first dahlia of the season

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing great. I have had quite a rough week last week, with a sick mama and a sick baby and a very hot weather but as I read recently on the Instagram feed of my friend Ricarda, the quieter the online, the louder the offline life!  The good thing about this short break, is that I managed to go to the market on Friday and found some awesome free range dahlia. It isn't uncommon to find dahlia at the beginning of August, but they are particularly early and beautiful this year. I bought enough flowers to make three beautiful bouquets and I only paid 10 €! I often that flowers are expensive on the market, but I think, they are usually much cheaper than in the flower shops especially when locally grown. So - I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do. Have a great day and speak to you soon! Elodie

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A red bouquet: Lupin, peonies, aquilegia

Hello everyone! I have been wanting to show you this bouquet since the beginning of June. I made it when I was in France, staying at my parent's in law. They have a beautiful garden, which I already showed you there. I especially loved working with the lupin, as I really like their ombre colours.  I hope you will like this few flowers. I wish you a great day! Elodie

bouquet of mini roses, globe amaranth and black berries

Good morning everyone! I hope you had a lovely Monday. After a bit of a rough few weeks, I am feeling better and I when I feel good, I like to be surrounded by flowers. I made this little bouquet a few days ago, with some beauties I found in one of my favourite flower shops. I think they work really well together because:

1- the blooms are all roughly the same size. 2- the colour palette is very elegant, from pink to dark blue. 3- It's always a good idea to mix fruits or vegetables in your bouquet, to make it visually interesting.

Voila! I hope that you will find this bouquet inspiring and that it will bring you a little bit of happiness too! Have a great day and talk to you soon, Elodie

Roses of Picardy

Hello everyone! I haven't been posting that much as I am going through quite a lot at the moment. Among other things, I started working again recently and Little Miss Ella started going to the Kindergarden. All is well, and we managed a complete week without bringing any germs home! Let's hope we are heading to another successful week. I was browsing through my pictures yesterday and I realised, that they are still a lot of flower pictures from my French holiday, I haven't shown you so far. Those pictures are roses pictures. I took in my parent's garden in the region called Picardy. My home region is well known for its roses that have been sung by Mr. Frank Sinatra for instance, and my mum's garden is full of them!

Roses are shining in Picardy,
In the hush of the silver dew,
Roses are flow'ring in Picardy,
But there's never a rose like you!
And the roses will die with the summertime,
And our roads may be far apart,
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy,
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart.

I hope that you like roses as much as I do and wish you a great start in this new week! xoxo Your Elodie

Vase Story: Badeteich from Räder

Hello everyone! I have been making bouquets in this vase for a while now, but never found the time to take pictures for the blog. I found this one so lovely that I had to share it with you.  First, I would like to say a couple of words about the vase. This middle size vase is from the German decoration firm Räder and is called Badeteich {swimming pond} {€ 24.95} and as you can see, there is a little swimmer looking out of the vase. I love the fact that you can tell a new story with each bouquet, by creating the surprise of having a little woman hidden in the vegetation of your bouquet. The little golden fish printed on the vase are also very cute.

For this bouquet, I used:

• Scabiosa
• Clematis
• and Wild Asparagus

I hope you enjoy it! I wish you all a great day Elodie

PS: I would like to thank Räder for sending me this beautiful vase. 

#flowersonmyway in June

from left to right and from top to bottom: @stylingfieber //@leene_e//
@ahoijudith//@leckersmeck

The #flowersonmyway contributions on Instagram for June have been so beautiful! Thanks so much! Flowers are everywhere at the moment and it makes me happy! Does it also makes you happy guys? Have a great day! Elodie

A tall bouquet of lilies and delphiniums and a floral give away

Today I am writing this post in German in combination with a give away open to my German readers only. {see English version below} 

Hallo Ihr Lieben!

Heute gehe ich mit diesem Strauß aus meiner Komfortzone raus. Ich gehe von mini auf maxi, von klein und süß, auf groß und elegant. Als die Initiative Toll was Blumen machen mich fragte, mich einen Strauß mit Lilien zu überlegen, war ich mir nicht sicher, ob es gut zu mir passt. Das ist das erste Mal, dass ich einen Strauß mit Lilien für madame love mache. Ich habe dann nachgedacht und es wurde mir klar, dass es ganz toll aussehen würde, wenn ich die Lilien mit anderen Blumen mit langen Stielen kombinieren würde. Ich habe mich für blauen Rittersporn in Kombination mit den weissen Lilien entschieden.  Ich mag es, raffinierte und edle Blumen mit etwas ländlichere Blumen zu kombinieren. Ich mag auch den Kontrast zwischen den grossen Lilien Blüten und den kleinen Blüten vom Rittersporn.

Hier sind ein paar Tipps, wenn Ihr einen Strauß mit Lilien zu Hause machen wollt:

1- Sucht euch eine große und stabile Vase aus, da die Lilien schwere Blumen sind. 2- Kombiniert Lilien mit anderen langen Blumen. 3- Entfernt so viel von den unteren Blättern wie möglich.

Für das Gewinnspiel siehe unten.

Hello everyone!

Today I am going out of my comfort zone. I am going from mini to maxi, from miniature and precious to tall and elegant blooms. As Toll was Blumen machen asked me to imagine a bouquet with lilies,  I was not really convinced that it would fit my blog and my style.  It is the first time I have worked with lilies for the blog. I had a closer look at them, and it was clear to me that I had to combine them with another tall and elegant type of flower. I chose pale blue delphiniums to go with my white lilies. I liked mixing a more sophisticated flower with a more rural and simpler one. I also like the contrast between the big blooms of the lilies and the small blooms of the delphinium.

Here are some tips if you want to make a bouquet with lilies:

1- Pick a solid vase that can carry the weight of your lilies, as they are quite heavy flowers. 2- Combine your lilies with other tall flowers. 3- Cut as many leaves from the bottom as you can. 

Die Lilie ist nicht nur auf meinem Blog im Juni zur Gast, sondern ist auch die ausgesuchte Blume des Monats für den Blumenkalender von Toll was Blumen machen und Ihr habt die Möglichkeit eins von zehn Lilienbouquets inkl. Lieferung jetzt zu gewinnen. Dafür musst Ihr mir nur im Kommentarfeld Eure Lieblingslilienfarbe verraten und zwar bis Sonntag, den 29.06.2014 - 23:59. Dann wissen wir direkt, in welcher Farbe wir sie Euch schicken können. Solltet Ihr einen Strauß gewinnen, bin Ich schon gespannt zu sehen, was Ihr damit macht, wenn Ihr Eure Fotos mit dem Hashtag #tollwasblumenmachen auf Instagram und Twitter postet. 

Spielregeln: • Die Teilnahme ist nur unter Angabe einer gültigen E-Mail-Adresse von volljährigen, natürlichen Personen mit Wohnsitz in Deutschland möglich bis Sonntag den 29.06.2014. • Die 10 Gewinner werden per Zufallsauswahl bestimmt und von mir binnen drei Tagen unter der angegebenen E-Mail-Adresse informiert.

Viel Glück! Viele Grüße Ihr Lieben! Elodie

PS: Dieser Beitrag ist in Zusammenarbeit mit Tollwasblumenmachen.de entstanden

Vase Story: My Vietjar from Tine k home

Good Morning everyone!

Today I would like to show you one of my favourite vase: My VIETJAR from the Danish brand Tinekhome. This vase is an old, unique jar from the Vietnamese rivers, made out of clay. Each one is unique and different and you can buy them in three different sizes from XS to XL. They cost between 20 € and 71 €.  They are very rough and irregular, and that's what make them so beautiful and special, especially if you want to make a bouquet with a still life touch.  As the vases are not enameled on the inside nor on the outside, I advise to put a little glass recipient in the vase before you put some water in the vase, in order to prevent it from licking.  I use baby jars as they fit perfectly. Tinekhome is a brand that I really like, and this vase is also on my wish list. I bought this black one, along with my Vietjar in a fabulous interior shop in Hamburg called Eden Living. I wish you a great day! Talk to you soon Elodie

Lovely flower DIY: Using a Kenzan for a shallow vase

Hello everyone!  Today I would like to start a new column and show you some simple tricks to make nicer bouquets at home. The first trick I would like to show you today comes from Japan and is primarily used for the traditional Japanese floral arrangements called Ikebana.  A kenzan, also called spiky frog or flower frog is a specific metallic device used for fixing the flowers in the container. It consists of a heavy lead plate with erected brass needles where the stems are fixed. You can find them on amazon for example and they cost between 3 and 30 € depending on their size.  A kenzan is perfect for arranging bouquets in shallow vases such as bowls or small pedestal vases. It helps keeping flowers with very short stems in the water.  It is a very nice to arrange flowers on a table for dinner party for example, so that you can for instance see the person sitting in front of you. It also works very well if you want to create a vignette on a table in living room. For this bouquet, I decided to mix peonies with garden roses, as I think that they really work well together.

Your bouquet step by step: 1- Place the Kenzan at the bottom of the vase and fill the vase with water. 2- Cut the stems very short and take out almost all the leaves. 3- Pick the flowers one by one in the vase, so that the bouquet is pleasant to look from all sides. (especially if it is for a table centre).

So that's it for today people! I hope you liked this little floral DIY and that you will get yourself a little kenzan for your next bouquet. Have a great day! Elodie

Lovely flower blog #9: Twig and Twine

Hello everyone! I hope you had a nice long week end if Monday was a bank holiday in your country. I am back today with a new interview from my series Lovely Flower Blogs. I was so delighted when the very talented, Los Angeles based floral and event designer Heather Williams from the blog Twig & Twine, accepted to take part and answer some questions for you. I first discovered her work on Instagram. I love her choice of flowers, the way she works with foliage and her vision about her work as a florist: "I like to remind people that I am a designer and that flowers/foliage are my medium. I create using the principles of design I just happen to use something that was once growing in the ground." So true! If you want to read the interview and see some gorgeous pictures of Heather work - click on the "read more" button.  Speak to you very soon! Elodie

 Who are you and what are you talking about in your blog?

Heather Williams, owner of Twig & Twine…both a floral design studio focusing on weddings and events as well as a retail flower and gift shop. My blog showcases my wedding work for the most part. I'm not a hugely active blogger. I find it a good place to post weddings that aren't up to snuff for my portfolio as well as where I can highlight other things like workshops that I have going on.

Where does your passion for flowers come from?

I sort of fell into floristry but it was a jump that made sense in a lot of ways. I grew up with a mother and grandmother who are active gardeners. There were always flowers in the yards that I played in during my youth. I studied fine art and design in college and pursued a bit of that but on a whim was asked to work at a flower shop. I took the job and it was a fairly easy transition for me since I was somewhat aware of the flowers names and their seasons. Additionally my background in the arts helped with the design portion of being a florist. I think a lot of people assume I am a gardener and ask for advice on how to keep their plants alive. I'm far from a good gardener. I like to remind people that I am a designer and that flowers/foliage are my medium. I create using the principles of design I just happen to use something that was once growing in the ground.

What inspires you? Color. The seasons.

What is your favorite flower? I can't choose just one. There are far too many beauties that bloom at different times of the year to choose a single item. Ranunculus are one of my favorites. Hellebores too. And who doesn't love a peony. I will say that I am partial to spring flowers though. Such a wonderful time of year for blooms.

 Which other flower blogs are you reading regularly? I actually prefer Instagram over blogs these days. It's such a quick translation of images and information. Us florists are lucky enough to have a product and end result that can thrive in a forum like IG. I follow a ton of florists. Some of my favorites are Moon Canyon Natalie Bowen Designs Nicolette Camille Catalina Neal (of L&S Design Co) Bows and Arrows….there's so many.

Find Heather also there:

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