Little Flowers is a new Sydney-based endeavour with a great concept I wish I’d thought of.
They deliver smaller, simpler flower arrangements for $25 including delivery. Each morning they post a pic on their website of what they have picked up from the market so you know what you’re getting.
They arrive wrapped in hessian and tied with twine. Again simple, but very cute. At the moment they deliver to most of Sydney’s Eastern suburbs and city areas.
Check out their website here.
Jardin des Fleurs is a Tokyo florist owned by floral artist Makoto Azuma and Shunsuke Shiinoki. Azuma creates incredibly unique floral sculptures for his clients along with weird and wonderful natural art installations.
The two partners released a beautiful book last year titled Encylopedia of Flowers (2012). It’s a jungle of colour and texture and features over 2000 different species of flowers.
The book is available through Lars Müeller Publishers for €58.
Check out their shop here and an interview with Azuma from The Glass Magazine here.
All photographs by Shunsuke Shiinoki.
And thanks to Alicia for putting me onto this amazing man!
While we’re on the rose theme, here is Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadem’s The Roses of Heliogabalus.
Home Life recently posted these photographs of a beautiful property in the Adelaide Hills. The owners have cultivated an incredible collection of roses, and I love seeing the countryside and cows peek out from behind the flowers.
All photographs by Claire Takacs for Home Life.
Also on their website is a glimpse into a beautiful French Lot valley countryside home. It has been tastefully updated from its original 19th century state.
Photography by Richard Power for Home Life.
Kokedama is a type of Japanese bonsai that sees the plant roots and soil held together with moss and string rather than a traditional pot. These guys are taking it a step further and hanging the gardens up in the air.
These floating gardens are a great idea for those living in smaller spaces, but they would bring a sweet quirkiness to any space.
Dutch botanist Fedor Van der Valk is the leader of the floating garden pack.
Photographs String Gardens.
Some of Van der Valk’s designs were exhibited in 2010 as part of the Salon exhibition in Amsterdam.
Photograph from Design Boom.
Good.Is have a great guide to making your own hanging garden, as demonstrated by Wilder Quarterly’s Taylor Patterson. Check it out here.
And to finish here is a super cute illustration of how to water your floating garden by Elsa Dray Farges.
I picked up the latest issue of Love Magazine to find this incredible Tim Walker shoot starring Kate Moss. The photographs were inspired by Angela Carter’s novel The Magic Toy Shop and feature a scantily clad Moss with little gardens growing from her body. It’s kind of intoxicating.
Walker did a little interview with Love Magazine about the shoot. Check it out here. To subscribe to the magazine head here.
All photographs by Tim Walker.
Raf Simons has a real knack for producing incredibly beautiful and delicate clothes and presenting them at impressive and unique shows.
Here are a few where he has incorporated his love of nature into the runway.
Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/ Summer 2013
Jil Sander Ready to Wear Autumn/ Winter 2012
Christian Dior Haute Couture Autumn/ Winter 2012/13
I’ve seen a few photographers working with this theme lately, there’s something quite poetic about it.
Billy Kidd uses dramatic colours.
Derek Henderson has a more natural aesthetic.
Amy Merrick gives these poppies her Dutch master makeover.
Jon Shireman is simple and striking.
For christmas this year I gave my uncles and aunties and family friends a pot of chilli. It’s a simple, pretty, inexpensive gift that I like to think most people would enjoy receiving.
For my brother I bought a truffle inoculated holly oak sapling. I potted it in a wine barrel. When it gets a little bigger he can plant it in his newly purchased house and then in six to seven years they should be able to dig up some truffles!
I was given a terrarium couriered up from bosky in Melbourne which is an incredible little world unto itself and some great books, including a beautiful one by Grandiflora with photography of Saskia Havekes’s amazing floral creations by Andrew Lehmann (available here).
The Secret Garden 