dahlias, goldenrod, and beauty berries

arrangement by rebecca wood, photo by kristen bach

goldenrod, mums, and asters

in our garden right now, the goldenrod is blooming right over some purple-ish asters that i transplanted from my mom's old garden...surefire evidence that they would make a great bouquet! i added in a few unopened mums and some deep green acanthus leaves.

words & photographs by rinne allen

grasses, poke, and fall fruits

this has been a hectic week for me, and it is only monday! therefore, a walk through the yard was in order...i found some river grass, pokeberry, virginia creeper, pears, and persimmons and scooped them all up and brought them into the studio. they fit perfectly in this crock that i had found while in nebraska for work this spring...i already feel more relaxed, now that i have gotten my hands a little dirty. enjoy.

words & photographs by rinne allen

early cotton

yesterday, i went down to photograph the olive harvest with these folks(more on that soon...). on the drive home, i stopped to take photos of things i saw...it is rare that i have the time to do so, so i really enjoyed it. it was such a pretty early fall day. right now, the fields of cotton are beginning to whiten up. i had to bring a little bit home with me.

words & photographs by rinne allen

seasonal bloom, another way

it is the time of year when there is alot in the yard, but there is alot in the yard that has dried out from the summer heat. making bouquets is still fun, but, as we wait for the true fall flora to come in, i thought i would share another way to bring in beauty from outside. i have been making these light drawings for almost ten years (really 20, if you count when i learned in college). i coat the paper with light sensitive pigments, then place specimens from our garden on top of the paper, and then i wait for the sun to work its magic. i make them in cyan and sepia and love how each is one-of-a-kind. these light drawings act like a garden journal for me- they help me keep track of what bloomed or leafed out when. here is a sample of some from this time of year...figs, ferns, flowers...

words & photographs by rinne allen

hearty begonias and jewels of opar

two of my favorite things are blooming right now, both pink: hearty begonia and jewels of opar. love them! especially when they are in salvaged jars that we find when we are digging in the yard...

words and photographs by rinne allen

Sunflower silhouettes

the further we go into the summer..... the drier our sunflowers get.  i find them to so lovely against the blue and white of the sky.... just as lovely as a fresh bloom!

photos and words by kristen bach

firecracker lily

we have had a lot of rain and unseasonably cool temperatures lately. all of a sudden the firecracker lilies have popped out- they usually come up in october around here. i love their color and form.

words & photographs by rinne allen

late summer: lines

while there are many colorful, full blooms in the garden right now, it is also a good time to dry flowers. here are some that have been lingering in my studio...some for a few months, some for a few years- i just can't bring myself to throw them out because i love their shapes too much. i thought i might make some light drawings of them today, but it is too rainy. so, for now, i hope you enjoy their lines as much as i do...the forms of black-eyed susan, allium, acanthus, maple, datura, cardoon, peanut, & collard.

words & photographs by rinne allen

zinnia color

we were cleaning up in the studio from the different events of last week and realized how much we love the colors of zinnias when they begin to dry...they are so intense. and i love the different textures...

photographs by rinne allen

3 porch farm at the southern

mandy once again made some beauties with flowers from her farm, this time for the lobby of the georgia museum of art for the southern c summit. some were for tables, but others were over 8 feet tall and lined a long wall. these photos do not do them justice, but you can still see her mix of textures and plant material. beautiful!

drying flowers

we love the flowers hanging up in our friend mandy's flower shack. they hang from the ceiling and from the walls; they are all so beautiful! mandy uses them in arrangements for local restaurants or for weddings, in addition to her fresh flowers or instead of them. drying flowers is a great way to extend the life of cut flowers- they can last years, really. but, even if they only last a few weeks, i love the way their colors change as they dry.

words & photographs by rinne allen

pom pom dahlias

photo by Kristen Bach

summer mix

photos by kristen bach arrangement by rebecca wood

roses

photos by rebecca wood

peony beauty

photos by kristen bach

wild allium

photographs by rinne allen.

little flower school, brooklyn

around this time last year, my mom, sister and sister-in-law and i all went to nyc for a little trip. we went to do a workshop at the

little flower school

. we had such a great afternoon – they had a wall of flowers waiting for us and vessels and snips. the theme was 'Dutch Masters' so we each created an arrangement that had a palette and the drama found in the Dutch Masters' paintings. it was a fun way to spend a day together and we all left inspired.

photographs and words by rinne allen.