pretty mess

photograph by rinne allen

spread love

photograph by rebecca wood

dahlias

photograph by rinne allen

dyeing with flowers

photographs and words by kristen bach

cosmos

photograph by rinne allen

3 porch flower social cont.

we have so much beautiful content from this day that we could almost make a whole week of posts about it. this was the 2nd annual flower social out at mandy and steve's flower farm, 3 porch farm. as autumn and frost approaches quickly, friends gather to make arrangements of the last batch of flowers. 

photographs by rinne allen

3 porch farm flower social

last monday we had our 2nd annual flower social out at mandy and steve's flower farm, 3 porch farm. before the frost takes everything out, we like to have a last blast with all the beautiful flowers and foliage. mandy and steve collect buckets and buckets of dahlias, zinnias, cosmos and other flowers. i helped mandy gather some wild persimmon branches weighed down with orange fruit. there are branches of maple and sweet gum and oaks, as well as ornamental grasses, pods, and beautiful cotton. we invite a few ladies out to spend the day arranging flowers to their hearts content. we hung a few backdrops in her unfinished flower workroom, where the light is nice. then we all go to town making insane flower arrangements! after a potluck lunch of wonderful homemade food, we get back to the flowers until we're too tired to do any more.

it's a day i look forward to all year.

photographs by rinne allen

kudzu flowers

photograph by rinne allen

flower wedding garland

a few weeks ago, our good friends kat and susan got married and had one of those weddings that you will always remember. the morning of, our friend mandy from moonflower floral design brought a van full of mind blowing flowers. we all spent the morning arranging and playing with the flowers. i love to make garlands so i took some floral wire and flowers and started stringing. enjoy!

words and photos by kristen bach

goodness grows

it's always a treat to ride out in the country and visit goodness grows. it is located just outside scenic lexington, georgia. people come from all over the south to see their beautiful displays and their extensive collection of classic southern flowers and native plants. they have many varieties of old fashioned southern favorites like camellia, hydrangea, ferns, day lilies and hostas, and all so attractively arranged! i got a lot of ideas and went home with a few bee friendly perennials. don't forget that native plants feed many kinds of local bees and birds.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

workshop recap: rebecca's drawing lesson

rebecca draws flowers constantly. flowers are her signature subject. plus, the way she talks about drawing them is so great. first, she instructs you to just look at the flower...for a long time. at the workshop she said this may be the most important thing you do all day and she was right. taking the time to really look at something- in this case, one of mandy's beautiful booms- is a great way to slow down and appreciate the moment and the flower. by the time you are ready to draw your mind has already spent time looking at how the flower comes together and its structure and form. your mind has had time to work out where to begin and where to end. after that, there really is no wrong way to proceed, so you just begin.

photographs and words by rinne allen

honeysuckle

photograph by rinne allen

spring flowers

photographs by rebecca wood

bulbs

photograph by rinne allen

dried amaryllis

photograph by rinne allen

forsythia

photographs and words by rinne allen

dried fleurs

photograph by rinne allen

a week of favorite books: flowers & gardening

continuing with our week of favorites...today we are sharing books about flowers & gardening...enjoy!!

rinne:
simple ikebana inspiration here...rebecca & i love ikebana so much...(and, i am awaiting on the translation of this book title from rebecca's son zack (who knows japanese)...!

rinne:
i am a big gardener and this book was one of the first ones that i purchased for my library...eventhough the setting for derek jarman's garden is completely different than my own, i look at this book alot because i love his beautiful space and how he made the landscape his own.

rinne:
i have written about my love for this book before. i just love it.

rinne:
this book was in my family's library when i was little....it was written by a schoolteacher in nyc and encourages the reader to explore nature anywhere you can find it, be it a crack in the sidewalk or in a small city park. i have shared this book with many others, and its simple principle has encouraged all of us to explore nature with our children, even in the most urban of settings. it is always good to be reminded that there is so much to learn from right beneath our feet.

rinne:
like the above book, this book encourages us to find inspiration in unlikely places. in this instance, in the bolted, overgrown plants in our yard. i love the textures and forms in these wild plants.

rinne:
i am not normally drawn to cactus, but they pair perfectly here with the textures of adam silverman's amazing pottery.

rinne:
another ikebana book, this one from the 50's...'japanese flower arrangement'.

rinne:
another inspiring book that embraces the beauty of flowers.

rinne:
this is hands down one of the most important books in my collection, because seeing the 2004 exhibition that went along with it inspired me to start making light drawings again.

rebecca:
i love to study japanese flower arranging, the history and the styles. 'arranging flowers' is a wonderful guide to the history and styles of arranging. there are spectacular color pictures of huge arrangements as only the japanese can do. highly recommended.

rebecca:
this book was written at the end of the 1800's by the first westerner to really study ikebana. so much wonderful info concerning appropriate flowers for different occasions, as well as appropriate arrangements for all the different parties they had, like moon viewing parties,incense parties,flower arranging parties, and poetry parties. i love the picture of the couple entering the tea room to observe the ikebana!

flower scraps

photograph by kristen bach

november florals

photograph by rebecca wood