October | 2015 | Petal & Pins

October 26, 2015

Glamorous Clippings

I’m joining in for Cathy’s weekly challenge of ‘In a Vase on Monday’ today.
Since this morning was an unseasonal wintery temperature and raining, I have cheated a little by using the vase arrangements I did last Wednesday.

The time had come to trim some of the low hanging banksia rose as you needed to duck to get down the garden path it so beautifully arches over. Mr Petal & Pins trimmed sparingly and I gathered some of it for vases.

I added some peace roses to one arrangement and some elderberry bush and three flowers and leaves from a lily that perhaps someone can identify for me.

Last year I created several dresses with the banksia rose, one of which now features in my Red Carpet Collection of cards.

I was also delighted earlier this year to be commissioned to create one of my Garden Fairy’s dresses as a life size one in a wallpaper panel and it was this dress the client and I chose.
It was a lovely project to take on and I was very excited to see it in place – hopefully it will lead to more commissions – enquiries most welcome!

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October 22, 2015

An Imaginary Guest

A few days ago, I decided to pick a bunch of white and cream spring flowers from my garden and since the wedding season has begun they were perfect for creating a wedding dress for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

I used the Jupiter’s Beard centrathus ruber, Snow Ball Bush viburnum opulus, and Granny’s Bonnet aquilegia – all of which I have created dresses with before.

The Jupiter’s Beard reminds me of tulle and the Snow Ball Bush guipure lace flowers.

I love white and green gardens, they are elegant and calm, but I’m too much of a lover of colour to ever restrict a garden to just that, besides my garden is a collaborative effort with ‘gardeners past’ and tends to reflect that.

If I were playing the game of ultimate dinner party guest-list, one of the guests would be the person who started my garden – a pre dinner stroll around the garden would be a must, with a glass of champagne of course!

Who would be on yours?

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October 17, 2015

A Bag Of Grapes

I’ve been making paper cut signage for my market stall inspired by the class I took with paper cut artist extraordinaire Miso last year.

Mr Petal & Pins translated this design into a rubber stamp for paper bags.

The stamp arrived just in time to use for the Spring markets, along with an abundance of grape hyacinths in the garden to decorate my stall and create some new dresses for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

Now we’re making plans for Xmas markets including traveling to Sydney for one!

You can find a list of market dates and card stockists here.

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October 9, 2015

A New Flower Blooms Every Day

At this time of year I love to walk around my garden each day just to see what is newly in bud, has flowered or where hints of green have appeared, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this spring ritual.

Over several recent posts I have shared the early blooming blossoms in my neighbourhood and the exquisiteness of my pink tree peony. They have been just wonderful this year and inspired some new designs for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.

The colour (and inspiration) has been abundant this spring and I have designed a whole collection of dresses with the grape hyacinths and the purple iris too – I was pleased to see my efforts in dividing the iris have given such splendid results and added new colour to a previously rather neglected area.

We’ve had rain and some unseasonably warm weather so I’ve had to be quick thinking to photograph those that flower fleetingly.

Before a trip to Sydney last week the cherry tree was a mass of white blossom, freesias scented the air and the lilacs were just starting to bud. I returned to a heady scent of lilac as I walked in the gate, roses flowering, apple blossom, and the cherry tree the bright green that comes with new leaves – so plenty of colour to pick for a bountiful spring vase.

‘A new flower blooms everyday’ – it could be a proverb to inspire optimism and isn’t that something spring always brings.