the top soil and the roots can become exposed.

I also made sure all of the plants were well watered and I added some plant food to the water (I mostly use tomato feed actually as that seems to work for most plants and I can pick it up at the supermarket). Whilst I was doing that I also added the magic powder to my Hydrangeas that makes the soil acidic and turns the flowers blue.

I removed a lot of the dead leaves from some of the plants, especially the trailing Geraniums I have in hanging boxes over the balcony rail. I mulched the dead flowers of the Spring bulbs but left the foliage to die back naturally.

I do have a problem with aphids and vine weevils (they are evil!) on my balcony, mostly because the plants are all grown in isolation so I don’t have the natural ecosystems that build up to protect plants from pests. I sprayed the roses and Hydrangeas to kill the aphids I could see and I also sprayed one rose that has a fungal infection with a special anti-fungal spray.

Once all that was done Jules gave the decking a good scrub (after I’d hoovered, obvs) and the glass panels were FILTHY so they needed a good clean too, although that is quite a bit harder as it’s pretty tricky to reach the outside glass without the risk of falling!

I’m quite excited about being able to have my morning tea sitting on the balcony again surrounded by Lavender and the bees. Bliss.

Is there anything I haven’t done that I should be doing at this time of year?

Katy x