Warm as toast

Autumn oranges, peach and hot violet-pink.  Softened by burgundy and blush cream.  Sometimes colour clashes are a good thing. This bouquet is quite traditional in style but the colours give it a contemporary edge. Fluro is really growing on me (and I never thought I’d say that).

When nature is enough.  Roses from the garden, as is, just for me.

Autumn Inspiration

These bouquets were inspired by the colours of Autumn (see pic of our farm below).  Not the rich reds and corals of European trees, but more the seasonal colours of the landscape around here at this time of year: white and grey skies, muted greens, and the rich golden highlights of late afternoon light.  That amazing apricot David Austin rose is the exact colour of the sun setting through the trees.

Autumn at our farm, Shepherd’s Rest.

A Wedding in the Park

These bouquets were a delight to make. The bride wanted bouquets that provided a sensual experience: texture, colour and scent.  Delicate rose petals with soft lamb’s ears foliage and seasonal seedheads, all in shades of pink and beige-plum.  Elegant, romantic and understated for a wedding in the park.  Autumn hydrangeas from the Adelaide hills provided the perfect colour-link to the mushroom plum of the bridesmaid’s dress. Hyacinths mingled throughout the bouquets so that their soft scent carried on the breeze in the afternoon sunshine; I hope that every time the bride smells hyacinths she will be carried back to her wedding day. Romantic bliss.

dark lady

Apart from the occasional smear of lipstick, I’m not really one for the colour red.  Not bright brash red anyway; there is a definite allure to the darker velvet tones sometimes found in old roses.  How surprised I was to stumble across this darker tone in a dahlia the other day.  Mysteriously vamp and sinister, with small yellow fangs in the centre. I can’t imagine her shrinking into a bouquet so I photographed her standing alone, draped in shadow.

Maggie Dearest

Maggie Beer visited the Adelaide Hills last night for an event to talk about her new book Maggie’s Verjuice Cookbook  (it’s beautiful, by the way).

Maggie is somewhat of an inspiration to me and it was an honour and an absolute delight to do the flowers for this event. I went to town on abundant Barossa-themed arrangements bursting with fruit, grapevines, berries, baby cabbages and roses. Warm, exuberant and full of colour, just like Maggie.

dusk settles on our flower gardens

waste not, want not

Our pet cows Polly and Buttons (their vet calls them lawn-mooers, aw).  Favourite foods: sweetcorn and rose petals.  In this pic Buttons is starting the day with a healthy breakfast of hay and flowers from my stand at the bridal fair last week. A cuter alternative to composting.