English Botanics

Spring Is Sprung...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:32:00 +0000

The spring was out in force again on Sunday. We visited the lovely market town of Petersfield on Sunday morning for Cappuccinos with the Sunday papers and I was taken by the effective simplicity of the flowers on each table. Ours was in a stone jar, probably an old Stilton Cheese pot, and contained a few Ranunculus, Carnations and Pussy Willow sprigs. I love Ranunculus, OK I love most flowers, they are so opulent, like layers of crumpled tissue paper or a full tulle skirt. Their name is Latin for "little frog" and part of the same family is the humble, but no less stunning, Buttercup.

We then moved over the Hampshire/Sussex boarder to go up onto the Sussex Downs, which were granted National Park status only last year. It is glorious up there, and really does feel like being on top of the world with a great view down into South Harting. I used to go there with my parents when I was a child and we would fly kites. Last weekend, as we ate our picnic, we watched scaled up kites as paragliders sailed the thermals in front of us. And with the car roof down all the way home we were back in time to see England win against France in the Six Nations rugby! What could be a better way to relax on a sunny, Spring afternoon?!

Spring in Hampshire is definitely moving on a pace now, and my favourite season. Probably because I was an Easter Sunday baby, way back when! As I write a handsome pair Blackbirds are landing on the fence post outside of my studio with beaks full of the soft, springy moss bedding that they have been gleaning from my lawn and then disappearing in to the hedge opposite my window. I love watching this nest building project, in a few weeks I will be treated to a feeding frenzy as the cock bird supplies his mate and chicks with juicy spring grubs and worms and finally their lovely fat babies will fledge and sit out on the fence demanding their parents drop the same treats into their demanding orange orifices. I certainly have got the best seat in the house!!

Pure Beauty...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:21:00 +0000

I've had a lovely time in the slightly unseasonal spring sunshine the last couple of weekends. It is so great to be traveling around the Hampshire countryside seeing the Hazel catkins out in the hedgerows - when I was little we used to call them lamb's tails and it is easy to see why. Although I have yet to spot any actual lambs in the fields, but their fleecy dams are looking heavily expectant and probably glad the days are longer and less cold even if the sun probably feels too much with the spring sunshine on their woolly backs.

A few days ago I visited the Chawton House Library Library gardens. This is a wonderful private library specialising in early English women's work and as you may know is based in the home village of Jane Austen. I visited with a group of friends to see the wonderful Snowdrop drifts they have there. I love this simple little flower, which were traditionally know as snow piercers, you can't help but be inspired by the way they do pierce their way up through the frozen ground at this time of year to display such delicate blooms. Again they remind me of childhood and how excited we were to pick the first wildflower of the year back then. Of course we wouldn't do that today as they are protected, but I have some cultivated varieties growing in my garden and sometime put a few into a small vase on the kitchen table so that they can be inspected and their pure beauty appreciated at close quarters, even though folklore says that it is very unlucky to bring them into the house. Although the Galanthophiles, (the name for Snowdrop collectors), who discovered a green tinted sport which they named Green Tear had a lucky days when a single bulb sold online for £368 and another single bulb of a yellow type called Elizabeth Harrison sold for £725!

Such simple beauty is definitely a thing to behold!!!

A Present For You...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:03:00 +0000

We Wish You A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

When you order a set of our Christmas bouquet cards* before 6th December we will give you a

25% discount** on our Celebration Range

So order this week and stock up for the coming New Year at the same time!!

We Wish All Our Customers A Beautifully Creative Christmas!

www.englishbotanics.co.uk

*80 cards with envelopes £14.80.
**160 cards with envelopes, normal price £29.60, this week only £22.20.
Order code EB/ER001OFFER - Offer ends 6th December 2011.

Très chic...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:09:00 +0000

I mentioned yesterday that my talented friend Marian arrived on my doorstep Saturday evening with two great creations from her floristy course and thought you might like to see the very sculptural one I have on my mantelpiece at the moment.

Wouldn't it be great to have Elton John's flower budget and have a florist turn up every week with fresh creations!

Pronto Posies...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:25:00 +0000

I was out with a group of friends on Saturday evening for some great live music from local band Flight Brigade in a conversion of an old oast house. We are lucky to have some great vernacular architecture locally and this building is a testament to the rich local history of the brewing industry in Hampshire.

My friend Marian, who is taking her City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Floristry at the moment, came too and turned up at my door with two fantastic arrangements that she had made this week on her course. The one I have placed at the end of this entry was for my Mum and Dad who had had a long week and were thrilled with the lovely country basket display.

I'm sure the florists among you will know the drill - apparently Marian is given the flowers to use each week and then has to make up a display, dismantle it and make it up again two or three times whilst being timed. Speed floristry!! I think she has a great eye for design, combined with her background in marketing she should have a brilliant, creatively satisfying, business in the near future.

Lest We Forget...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Today is a special Armistice Day as not only do we have two minutes of silence on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month but of course this is also the eleventh year of the twenty first century. In three years we will mark a century since the start of the first world war. Isn't it sad that for all the incredible progress we have seen in those one hundred years we are still fighting across the world and remembering recent loss of life alongside the loss of the first and second world wars.

The Royal British Legion, who have been raising funds to help members of the Armed Forces and their families here in the UK for ninety years, use the Poppy as their symbol, inspired by the poem In Flanders' Fields by First World War Doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. The poppies I have placed at the end of this blog entry are by Georgia O'Keeffe and are for all who are remembering their lost loved ones today.

In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place;wait and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead, short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields!

When Shall We Three Meet Again...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

My 'O' Level English teacher once said that I must have been a witch in a previous life because when she took us to see Macbeth at Stratford-Upon-Avon I could interpret what was being said. Ummm... a strange way to encourage a teenager to embrace Shakespeare!

Originally today was called All Hallow's Eve, in preparation for Hallowmas which is tomorrow and All Soul's Day on Wednesday and the date (as with many religious dates) probably harks back to Pagan times as a celebration of the end of the autumn harvest and the beginning of the shorter, darker days to come. We put our clocks back an hour in the British Isles yesterday, so it will feel like winter come teatime.

I have to admit I'm not a massive fan of celebrating Halloween. When I was little it was practically unheard of in England. We all looked forward to bonfires and fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night, which is next weekend. My cauldron recently bubbled over when I saw, hope you are sitting down for this, "Happy Halloween" cards, in my local gift shop. What on earth????? All that said this is another nature table type photo, as I couldn't resist this little stripy pumpkin that I found locally - more cute than scary! I've seen some wonderful photos of carved pumpkins in the past few days, some are real works of art. The wonderful colours on my back lawn and are also displayed in the basket, I'm not looking forward to raking them up though.

So watch who you cross this evening if you are out trick or treating.
Fire burn and caldron bubble...

Flora's Feast...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:28:00 +0000

This illustration comes from a book called Flora's Feast by the English illustrator and designer Walter Crane and is one of a pair of framed originals on my kitchen wall. I've had them for over 20 years but have to say I regret that the book they came from was cut up to make them. For a while now I have wanted to find and own a copy of the complete original to save it from the same carnage. A few people have thought they are prints of Flower Fairies but I am quick to point out that they are illustrations of the Arts and Crafts movement as this wonderful illustration of a Daisy shows. There is a beautiful naturalist flow in Crane's work, which must have influenced the Art Nouveau movement, although he is quoted as having referred to this movement as "the decorative disease known as L'Art Nouveau" - umm, I beg to differ Walter!

He served an apprenticeship as a wood engraver, or woodpecker as the tradesmen of the time were called, was a student of John Ruskin and worked with William Morris illustrating publications for Morris' Kelmscott Press. Walter illustrated many books including one about the New Forest, Hampshire's National Park and a place I love.

Like many of the artists of his group Crane also worked in other media and produced wonderful designs for stained glass, pottery, textiles and a mosaic frieze in the home of artist Lord Frederick Leighton. The house in Holland Park, London has been restored in the past couple of years and is well worth a visit if you are in Kensington and, like me, are a fan of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. I think you will be totally enthralled by the beauty of the Arab hall.

The web site www.waltercrane.org.uk is very decorative and gives an good idea of his wonderful designs if you are interested in seeing more.

Pig's breakfast...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:36:00 +0000

I drove down to Salisbury on Saturday. It was a gorgeous, warm day and the elegant early Gothic spire of the cathedral looked lovely in the sunshine. The autumn colours were gorgeous in Wiltshire, but my eye was caught but this shocking pink Cyclamen in the market square. I love the dainty smaller versions of the flower compared to its, slightly chunky, bigger brother.

Apparently the old English name for this little beauty was Sowbread as it was thought to be a favourite food of foraging pigs. Now I knew that pigs love acorns and of course if you go down to the woods today, with a piggy-wig on a lead, you might be in for a big surprise if it roots out a nice, profitable, truffle. But it would be a shame to lose this autumnal burst of colour to a hungry hog.

I think this one will be safe on my kitchen window sill and will certainly make me smile for many weeks to come when I open the curtains to make my porridge for breakfast!

A sad day...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 11:44:00 +0000

I'm not usually moved to public displays of sadness, however when I heard the BBC news this morning I felt I had to comment on the untimely passing of a man who has made an enormous impact on the past twenty years of my creative life, without even knowing him - Steve Jobs.

When I started out as a designer twenty three years ago I worked on a drawing board and spent my days cutting with a scalpel and pasting up pieces of text onto layout boards. A slow, fiddly and messy process. Seventy years previously my Great Grandfather was a compositor for the Hants & Berks newspaper, even more fiddly, setting text, letter by letter, to print on a press. I am told his spelling and punctuation were beyond perfect, as not only did he have to place each individual letter onto a board to make up the words, but he had to do it all back to front so that when printed the copy would read the right way round. I digress - one day I was taken from my drawing board and sat in front of a very basic Apple Macintosh, given 20 minutes instruction and then left to "have a play" and learn as I went. Twenty years later I am still playing, with what is probably my best ever toy, every day, and still learning. I've only been blogging for a month for example, using my Mac, and loving a creative process that is new to me. So yes you can teach an old designer new tricks - my Great Grandfather would be amazed at what I can do using only the small box sat by my side and, of course, spell check making sure I get it right!!

When I set up on my own and invested in my very own Mac it really felt like a great achievement to have one sitting on my kitchen table. In those days they weren't the household toy that everyone coveted, but pretty much only used by creatives. When people talked about their PC's I did cock a bit of a snoop as I knew my Mac was by far superior, a Rolls Royce by comparison, both in looks and performance. I confess I was a Mac snob and I didn't care! Of course I have days when, like most designers, I have to give it a good stern speaking to if I feel it's not keeping up with my creative flow and the deadline is tight! But then as my creative hero, William Morris, once said: "you can't have art without resistance in the materials".

When William Morris died, on the 3rd October 1896, Robert Blatchford wrote in the Clarion:

I cannot help thinking that it does not matter what goes into the Clarion this week, because William Morris is dead. And what socialist will care for any other news this week, beyond that one said fact? He was our best man, and he is dead... It is true that much of his work still lives, and will live. But we have lost him, and, great as was his work, he himself was greater... he was better than the best.

I think that today the same can be said for Mr Jobs and his vision for Apple.

So I, along with many other lifelong creative Mac users, would like to thank him for creating one of best ways I have found to express my creativity over the past twenty years.

I love my Mac and always will.

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:04:00 +0000

Flowers have always played a big part in art. Either centre stage for the Impressionists or in supporting roles by the Pre-Raphaelites to add symbolism. I will be sharing some of my favourites on my blog.

The first is Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose by John Singer Sargent. He was a half Italian, half American Impressionist - they weren't all French - and this was painted whilst he was staying in the English Cotswold village of Broadway. We share the same birthday - the day - not the year I hasten to add!

The first time I saw it I was mesmerized, and - without sounding too over the top - I really felt as if I could walk into painting, a bit like Mary Poppins! The way he captured the warm light glowing from the lanterns in the dusk of a garden is so beautiful. You have to see in the flesh to appreciate its real beauty, I think it is still on permanent display at The Tate Gallery in London.

Lilies are my favourite flowers in the garden too and I grow them in pots just by my french doors so that their spicy scent of drifts into the sitting room on the warm evening air!

If this is the first time that you have seen this beautiful painting then I'm pleased to have introduced it to you and I can't wait to show you more...

September Posy...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:38:00 +0000

I was invited to spend a lovely evening with my friend Morny at the weekend, so made a little posy of autumnal colours from my garden to take with me. The Sedum is called Autumn Joy, you probably recognise the Michaelmas Daisy as one called September and the Japanese Anemone, one of the first flowers I remember as a child, is called September Charm. It grew in our neighbour's cottage garden when I was little and coincidentally this garden became Morny's many years later - although we never actually lived next door to each other. So there are memories woven into this humble little gift and how more seasonal could I get in this last week of the month!

As I have mentioned Michaelmas Daisies twice now I should, perhaps, say that the actual day is later this week on the 27th. It was traditionally a quarter day when tenants paid their rents and bills - I think I might prefer that idea to today when there seems to be a fresh brown envelope falling onto the door mat every morning. There is also an old English superstition that Blackberries shouldn't be picked after this date as the Archangel St Michael threw the devil out of heaven on this day and he fell to earth landing in a bramble patch, cursing the berries and leaving them unfit to eat. So get picking before Thursday or miss out for another year!

P.S I should also thank Morny for her penmanship, or should that be penwomanship, as her lovely handwriting appears on the bouquet cards photographed on www.englishbotanics.co.uk

Flowers Speak Volumes...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:15:00 +0000

You probably know that the language of flowers was created by Victorians to send hidden messages in bouquets at a time when many thoughts and feelings had to be kept secret for the sake of propriety. We may have all the instant benefits of text messages today, but I think this has to be a far more romantic and exciting way of getting that special message across.

I'll be adding a few every so often and hope you enjoy weaving some of this hidden language into your bouquets - be careful what your flowers say!

Opposites Attract...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:46:00 +0000

As part of her evolution into a fully fledged florist my friend Marian is currently taking her City and Guilds Level 2 Diploma two days a week at Eastleigh College in Hampshire. She will be keeping our blog up to date with her progress over the coming months.
Here's her first update...

It's my first week back in the classroom and there is a lot to take in, 14 hours of listening and studying and we only actually touched a flower for the first time this afternoon! It's amazing how much theory is involved and I have a new respect for colour and, I have to say, an understanding after mixing colours for around 40 segments on a colour wheel. We are also learning all the proper horticultural names for the flowers. Now where did I put my Latin dictionary?!

I remember learning about complementary colors when studying art. One combination that has always stuck with me and appears quite often in nature is blue/purple with yellow/orange, opposites on the colour wheel. Mother nature knows her stuff and does it with great flair...

P.S. Is it just me or is my Winter Flowering Pansy's little face imploring me?! That's probably why it derived it's name from the French, pensée - to think - and in the language of flowers symbolizes loving thoughts.

Windfalls...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:40:00 +0000

The skies have been clear, blue and sunny in Hampshire the last couple of days - maybe we will have an Indian summer at last!

The blooms nestling in my fruit bowl full of windfalls are from a David Austin rose called The Pilgrim, which was given to me by my mum over 13 years ago. It always does well, has a fruity, tea rose, scent and and has bloomed as late as Christmas in the past - if early snow doesn't freeze it's darling buds!

Alas it will be another 10 months, at least, before we see any of the Chalkhill Blue butterflies that love our Hampshire slopes and are on today's featured card.

Season Of Mellow Fruitfulness...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:46:00 +0000

Autumn has definitely arrived with a wild flurry in Hampshire. It's very blustery up on the hill and the leaves are turning wonderful shades of crimson and ochre.

I went for a invigorating walk yesterday, between downpours, around the fields surrounding Jane Austen's home in Chawton. Whilst walking and talking my friend and I did a bit of hunter, gathering. Well just gathering to be exact. Thought you might like to see the fruits of our labours - you're never too old to make a nature table, I'm proof of that! The Blackberries ranged from small and sharp, to squishy and sweet and look like gorgeous jet beads glistening in their bowl. So tonight's treat will be stewed Blackberry and Apple with custard. I haven't tried the Hazel nuts, or Filberts as my Grandad used to call them, yet. My Grandad was an expert gatherer from the Hampshire hedgerows, especially at this time of year.

Also in the photo are some Echinop seed heads from my garden. If you are saving seeds from your cutting garden for next year I have designed a little packet to help keep them dry and safe over winter. Click on the image below to see full size, the layout will print two packets on an A4 sheet of paper

Happy hunter gathering...

The Inspirational Bloomsbury Set...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:37:00 +0000

Good morning!
Just thought I would share a photo that I took last month when two lovely friends took me to Charleston in East Sussex as a belated birthday treat - the gift of a wonderful memory! We had a perfect summers day, which, with this summer being hit and miss, was lucky.

The gardens were a riot of colourful blooms. A vibrant magenta Everlasting Sweetpea was growing up through an apple tree's rosy crop and the Dahlias were majestic. I've posted this photo as I loved the colour combination of hot pink Cosmos in front of the dusty blue window frames.

The English Botanics card with the photo was inspired by the patterns painted by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell on the interior walls of the house. One of the lovely florists at Eden Blooms in Farnham, Surrey, who I would like to thank for creating the bouquet featured on the English Botanics website, picked up on this. She had been to Charleston the weekend after we were there - what a coincidence!

So if you are ever in the area drop in and spend an hour or two visiting the home of The Bloomsbury Set. I'm sure you would find lots of inspiration there too, along with great cakes. I know I always feel more inspired after a slice of Lemon Drizzle!

The Last Sweetpea's of Summer...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:13:00 +0000

Well we've had pelting rain and the wind blowing a hoolie up on my Hampshire hill these first few days of Autumn. But I'm lucky to still have some Sweetpeas blooming in pots outside of my studio window, along with the more seasonal leaves that are twirling in the wild winds!

I grew them myself from seed and only planted them out at end April, the weekend of the royal wedding, hence the late flowers. I love the mix of jewel and pastel colours and their scent on a warm evening, (remember those), is delicious!

So I thought I would share them and hope that whatever weather you are suffering today they make you smile too. After all we both know it's always lovely to receive flowers - even if they are only in a photo!

Happy Birthday to Freddie & English Botanics!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:49:00 +0000

Hello - I am proud to announce the arrival yesterday of my new baby - English Botanics!!

A new range of high quality bouquet cards that I have designed to enhance the gorgeous bouquets created by contemporary florists.
The range can be view online at www.englishbotanics.co.uk - let me know what you think I'd love to hear from you, or email me a photo of one of our cards on your bouquet and I will showcase them here on the blog!

Yesterday also would have been the wonderful Freddie Mercury's 65th birthday, that must make it an auspicious day to launch a new creative era...
So the bunting is up and for my first blog entry I would like to propose a virtual toast to:

Friends, Florists and the Fabulous Freddie!!