Storytelling with dahlias
In action shots of putting together a bouquet from the garden.
Hello my flower loving friends, autumn is upon us and I for one couldn’t be happier! I just love these mellow days. The colours, lighting the first fire on a chilly evening and putting on a pair of fluffy socks. The smell of the leaves and earth as I walk Purdey our beagle over the woods is rich and sweet. There is still a lot of life and busyness going on in the hedgerows as I hear little creatures scurrying away from my soft footsteps.
As some of you already know from my Instagram I’ve reopened my online shop for A Bunch Of Wild and amongst the botanical crafts and vintage homeware I’m offering my garden gathered bouquets again for collection (whilst the garden is still in bloom). Once my flowers are over I’ll be offering foliage bundles and fresh wreaths. You can visit my shop by heading to www.abunchofwild.com I also have a selection of workshops on there for florists and I’ll be adding my craft ones soon!
This post is actually teaming up for both my free subscribers and my paid ones as I wanted to share with you all these images from the vintage barn last week where I was making up a fresh bouquet for a customer. They are storytelling images which is what I teach florists. I was putting together a delightful mix of cafe au lait dahlias, cosmos, fennel and lots of autumnal foliage. Still surprised by how much my tiny gravel garden has produced as I haven’t even got started on the large cutting garden.
When I talk about storytelling images I’m meaning exactly that, imagine a book with no words, just pictures, you flick through the book (website/social media) it tells an engaging story. Each picture is doing something slightly different yet all are related and relevant.
My little vintage barn is a tiny open sided building with a tin roof and a little log burner. It was the first thing I gave a makeover to last year when we moved. It was bright red and full of cobwebs. Now it’s a peaceful space looking over the garden and it doubles up as my floral workshop where I can teach and make my creations. It’s also perfect for styling and photography. And not forgetting sitting in with a hot chocolate and the fire going on a cool autumn day.
I planted just five cafe au lait this year up by the cottage and all of these are off just one plant. They are prolific! Dahlias need exactly the right amount of sunlight to produce a mass crop! The ones up by the house that get the morning sun do much better than the ones that get it in the afternoon and evening. They also need a lot of muck and watering to stay strong!
I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing this bouquet come together. You can order a garden gathered bouquet for collection from my home or shop my art, botanical crafts, vintage homeware and book an in-person workshop in the link below.
If you’re a paid subscriber then keep reading below for my tips on storytelling through images.
