Wake up Amaryllis!

If you, like me, love to decorate your home with majestic Amaryllis flowers at Christmas time I can recommend these two beautiful little films from Zeta's Trädgård showing you how to 'awaken' the bulb before planting it...

I have always planted my Amaryllis bulbs into pots without this 'awakening' step and they have been consistently late in flowering, so a few days ago I yanked my 'Apple Blossom' bulb out of its pot, brushed off the compost and perched it on a bulb vase with the root shoots trailing in water. When these roots have perked up I will remove any withered root shoots and plant the bulb back in the pot - hopefully it will grow a bit faster this way.

Spring Blooms

At this time of year shrubs, borders and river walks are playing catch-up with each other and every day is an opportunity to pick flowers and bring them inside. Unlike florist flowers they tend to come in lots of different lengths and quantities, so it's useful to have a good range of vases at the ready. Small, tall, wide, shallow, bud... they will all come in handy.

All of the following are or would be a good investment

Photo: Åsa Myrberg @ my casa

'Äng' by KLONG. A cylindrical glass vase in small or large with a two-tier grid insert in gold, black or verdigris blue. Ingenious. I bought mine from Royal Design, though I did recently spot the small gold version at Skandium in Marylebone.

Photo: Lo Bjurulf

A collection of glass jars and pitchers can make a beautiful still life and is something one can easily pick up in charity shops

Photo: Kristine Five Melvær

Opaque pastel coloured vases like these beautiful 'Dew' vases by Norwegian artist Kristine Five Melvær look wonderful on their own or shown off with a single stem of something simple.

 Photo: H&M

Always affordable and accessible (if it's not sold out!), Hennes & Mauritz - or H&M as it's called here.

Photo: Plaza Interiör for Hemtex

Round glass vases abound at the moment and look good with a loose bouquet of flowers. And grouped on the stairs, like here ;)

Photo: Iittala

And last but not least, the Alvar Aalto vase by Iittala. Designed in 1936 and as current as can be. We have two. If you are searching for a wedding present look no further..

Counting Down to Christmas

I know it's not even Advent yet, and to be honest I don't really like the fact that all the shops in London have put up their Christmas decorations already. But, when it comes to planning flowers for Christmas one does have to start early. Earlier than this weekend actually, but unfortunately I am not that organised.
This week I received a batch of amaryllis bulbs and small hellebore plants, which I intend to nurture to the best of my abilities in the hope that they will flower for Christmas. 'Hippeastrum Carmen' is a variety that produces rich dark red blooms - as you can see from this photo they are absolutely beautiful

Photo: Anna Linder

I plan to pot 3 bulbs up in a bowl for a central table display (I have no idea which bowl yet so I will have to start them off in something humdrum) and then 3 bulbs planted individually in these smoky green glass pots from H&M Home

The little hellebore plants are a luscious purply red, called 'Helleborus Purpuracens'. I hope to bring these to flower for Christmas, and afterwards I will plant them in the garden where they will bring a welcome shot of colour to the darker corners during the winter.

 

Photo: Gardens4You

I ordered the bulbs and plants from a firm called Gardens4you which posted them to me from The Netherlands. If I had gotten them here in England it could easily have cost a fortune. And yes, I do believe in buying locally, but unfortunately the two florists in our little town do not have the same tastes as I do...