British flowers

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Flower of the week – Stock

16 May 2012 | Permalink

stock

Common name:  Stock, Gillyflowers

Botanical Names: Matthiola

Origin: Mediterranean and Egypt

Colours: white, pink, crimson, cream, purple and lilac

The botanical name for stock is Matthiola, it is named after Dr Matthioli a 16th century physician and botanist who identified it.  It was transported to England where it was later identified as a member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family. Stocks have been popular in gardens since Elizabethan times, their name symbolises lasting beauty and bonds of affection.

Matthiola Incana is one of the species we commonly see as cut flowers, it can have single or double flowers with long grey green leaves, there are around 54 other species. It is a popular cut flower and is favoured for it’s amazing fragrance.  The flower spikes open from the bottom upwards and usually last 5-8 days as cut flowers.  They will last longer if their leaves are removed below the water line and the water is changed frequently.

pink stocks

As cut flowers stocks are used in many types of floristry from gift bouquets to weddings and funerals.  They look lovely on their own or mixed with other spring or summer flowers.  Just a few stocks in an arrangement will give a pleasing fragrance.  They are used a lot in weddings because of their elegant shape and perfume, and particularly suit the vintage theme popular for weddings at the moment.  You can often get gorgeous British grown stocks in the summer months, they’re lovely in simple mixed designs with summer flowers and herbs.

stocks in a summer bouquet

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The Royal Wedding flowers and dress

29 April 2011 | Permalink

Kate Middleton and Prince William tied the knot today at West Minster abbey, and the sun shone for them after all.  They will now be known as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  Kate’s highly anticipated wedding dress did not disappoint, she looked beautiful in an ivory vintage style gown designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.  The dress had a very classic Grace Kelly feel to it, and featured a lace appliquéd bodice and skirt.  It was made with English lace, French Chantilly lace, satin gazar and silk tulle.  The design contained lace flowers including the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock.  The skirt reflected an opening flower with arches and wide pleats and had a 9ft long train.  Kate wore a veil made from ivory silk tulle, edged with hand-embroidered flowers.  It was held in place by a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara lent from the Queen.

Kate Middleton's Bouquet

The predictions I made few weeks ago for Kate’s flower style were almost spot on, neutral colours and understated flowers.  The flowers at the wedding all had a very natural organic feel.  The couple reportedly spent £50,000 on flowers, plants and four tons of foliage.  Shane Connolly was the lucky florist chosen to create design for the wedding of a lifetime.  He designed all the flowers for the Royal Wedding including Kate’s bouquet, she held a petite shield-shaped bouquet in ivory and white, not quite a teardrop, a little shorter.  It consisted mainly of delicate lily of the valley with some hyacinths, sweet william, ivy and myrtle.  Kate’s bouquet will have had a wonderful fragrance, as lily of the valley and hyacinth are highly scented.   The wired design was very understated and suited her vintage style dress perfectly.  All the flowers in the bouquet were chosen according to their significance for the Royal Family and the Middleton family, as well as their meaning according to the Language of Flowers.

Lily of the valley – return of happiness

Hyacinth (white) – constancy of love

Sweet William – gallantry

Myrtle – emblem of marriage, love

Ivy – fidelity, marriage, wedded love, friendship, affection

Kate’s sister Philippa wore a comb of lily of the valley in her hair.  The younger bridesmaids were cute as a button wearing circlet headdresses made from ivy and lily of the valley.  The bridesmaids carried tied posies of lily of the valley, hyacinths and sweet william.  The youngest bridemaids carried pomanders of the same flowers held on ivory ribbon.  The buttonholes were also made with lily of the valley.

Blossom

The flowers in Westminster Abbey were all English grown, many from Royal Estates.  The aisle was lined with 20ft high English trees with growing lily of valley around the base.  The flower arrangements throughout the Abbey were made with ivory flowers incorporating lilac, wisteria, blossom and azalea in a very loose and natural style with lots of foliage including euphorbia, viburnum, beech and eucalyptus.

Even though William and Kate’s royal budget is out of the reach of most couples, there are always more economical ways to achieve your dream style..but that’s another blog.  I think today they showed the world a classic English wedding, and provided a lot of inspiration for a romantic vintage look.

Congratulations to William and Kate, I wish them long and happy life of love and laughter.

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Royal wedding florist announced

26 April 2011 | Permalink

London based florist, Shane Connolly has today been confirmed as the floral designer for the royal wedding later this week.  Shane Connolly holds a Royal Warrant, and is a supplier of flowers for royal events.  He has designed flowers for numerous royal events including the Queen’s 60th wedding anniversary dinner and Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall’s wedding in 2005.

Mr Connolly will be heading a team of florists to create the wedding designs, including the florists from West Minster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  Six members of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies will also be helping to decorate West Minster Abbey.  Shane Connolly is known for his use of organic and seasonal materials as well sustainable methods in his designs, using plants and trees where possible rather than cut flowers and foliage.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have ordered eight 20ft high trees in planters for West Minster abbey, to create an indoor woodland.  The trees are English Field Maple and Hornbeam and will stand in specially designed planters made by craftsmen at Highgrove, which is the Prince of Wales’s Gloucestershire residence.  The trees will be planted in Highgrove Gardens after the wedding.  Many of the flowers are being sourced from Royal estates including Windsor Great Park and Sandringham Estate.  The flowers and plants selected include azalea, beech, blossom, euphorbia, lilac, rhododendron and wisteria.  The couple have sourced additional flowers from English growers.

The couple have chosen flowers themed around the language of flowers.  All flowers have meanings and in Victorian times they were used to convey secret messages.  Shane Connolly is the perfect choice for their theme as he has wrote a book entitled The Language of Flowers.  The flowers and plants in West Minster Abbey are to be left on display until 6th May for public viewing and then donated to charities or replanted.

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Royal Wedding Flowers

4 April 2011 | Permalink

The royal wedding is only a few weeks away now and the whole country is eagerly awaiting the big day. We brits don’t need much of an excuse for a party, but a royal wedding is as good a reason as any. Admittedly, for some the excitement is due to an extended break from work, tagging the Easter holidays onto the royal wedding weekend.  But I can’t wait to see what Kate will choose for her flowers and dress.

It has been banded about that Prince William and Kate might decide to go for British flowers, which would highlight the gorgeous cut flowers we can produce in Britain.  It’s a little early in the year for some British grown flowers, so they would be limited to spring pretties if they did choose to stick with just home grown flowers.  I would love to see William and Kate go for British flowers, and a selection of spring flowers would be beautiful.  Tulips, anemones, hyacinths, narcissi and lily of the valley are all available in April.

Lily of the valley wedding bouquet

When Camilla married Charles, Prince of Wales in 2005, she carried a pretty wired posy of lily of the valley and primroses for her bouquet.  The wedding was quite low key and her petite bouquet reflected this.  It included some Myrtle from Queen Victoria’s Garden on the Isle of Wight. Queen Victoria included a sprig of Myrtle in her wedding bouquet and then planted the Myrtle in her garden afterwards.  Since then all royal brides have included Myrtle in their bouquets including Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales.  Myrtle is said to be the herb of love and is thought to bring good luck.  It is expected Kate will include Myrtle in her bouquet too.

Kate’s flower choices will obviously depend a lot of the type of dress she wears.  If she picks a fairy tale style dress with a large full skirt she may choose a trailing shower bouquet to balance the dress.  This type of bouquet is usually thought of as more traditional.  Shower bouquets have seemed to be out of fashion for many years as handtied bouquets were so popular.  But teardrop shape bouquets have been making a comeback recently, either as a smaller more compact version with a lot less fussy foliage or as a very modern waterfall design constructed on a decorative wire base with minimal flowers wired on.

Teardrop wedding bouquet

My bet for Kate’s flower style is understated elegance.  I think she will go for a teardrop shaped bouquet in neutral colours, not a large bouquet with long foliage like Princess Diana had, but a simpler contemporary version.  Most spring flowers are not very well suited to trailing bouquets as they are wired, so I’m not sure Kate will pick British flowers, since she would have to use spring flowers at this time of year.

Whatever flowers Prince William and Kate decide on for their big day, I’m sure they will be fabulous.  Kate always looks very elegant and stylish.  I just hope the sun shines for them on the 29th.

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Fairtrade Flowers

20 April 2009 | Permalink

Why don’t many independant florists sell fairtrade flowers?   The ethos behind Fairtrade flowers is to provide better prices and working conditions for the farmers who grow and harvest them in developing countries.  Which is a noble cause, but the vast majority of flowers in florist shops are grown in Holland.

Although many people assume all flowers are from far flung places and sold via Holland.   Holland actually grows many flowers itself such as orchids, syringa, anthurium, freesia, chrysanthemum, roses, lilies, amaryllis, anemones and hyacinths.   Holland is obviously not a third world country, it has fair minimum wage and proper health and safety laws etc.  Dutch flowers also have the benefit of less air miles than flowers shipped from Kenya or Ecuador.

You may have noticed that most suppliers of Fair Trade flowers are large companies such as supermarkets and the big online businesses; there is a good reason for this.  The certification process to be a supplier is arduous and expensive, therefore not feasible for small independent companies.

If you are interested in flowers grown in Africa or Kenya there is no shortage of supermarkets offering these.  But since Holland and the UK grow many beautiful flowers, I prefer to get flowers closer to home where possible.  British flowers are exquisite and I love to use them when they are available.

english peonies, alstromeria, snap dragons and lisianthus

A lot depends on the weather but they are generally available May to September.  With spring flowers such as tulips and daffodils starting from February onwards.  I can source English peonies, stocks, dahlias, asters, lisianthus, alstromeria and freesia.  With a bouquet of English flowers you can take comfort in the knowledge you are supporting the British economy and your flowers have not been transported half way across the world to reach you.

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