Gathering bracken at Diamond Harbour – photographer Rebecca Bijl

The Peninsula is a great source of seasonal materials for styling and arranging.

Bracken grows wild over the hill tracks, new balance 530 homme encap coastal paths and amongst hedgerows. nike internationalist hombre Whether dark green and fresh or rusty orangy-brown, Nike Air Max 2016 Dames roze this delicately-fronged fern provides a kind of ‘rest’ amongst denser materials within an arrangement or wreath. Canotta Oklahoma City Thunder It is really important to have light and space within a composition, new balance 574 pop damskie so as you gather consider what role each ingredient will play.

Good materials that do the same job as bracken include maidenhair fern, Canotta Utah Jazz pepper tree foliage,

kowhai branches, trailing jasmine, Maglie Detroit Pistons wild fennel,

Our giant wreath hung on branches of the magnificent purple beech tree near the Peacock fountain in the Gardens. Dont’a Hightower Jersey Using the giant wreath as a backdrop, asics gel lyte 5 mujer beige Rachel and I started designing our little ‘set’ ready for the demonstration we were giving, Nike Air Max 2017 Goedkoop ‘How to make a seasonal wreath from your garden’.

I am a huge fan of grandiflora foliage in arrangements requiring scale, and actually prefer to focus on the brown suede-like underside of the leaves which are really quite beautiful. Canotta New York Knicks The rich brown looks amazing contrasted with deep pink flowers and other red / pink foliage.

It reminded me how important it is to keep looking at materials with a fresh eye and observe them during different stages of their life-cycle.

I am now totally inspired to experiment with camellia in all kinds of ways. nike air max 2017 pas cher femme I know the fragile flowers won’t last long out of water, but a simple wreath using stems of foliage and only the sculptural buds would make a striking table decoration for a special dinner. The glossy dark green foliage alone is worth keeping an eye open for, as it lasts a long time and gives arrangements a rather opulent sense.

I have been researching Camellia websites and discover that there are a vast (think almost 250) species of this wonderfully versatile shrub. Nike Air Max 1 męskie Człrne So a Camellia to suit everyone. Nike Air Max 2016 Dames Wit Guillio Nuccio Camellia with its deep rose flowers is my current favourite.

Quinces can be stored at room temperature for a couple of weeks prior to cooking. air max pas cher They cannot be eaten raw and are a real challenge to core but such a treat once cooked.

A real foodie friend of mine passed this recipe on. Sure you’ll love it and you can swap in other seasonal fruit in the place of quince during the year.

Shortcrust Pasty (these amounts will line a 24cm loose-bottomed flan tin)

180g unsalted butter 240g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup cold water

30 slices of cooked quince (or pears, black doris plums)

Filling:

2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
125g melted unsalted butter
1tblsp flour

Remove the butter from the fridge about 30 minutes before use. Sift flour and salt onto the bench and grate the butter into this. When lightly combined, make a well in the flour and add the water. Combine and using the heel of your hand, gather together to form a shape. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Peel and core the quince. Put into a bowl of cold water with juice of 1/2 lemon to prevent browning. Put into a pan with just enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat leaving to simmer for about 20 minutes until soft. Drain fruit very well indeed.

Line the flan tin with a little butter, then place the rolled out pastry into the sides. Put some baking paper in and then add baking beans. asics running Bake blind for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and allow pastry to cool. Fjallraven Kanken Sale NO.2 Arrange the fruit beautifully in the dish in a circle around the edges. nike air max 2016 grijs Then fill in the centre with remaining fruit.

Make the filling. nike pas cher Beat the eggs with sugar until light and creamy. Melt butter til its a deep golden colour. Adidas sklep Add flour to the eggs and then the butter. Spoon over fruit and cook for 25 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up. fjällräven kånken Stora This will subside as it cools. Marqise Lee – USC Trojans Don’t put in the fridge, but it will keep well for 3-4 days.

Discovering that buddleia is sometimes considered an invasive pest or weed got me thinking about what the exact definition of a weed is. The dictionary suggests a weed is a plant or flower that grows where it’s not meant to. adidas tubular rouge Our view though, air max is that these so called ‘weeds’ are just as valuable in floral terms as the more traditionally valued flowers.

Certainly buddleia happily self seeds and can inhabit hostile wasteland conditions as well as flourishing in countryside hedgerows, but personally I would never consider these delicately-scented mauve-grey flowers unwelcome in any sense. adidas zx 750 damskie Neither would the butterflies and bees who enjoy their nectar.

Pondering the ‘what’s a weed’ question, reminds me of Constance Spry, Asics Gel Lyte 3 Pas Cher the mid 20 century British florist who boldly pioneered loose, unstructured floral designs displaying so-called weeds and under-valued wild flowers, new balance 530 homme prix branches and vegetables, Womens Air Jordan 5 and ignored classical floristry rules in preference to letting her imagination run wild. cheap albion gold Single handedly she changed the way British Society viewed floral decoration and encouraged a resourceful attitude to floristry, Case Keenum – Houston Cougars celebrating originality and creative spirit. I guess what she was saying was that there is beauty to be appreciated in all nature’s plants.

Rachel’s sketchbook

Bouquets of materials look quite beautiful when hung upside down to dry. asics kinsei classic It’s a very simple,

cheap interior design trick so experiment with your favourite foliage and discover what works and what doesn’t.

Strip the lower leaves off stems of fragrant eucalyptus and bay and tie with natural raffia at differing heights on a wall,