23 May 2015

A Bunch for the Weekend - # 53 - More Scented Pink Stock Flowers


Scented Stock Flowers


I have fallen in love!! Well, with a flower. So for the second time this week I'm featuring scented stock flowers. On 'A Bunch for the Weekend' - I have created four arrangements using stock flowers in two different pink colours.

Earlier this week I went to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The show takes place every year in May here in London. I've been going every year for over twenty years now.  

For the third year in a row Marks and Spencer had put on a stunning display of flowers in The Great Pavilion. All the flowers they featured this year were grown in the UK and the display was called 'Blooms of the British Isles'. 

I was so inspired that I a few days later went to my local Marks and Spencer and bought four bunches of stock flowers to use for this weekends little project.


Scented Pink Stock Flowers


You'll need:

- 24 stems of stock in two different bright pink
- a large clear glass round container - here I have used a big vintage pickling jar
- two small vases and a small bowl 

For conditioning the flowers - you'll also need:

- a pair of florists scissors
- a florist bucket filled with fresh water

Condition the flowers by removing any leaves that would end up below the water line in the vase. This is to reduce any growth of bacteria from deteriorating leaves. Also remove any broken or bruised leaves.

Cut the stems at an angle - this is to increase water absorption.  

Put in a clean container with fresh water and leave in a cool, dark place over night or at least for a few hours, to let the flowers absorb the maximum of water, before making the final arrangement.


You might have to re-cut the stems while making the final arrangement to suit the size of the vase or container and to get the right proportions.


Scented Pink Stock Flowers

I wanted to show different ways to display stock flowers in different size vases and containers.

Most of the stems I kept tall and displayed in an old very large, clear glass pickling jar.

Scented Pink Stock Flowers

A few stems I cut down quite short and put in a small vintage fish-paste glass jar. 

Scented Pink Stock Flowers

Three of the light pink stems I displayed in an Alvar Alto mini vase that my daughter found for me at a London antique market. In this vase the stems stays quite straight echoing the shape of the vase.

Scented Pink Stock Flowers

I mentioned earlier this week how fragile stock flowers are and how easy it is to break off individual flowers when you handle them. Here is a link to that post.

Don't throw them away - put them in a small bowl of water and enjoy the flowers in a different way.

I have also just scattered a few on the table - just for fun.

I hope you can find some inspiration from all the different ways I have displayed these beautiful scented stock flowers.

Combining flowers with different containers becomes a way of working and being creative with flowers.

And more then anything else have fun while you are doing it! 

Scented Pink Stock Flowers


Have a Great Floral Saturday and a Happy Weekend!

I will see you next week with more DIY flowers from 
'Of Spring and Summer'.

~ xoxo ~

Ingrid



[Styling and Photography © Ingrid Henningsson for Of Spring and Summer]


You can also find me on:

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ofspringsummer/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ingrid.henningsson


8 comments:

Unknown said...

I love these too, and my daughter gave me a very large bouquet of pink ones for Mother's Day. They have really lasted quite a long time. I am going to try to grow some in my garden. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will do well.

Have a wonderful weekend, Ingrid! xo.

Ioana said...

The arrangements are beautiful.
I love stock - it brings me back to my childhood in my grandmother's summer garden in a small village in the south of Romania.

Frances said...

Ingrid, the stock flowers are definitely deserving of a second post. You've included many great displaying ideas here. I like your use of the recycled containers as vases very much and the miniature antique shop find is a joy...perfect for the little stock stems.

I'm lucky to have visited the Chelsea Flower Show once, and so have a little idea of what it might be like to visit it every year...bliss, crowded bliss, but still bliss. I gather that there were lots of flower field garden designs this year to contrast with some of the high concept show gardens.

Great that M&S is providing locally grown flowers, too. xo

Anonymous said...

Again beautiful pictures of hollyhocks.
The color pink is delicious!
Great weekend!

Kind regards,
Gerry

Anonymous said...

Så vackert,igen!
Jag har aldrig varit på Chelsea Flower Show, men en gång så.....
Ha en fin Bankholiday Weekend!

Susan McShannon-Monteith said...

Just beautiful. Their scent is like no other... heavenly.
Have a wonderful week Ingrid...
Susan x

Janneke said...

I'm fond of stocks. This year I have sown them in the greenhouse, the plants are still tiny but I hope to be able to put their flowers in the vase by July. Love their fragrance too.

{oc cottage} said...

gorgeous!

m ^..^

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...