Fresh Flowers Styled in a Long Wooden Bowl

 

Today is a beautiful winter day here in California with the sun shining through the icy cold air.   I'm finally getting time to share some floral fun after a very busy last few months.  It's great to be back blogging as it is such a wonderful way to connect with all of you who share my passion for design and flowers!

This season I hosted a winter tea party for my Mom's birthday and created a centerpiece of fresh white roses for the occasion.   Having just purchased a long wooden bowl for the holidays, I decided to create a "rose boat" centerpiece for the dining room table.

The wooden container is 36" long and about 6" wide which makes it the perfect size to hold three dozen roses.  First the bowl was lined with plastic to keep it dry, then three loaf pans filled with water were inserted and covered with a grid of tape to hold the flowers in place.  

Long stemmed white roses were combined with clippings of foliage from the garden and a few holiday pine tree branches.  First, the foliage was arranged in the loaf pans of water to create a bed of greenery for the roses.  Then the roses were cut shorter to fit in the containers and baby's breath was added and strewn throughout the design.

The roses were fresh and lovely for the birthday tea party and lasted about a week after the event.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Winter

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Winter Decorating with Dried Hydrangeas

The winter months are quiet as I prepare the garden for spring and await the first blooms of the season.  It is always a challenge to keep the vases filled until the garden starts to produce flowers for cutting, so I often use dried or artificial flowers this time of year.

Dried hydrangeas are elegant when placed in wide vases or bowls and provide soft color and texture.  They are simple to preserve during the summer by cutting the blooms and placing them in a vase of water until the water evaporates and the flowers start to dry. 

Fresh blooms, as shown in the photo below, can also be made into wreaths which will dry and last through the winter.  See the post about  "How to Make a Hydrangea Wreath" for instructions.  I have used them for centerpieces as well as wall decor.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Dried Hydrangeas, Fresh Floral Styling, Winter

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Season's Greetings

Wishing you all a happy holiday season filled with peace and joy... 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Leave a Comment Tagged: Holidays, Winter

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Black and White Anemone Arrangement

The garden is finally blooming again after the dormant days of winter and some of the first flowers to emerge this season were these black and white anemones. I'll admit I was so happy to have them decorate the garden after the flowerless winter months that I harvested them late for this arrangement.  Still, the soft white blooms add a hint of spring to our home!

This beautiful variety of anemone is a dramatic addition to arrangements and is remarkably easy to grow.  I have combined it with dusty miller, burgundy heuchera, and a few sprigs of white candytuft put in a blue and white ceramic vase.  

The black and white anemone, with its showy dark center,  is a favorite flower for wedding bouquets.  When it first opens the center is a deep navy blue which turns to black and spreads as the bloom ages.  Although these appear to be quite delicate, they are actually cold hardy and last many days in vases or arrangements.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Garden and Flower Photography, Spring, Winter

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A Garden Christmas Beverage Bar

Fall has just flown by, it seems, and now it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at our house.  During the holidays, I often like to serve hot tea, coffee, and chocolate in the garden as this year we have beautiful sunshine and crisp cool afternoon air to enjoy.  I use a French press and heated carafe of water with the tiered beverage bar to serve hot drinks on the patio.  As much of our winter garden is evergreen, with only blooming cyclamen and citrus, it makes a very relaxing space for a choice cup of Christmas cheer.

To reflect the spirit of the season, and for holiday entertaining at home, this year I prepared a Christmas beverage bar filled with treats for this memorable time in the garden.  Here is a simple and fun idea using any tiered stand and a few Christmas dishes with ornaments or other embellishments.



For this year's Christmas beverage bar I chose a Woodland theme that would fuse with the patio garden and kitchen.  It is a rustic birch bark tiered stand, lined with garlands, filled with Christmas mugs, a few bowls, and winter bird ornaments.  Then I added coffee, instant cocoa, tea bags, and Christmas complements like candy canes and chocolates.



The part of the winter garden I most love is the birds scampering about, so having bird embellishments on the edges of the trays seemed fitting.

I hope you have a lovely holiday season and enjoy the beauty of this wonderful time of year!

Leave a Comment Tagged: An Artful Table, Holidays, Winter

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Harvesting the Winter Garden

Spring is just around the corner now which means I have been harvesting the winter garden and preserving our citrus fruit to use throughout the summer.  We have a short winter here with a few months of bitter cold, then in February spring begins with the orchards blooming and the most spellbinding scent of blossoms in the air.  This is my cue to get busy and finish removing fruit from our trees, cutting the first herbs of the season, and harvesting the broccoli and salad greens before they go to seed or flower. 

This is also my first year growing broccoli in pots and we've had a few lovely little heads but a full harvest will clearly require more room.  The salad greens are happy as ever in their containers and continue to thrive through the cool spring weather.  Much to my surprise, our Greek oregano survived the frost and has come back beautifully, doubling in size! We're also growing spearmint, rosemary and several pots of Italian parsley.    

In the citrus garden we have Meyer Lemons, Lisbon Lemons, Bearss Limes, Blood Oranges, Tangerines, Navel Oranges and miniature Calamondin Oranges.   The trees begin fruiting around November and we usually cut the fruit as we use it. Then right before the trees start to flower, I remove the excess and juice it to freeze for summer.  The taste of a sliced lime in a glass of water is so refreshing and although this Bearss variety looks like a lemon, it tastes like a lime! 

This winter we had a bounty of blood oranges for the first time and the dark red juice has a unique berry-like flavor.  

The baby Calamondin oranges stay on the tree almost year round and are ornamental.  I like to use them in arrangements and often as a vase filler.  Removing the fruit in the winter keeps the tree healthy and the fruit fresh and pretty.

Here is a small vase of Calamondins and parsley I cut for display in the kitchen today.  The fresh oranges smell so good and perk up the kitchen counter with the scent of citrus and herbs.

Leave a Comment Tagged: Garden Inspiration, Potager, Winter

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A Winter Camellia Arrangement

Camellias are one of winter's most stunning flowers and ours begin blooming in January.  The earliest variety to welcome the new year usually is this soft pink Debutante Camellia.  Its profusion of petals in soft blush and light pink are a lovely prelude to the parade of flowers that will follow.

The twirling waves of petals and round shape of these camellias make them a perfect choice for a simple design that draws attention to the flowers by eliminating the foliage. 

I chose a gold pedestal bowl for a container and trimmed the camellia stems to about 3-5" long.  Then I stripped the leaves from the stems before inserting them into the water-filled bowl.  The shortest stemmed flowers were placed around the edge of the bowl first.  Then the longer stemmed blooms were added in the center for height to create a dome shape.  

Another easy and elegant way to display camellias is to clip the stems off completely and float them in a bowl of water as shown above.  Be very careful when handling these flowers as they are extremely fragile and touching the petals may cause scarring.  Holding them at the stem or base will keep the blooms beautiful.

2 comments Tagged: Fresh Floral Styling, Garden and Flower Photography, Winter

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Blossoms in the Fog...

It has been an interesting mix of winter and spring lately with cold foggy mornings that later turn into beautiful sun-filled afternoons.  Trees are starting to blossom and early spring flowers are beginning to appear where once there was only earth.

The ritual of a morning walk is one of my favorite ways to start the day, even in the colder weather.  I bundle up with my hat and a scarf and go out for fresh air, exercise and a few moments with nature.  This quiet time always refreshes me and prepares me for the day ahead...

One of the qualities I most appreciate in a misty morning is the way the atmosphere envelopes the surrounding trees.  On clear days I barely notice the air I breathe but in the fog it becomes a real and tangible part of my experience.  It wraps itself around me and then fades out to white...

Even though these pictures are of the early spring trees blossoming, the experience of the morning mist is what stands out in my memory.  I think this set will always bring me peace... I hope it is the same for you.

Have a wonderful week!

8 comments Tagged: Garden and Flower Photography, Reflections, Winter

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The Empress of Winter

The camellia, often called the Empress of Winter, is one of the few flowers that comes into bloom in the coldest and darkest part of the year.  The evergreen shrub produces large showy flowers in white, red and pink hues that bring the garden alive while other plants hibernate until spring.

In floriography, the camellia is considered the flower of destiny.  It grows in the wild in Japan and was brought to Europe in the early 18th century where it was cultivated in greenhouses and collected as one of the era's most sought after flowers.  

The pure white camellia was a favorite during Victorian times.  It was used in decorative arrangements and also worn in the hair or held in bouquets.  More information about this flower and many others can be found in A Victorian Flower Dictionary, by Mandy Kirkby.

The dining room window overlooks our camellia garden and it is always a pleasure to see the soft pinks and whites of these flowers emerge just before Valentine's Day.  They keep well in vases as long as the petals are kept dry and they do not get too warm.

Have a lovely week!

The Gilded Bloom now has a companion website called The Gilded Bloom Studio and is now on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.  For more floral inspired ideas and updates,  please connect with me on these networks.  You can also follow The Gilded Bloom on Bloglovin' or via email using the subscription box near the top of this page. Hope to see you there!

2 comments Tagged: floriography, Garden Inspiration, Winter

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Winter Flowers and the One Lovely Blog Award

This week it was a happy surprise for me to find that Julie, author of the beautiful floral and gardening blog, Peonies and Posies has nominated me for the One Lovely Blog Award.  Thanks Julie!  I met her in Holly Becker's Blogging Your Way course a while back and have been following her blog ever since.  It features many gorgeous flowers that she grows in her home garden and then masterfully arranges and photographs.  It is truly inspiring and always gives me plenty of creative ideas for planning and planting my own garden.

I am delighted to accept and have added the award button to my blog.   As a requirement for the award, I will share five things my readers don't know about me.

1)  I spent my first year out of grad school teaching Kindergarten to 27 sweet little people who have since grown up and graduated.  It was an experience I will always treasure although I moved on to teach at the college level in the field of art history.

2)  I love to cook- but not breakfast.  Yes, it's true, the most important meal of the day is not one I'd like to be fixing.  So, I have a collection of easy recipes for "morning muffins" that I make (and freeze) to have with coffee.  Sometimes I eat too many...

3)  Ballet is my favorite form of exercise.  

4)  I collect art books and actually read them.  I do not think that one can ever own too many books!

5)  My first garden was about 8x8 feet and filled with flowers, herbs and vegetables all mixed together.  It was a beautiful mess of pots surrounded by crawling oregano and mint with little muscari blossoms coming up in the middle every spring.  My Dad helped me tend it and it was always such a happy place.  

Now I'd like to nominate five blogs that I find lovely for the One Lovely Blog Award.  Please accept only if you want to as I will not be offended if you don't have the time.  It was hard to choose as there are so many blogs that I enjoy but these stand out for their lovely decor, food, photographs, and/or flowers.  

Simply Suzanne's at Home

Georgianna Lane

Of Spring and Summer

Kelly Orzel

Cottage Fix

On another note, the winter flower photographs in today's post are of paperwhites and a beautiful pink amaryllis that was given to me as a Christmas present last year.  The bulbs for both flowers were forced indoors.   A few blooms in the house always help tide me over until our garden wakes up for the spring.

8 comments Tagged: Garden and Flower Photography, Winter

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