A lovely, busy weekend

Well, what a great (if exhausting) weekend Stem had at The UK Wedding Show!  Once we’d negotiated the slightly mad roads around the ExCel Centre London, managing to get lost only a couple of times, we set up our stand with fabulous spring-time flowers and a collection of beautiful bouquets.

In planning the flowers we were going to use, we tried really hard to come up with a way of giving a good indication of Stem’s personality and creativity.  We hoped to create a slightly whimsical, magical display and I think it worked!

Quirky accessories, cute little brightly coloured birds, loads of seasonal foliage and branches of blossom looked absolutely gorgeous next to the fragrant narcissi and hyancinths, tulips, anemones and feverfew.  We even planted  jewel coloured primulas in teacups, milk-jugs and sugar bowls.

We had a smashing day working alongside Beauberry House, Shot by the Sheriff, Katie Fine, SLR Management and Eloise Prouse and were really frantically busy talking to lovely people on both days. Thanks to all of you who came to say hello!

passionately pink

Well, I think there’s no denying it.  Pink flowers are completely and utterly gorgeous.  And pink peonies and roses are just about as good as it gets.  For this summery wedding, Stem used an abundance of marshmallow pink ‘Sarah Bernhardt’ and lipstick pink ‘Dr. Fleming’ peonies throughout Beauberry House.  Then there were the armfuls of delicate pink and fragrant ‘Sweet Avalanche’ roses and romantic, lacy ammi.  Ooh, and tiny-leaved variegated ivy just to finish things off.

I love the simple groupings of flowers on the tables which were made a little more fancy with Stem’s posh silver-leaf votives!  And the newly painted pink wall in the Entrance Hall was zingingly complemented with loads of peonies, roses and acid green molucella (that’s Bells of Ireland to you and me) in a grown-up not grannyish pedestal display.  Little details, like the floating peony heads up the stairs with sparkling wire, make everything feel just a little more thought out and special.  A stunning, beautiful, romantic, sexy collection of blooms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

spring has (nearly) sprung

In fact, it was bucketing down with rain for alot of Easter Saturday but Stem Flowers brought the gorgeous fragrance and uplifting colour of Spring inside with (English) sun-yellow narcissi, purpley-blue hyacinths, and old-lady’s-p0wder-puff-pink lisianthus.

Vases filled with Tete-a-Tete narcissi and yellow pansies not only made a simple but beautiful mantelpiece display but also provided plantable gifts for the guests to take home. 

The White Room at Beauberry House was filled with prettiness and had the whimsical feel of Miss Marple’s local tea-room! 

  

 

 

 

roses are really red…

February has been a busy and romantic month for Stem Flowers.  Hooray for brides who choose the most gorgeous, most sexy red flowers for their weddings during this month!  Although the cost of red flowers (in particular) are really a bit silly around the 14th, my brides just went for it and chose rich colours, lots of candles and plenty of seasonal foliage.

We used fabulous ‘Royal Velvet’ and ‘Red Lion’ amaryllis and stunning ‘Majestic Red’ calla lilies.  And then, of course, there were the jewel-like ‘Grand Prix’ and ‘Black Baccara’ roses…..  Completely spectacular!  

loving lush greens

OK, so I swore I wouldn’t bore anyone with unimportant information about what I’m reading or listening to or what I’m going to have for supper. However, my first bowl of this year’s delicious and vivid broad beans reminded me of something I think is simply so uplifting that I want more and more of it! From glossy dark fatsia and berried ivy to emerald trachaelium and fresh green sedum or ‘Green Goddess’ arum lilies. From silvery eucalyptus, through the limes and acids of molucella, shamrock chrysanthemums and bupleurum to vintage ‘Green Shadow’ hydrangeas, abundant use of this colour really is good for the soul.

I’m doing a wedding in September and the bride is going all the way with each table featuring lily vases overflowing with nothing but cinerea eucalyptus. How cool is that? Oh, and I’m listening to Rio (Duran Duran) and reading The Importance of Music to Girls (Lavinia Greenlaw). Just in case you were actually interested….

fun at the flower market

I spent a busy and really exciting morning at New Covent Garden Market last week for a Summer Wedding Flower extravaganza.  There was a smorgasbord of floral designers, demonstrations, music, discussion, networking and excellent bacon sandwiches!
Most exciting of all was the wonderful news that I can now buy fabulously romantic David Austin roses (based near Wolverhampton) and a wonderful array of roses and hedgerow flowers and foliage from Country Roses (near Colchester).  Hooray for British flowers! They might be a bit more expensive per stem but they are so completely gorgeous that I hope my clients will see that they are worth it. I was also really pleased to see that my fantastic wholesalers, GB Foliage, continue to have a really magnificent array of seasonal English foliage for me to choose from.  Their stand is like a lush forest of green at the moment.

There were some other fantastic displays to gawp at.  Most striking were the hanging balls of flowers by Moyses Stevens.  I think that there should be more space in the world for floral spheres.  Rebel Rebel were as cool as ever with (rather handsome) DJs and strawberries hanging delicately from wires and Zita Elze focussed on extremely detailed, intricate garlands for chairs and tables.  Strong deep jewel colours continue to be a strong theme (thank goodness) as do block colours and lots of foliage.  Bring on those leaves!

Visiting the market is a really vibrant experience, which is why I love taking brides and grooms (in particular) there when they’re choosing their flowers .  These seasonal events are a delightful way to spend a morning – and you don’t have to be trade to go.  Keep an eye on www.newcoventgardenmarket  for the next one…..