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Seasonal Bloom
i always have a hard time naming my favorite flower, when asked.
but, every year around this time, a batch of wild sweet peas grows on an embankment near my house. and, if i were asked to name my favorite flower on the day that i noticed the sweet peas had flowered, i would most certainly proclaim sweet peas as my favorite.
words & photographs by rinne allen
the other day i had a photoshoot and needed some seasonal ingredients...they did not have to be actual flowers, but i wanted my photographs to have a botanical feeling, but also one that did not feel store-bought. i walked through the yard and cut a few specimens, and also went and gathered some of my pressed specimens from my studio. each cutting brought a pop of color to my shoot, plus i got to enjoy them in my studio afterwards...the gardenias, in particular, were so fragrant!
words & photographs by rinne allen
a few weekends ago, a friend got married at sweet olive farm. instead of hiring a florist for the wedding, a group of us convened at the farm the day before, with cuttings from our own gardens and buckets of seasonal flowers grown at 3 porch farm.
we set up two assembly lines: buckets of ingredients sat on one side and lines of mason jars on the other...and we arranged flowers the whole morning. we had a mix of experienced arrangers and novices and everyone helped each other out.
it ended up being a great way for all of the different friends & family of the bride and groom to meet and get to know one another!
photographs by rinne allen
this weekend, a friend of mine got married. a group of us did her wedding flowers using ingredients grown nearby at 3 porch farm and cuttings from our own gardens. i will share more photos from the wedding next week, but here is a simple arrangement that i made yesterday with some of the leftover ingredients.
may is a slow time for flowers around here- the burst of spring flowers has faded and it is a tad early for the summer flowers to be coming in, but mandy & steve had plenty of beautiful things for us to use!
photographs & arrangement by rinne allen
my mom is a big a gardener and a big flower arranger...i loved helping her with both when i was younger...
now, we often arrange together and i love it. she really is a master...she knows all about classic forms, but has a sense of the wild that i love.
recently, we were asked to do an arrangement for a gathering of ladies and we each cut things from our own yards, and from a few friends'. we arranged in a silver container, and used oasis- but, we don't use it often anymore...actually, i do not use it at all...
nonetheless, we had a fun day arranging flowers on my porch and visiting...
words & photographs by rinne allen
mandy shared some more arrangements with us and they are gorgeous! all of the ingredients were grown by mandy or foraged by her...perfect seasonal beauty!
arrangement and photographs by mandy o'shea of moonflower design.
we will be sharing a few arrangements over the next few weeks that mandy from moonflower design has made recently...all of the flowers are grown on her & her husband's farm, or foraged from nearby.
enjoy!
arrangements & photographs by mandy o'shea of moonflower design
i walked up to the athens farmer's market this week, mainly to get some flowers. 3 porch farm is really rocking it out with flowers this year, and it isn't even may yet!
i wanted to see if i could make a pretty arrangement with a bundle or two of their flowers, just to show how easy it can be to have fresh flowers in your home. once i was at the market though, a few other things called my name...flowering chives, but also carrots & radishes because they shared the palette of mandy & steve's ranunculus.
here is what i brought home:
2 bunches of ranunculus, one snapdragon, one bunch of flowering chives, + carrots and radishes.
i started *really* simple. i cut a few flowerheads short and tucked them into some vintage apothecary jars.
so simple!
then, i did one of beauty everyday's famous old-medicine-bottle-arrangements. these bottles are one of our favorite things to pick up at junk stores. they are so beautiful...
then, i moved to something more advanced...tips follow the next few photos...
i used a brass thrift store vase from mandy, that already had a ball of chicken wire crunched up in it. chicken wire is a great alternative to using flower arranging oasis, which is not good for the environment. you may also tape off a grid across the top of your vase, to support your flower stems, if you do not have chicken wire.
next, i took some of my ingredients and placed them in for shape. you will notice that i tucked in some of the carrots and radishes too, some with tops out, or some with the tops tucked in...the flowers are so beautiful that you hardly need to do anything to them.
this was such a fun exercise...t
his weekend, go visit your market or corner store and see what ingredients you can find...!
arrangements and photographs by rinne allen
we have been photographing this viburnum and giving away cuttings all spring...it has been so full this year!
instead of showing an arrangement with it, i thought i would show you something fun you can do to preserve it...
years ago, i strung some hydrangea flowerheads on some string and hung them in my studio to dry. they are still beautiful all these years later. at the time, i threaded a needled with some alpaca yarn that i had from a friend...but, when i was getting this post ready, i had some waxed string on hand and noticed that its diameter almost matched that of the viburnum flower...no need for a needle, since the waxed thread has a good stiffness. just take the flowerhead gently in your hand and poke the waxed thread through the existing hole in the center of the flower...it is that easy!
and, people often confuse viburnmum for hydrangea as they look so similar...you may do this with hydrangea, or really any flower where the petals meet in the center like this...i love stringing whole marigolds like this in summer, as it reminds me of a trip to india long ago.
it is almost meditative sitting and threading these petals. and, once dry, you will be able to enjoy them for years.
project & photographs by rinne allen
it is azalea time around here. we have many different kinds in our garden...and they all are beautiful, and smell great too...
photographs by rinne allen
rebecca's daughter anna belle is expecting her first baby this summer...our friend nancy hosted a beautiful baby shower this past weekend at her house, one of our favorite places. rebecca did all the flowers using cuttings from her garden and the side of the road...it was a sweet day!
arrangements by rebecca wood, photographs by rinne allen
this time of year there are so many shades of green in the garden. we do not have alot of purple in our yard, but i always seem to notice the tiny bits this time of year: akebia, muscari, faded hellebores, redbud, and mahonia berries that are tinged with it....soon to come are one of my favorite purples, allium, but they are not quite here yet.
photographs by rinne allen
a simple cluster of hellebores with a touch of green from the new leaves of an oak leaf hydrangea.
photograph & arrangement by rinne allen
it is really feeling like spring here now. everything is beginning to flower. sometimes i find it overwhelming, to see so many colors all at once. this year i will take it slow...and enjoy them one at a time. here, a star magnolia sits quietly on an overcast day.
words & photographs by rinne allen
mandy made another beautiful arrangement last week...you can see a full photo of the arrangement on from a week ago, but, today, i wanted to share images from after the arrangements were taken apart...mandy grew these anemones in the greenhouse at 3 porch farm. enjoy looking at them...next week, we will look at them again, in a different way...
photographs and words by rinne allen
i have spent alot of time in my studio lately, tinkering...no set goal in mind, just making things for the sake of making. we had grown a hyacinth recently, and i took a few of the blossoms and strung them along thread. i attached it to this branch with tiny clusters of not-quite-open maple buds- i love their deep oxblood color. something simple to brighten your day...
words & photographs by rinne allen
years ago, i would do flowers for many restaurants around town and also sell them at the market. it was a fun time. here are some arrangements i made one valentine's day for a local restaurant...it is interesting because many of these flowers are not even blooming around here yet, this year. i love how nature is unpredictable.
words & photographs by rinne allen
while this week's seasonal bloom is not a flower arrangement, we still hope that you enjoy learning about a recent discovery we made while traveling. at the north carolina botanical garden, i noticed information about an image archive for the late botanist & ecologist, b.w.wells. once home, i went online and explored the archive of 494 images available for viewing through NCSU. most of the images were made by wells in the early part of the 20th century around north carolina, as he explored the landscape and documented the various plants he discovered. the slides are just beautiful. enjoy.
words by rinne allen . photographs from the archive of b.w.wells/NCSU
the quince is beginning to bloom. it looks beautiful on its own, but, on this day, i had a handful of roses leftover from something and i tucked them in for extra color....i like it both ways.
words & photographs by rinne allen
photographs by rinne allen
