An English country garden

The biggest compliment a bride can give me is "I trust you". And with that and no particular colour scheme , just a brief to use seasonal flowers, to make it look pretty, off to the market I went! A lot of the flowers were English, bluebells, lily of the valley, blossom, cow parsley, lilac and honesty to name but a few. And at this time of year while flowers are really at their best and changing from week to week a wedding like this is every florists dream. Mixing sweet peas colours with seasonal foliage and simple containers that let the flowers talk for themselves I think they complimented this beautiful venue perfectly! http://www.gatestreetbarn.com/

I hope you agree!

Peaches and cream.

I had been looking forward to doing yesterdays wedding for a long time! To me, it  just encapsulates all the elements that are pretty and perfect for this time of year while adding a contemporary,

 slightly American twist with the peaches and gypsophila that is so right for here and now.

Spring at last!

When I met Becca only four weeks  before her wedding we stood in a beautiful Church in Hampshire and it was so cold we could see our breath! Though I was trying to be positive it was hard to imagine the beautiful, warm sunny day that was to come a month later, and at last the peonies, sweet peas, roses and stocks we associate with late spring were in abundance in all shades of lilac, powder blue and the palest pink through to deep velvety purples, shocking pinks and lime greens, these are just some of the wonderful photos taken by Damian Bailey, a truly talented photographer.www.damianbailey.com

Spring Course at Bespoke Education

Yesterday I arrived at Bespoke Education with a land rover full of Spring flowers! Some picked from my garden, some from a local supermarket. My aim? To show people that between the garden and the checkout it is possible to create beautiful arrangements without spending a lot on flowers. All you need is a bit of 'out side the box' thinking, and a little time!
To be honest I think my students were a little sceptical to start with! But we had a lot fun! And I think I convinced them that is possible to make a  stunning arrangement with a little creativity,  a little time and just a few common or garden flowers!

 Carnations and supermarket roses, perfect to take to a dinner party 

and cost the same as a drinkable bottle of wine!

 Hellebores, daffodils, forget me knots and muscari, all picked form my garden 

with the help of supermarket roses!

 A few blooms in vases.

 Anything  you can do, I can do too!

 All of my students yesterday made their own stunning arrangements to take home.

For anyone who is inspired by this blog, we are doing another course at Bespoke  on Wednesday 12th June, (Check their web site for details) but don't just keep it to flowers! There are courses on 'Wow' dinner parties, (I 'm there!!) Textiles, art, how to work your Ipad, (yep may well be there for that one too!) Creative writing, Italian, Mindy has so many fantastic courses lined up over the next three months if you are near Alresford it is definitely worth checking out her web site wwwbespokeeducation.org.

Spring

I think if the seasons were based on fairy tales then this year Spring would definitely be sleeping beauty! Through a forest of bare branches she is only slowly waking up. But as the weather gets warmer, if not sunnier, signs of spring are slowly showing. Grass verges are now laden with daffodils, from bright sunshine yellow, (you see there is some sunshine if not in the sky!) to more subtle peaches, pale lemon and pure white, from large trumpets to the tiny fairy like flowers of tete a tete .

A much under rated flower, it comes in some beautiful varieties, as one of my florists friends described it 'Happiness on a stem'!

And as I look out of my window the blossom is beginning to show, abet tentatively,

 primroses are pushing through the dull earth, and of my one of my favourite flowers hellebore's with their gentle pallet of antique hues are still nodding their heads in the wind.

So spring has come, not with a bang but with a whimper, but none the less lovely for it!

Jacaranda Tasting

I have worked with Jacaranda for quite a few years now! 

In fact I remember one of the first jobs I did after moving to West Meon, Bee was in the kitchen and I was still getting to know the area, a lunch party in a marquee for two very stylish gentlemen!

Things have changed and moved on a lot from those days, Jacaranda is now a very slick company employing extremely talented chefs and wonderful event organizers. 

Only a couple of years ago they did the catering for my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary Lunch at Bury Court and it was then I got to be a guest and really appreciate how amazing they are.

 No hassle, no stress, just fantastic food.

We have shared many weddings and memories over the last fifteen years.

And having done the flowers for three of their last tastings it was exciting and an honor to be invited to their tasting last night at Bury Court, one of my favorite venues!

I was blown away by the food, and still wondering how I managed to eat sixteen courses and still get up from the table! So hard to choose a favorite! But the tomato tart tatin was wonderful, the pork belly superb, and the lime pannacotta and mango sorbet, or the berry and elderflower jelly with lemon posset, meringine and vanilla ice cream, or maybe the warm brioche chocolate pudding with semi-fredo?

To be honest I was quite glad not to be choosing a menu for my wedding it would have been so hard to decide!

And a few more of the November tasting at Rampster

Nothing beats candlelight and fairy lights!

Looking forward to Summer 2013!