an easter bouquet

Forgive me if I'm playing it easy this weekend, but working on the theory that you can never have too many spring flowers, I bring you my 'bouquet du jour'; a setting of spring flowers brought in from the garden and popped into a an old baking dish.

Ivy, blossom, magnolia, hyacinths, grape hyacinths are here along with others whose names I won't bore you with, which is my way of saying that I can't remember what they are all called.  Who cares if they don't last long, ephemera has its own very special charm.

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the home made flower display

I love being offered a bouquet of flowers.  Guests arriving for dinner can always make me smile with a few roses or a posy of tulips.  A dear friend, a real gentleman, has flowers delivered to my door in the afternoon before a dinner, and that has to be the ultimate courtesy.

But for all the pleasure I get from a lovely bunch of fresh blooms, I may secretly enjoy them more in the following week, when some flower heads begin to fade and the bouquet is taken apart.

 

Because sometimes all it  takes to make a table look special is a few simple flowers and an assortment of interesting containers.

In these pictures I display flowers in old stone bottles, vintage jelly moulds, a jam pot and my favourite old cups.  Set against a backdrop of an old tureen or a pile of old books.  Takes a few minutes  and adds a little weekend interest to a table in the entrance hall.

How about you, do you have a favourite flower container, do you use stuff

 that wasn't originally designed for flowers?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, celebrating Easter, or simply enjoying friends and family.

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springtime entertaining

With the arrival of spring many of us emerge from our winter hibernation and enjoy entertaining friends and family again. The time of year when we long for spring flowers, pastel colours. I love the way the season delivers a license for creativity, permission to decorate tables with style, to add flowers to dishes ... to have FUN!

Here are some ideas to inspire you for your  Easter and spring entertaining - enjoy !

This week I have received some really amazing comments - thank you, your generosity is overwhelming.  Without you this blog would be nothing.

photos thanks to Art et Decoration

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small is beautiful

 I'm having fun with some old earthenware pots that I found.  They must have been hand made, they are tiny and uneven in shape and size, so much more charming than today's industrially produced flower pots.

At the approach to spring it's nice to bring a little bit of outdoors inside.  I've been playing around with some early crocus, snowdrops and pansies.  What I don't have to hand in the garden can be bought at little expense and shared between the pots.

If I want to take the exercise further then I put together little vignettes using props to hand, like these gorgeous old books I found at the same place as the pots.

Little things, that take a few minutes but make the house feel dressed for the weekend!

Wishing you a sunny weekend, full of flowers and fun!

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a Diane James Home give away

I am delighted to welcome the fabulous Diane James Home as a new sponsor to My French Country Home, and to tell you about her amazing giveaway.

This pretty Peony and Rose bouquet looks as if the flowers have just been cut in the garden but they are actually faux!   You have a chance to win this beautiful bouquet, that normally sells in Diane's store for $350.

 Diane James arrangements have become a favourite with interior designers, and are to be found in elegant homes around the world.   When you visit her store you'll be amazed at the variety of bouquets in all your favourite flowers, and the huge choice of beautiful plants that will look good for years!

Diane James creates the most exquisite faux bouquets with all my favourite flowers as well as beautiful faux plants and orchids. Her  natural flair for flower arranging was nurtured when she lived in Europe, where she trained with the experts.  Today her twin daughters, Carolyn and Cynthia,  have joined her in the family company, and together they form a charming and winning team.    In the United States she is a favourite supplier to designer stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

If you want to keep up with all their latest news, and see more stylish inspirations, you can check out the company's blog The Buzz

To enter the giveaway is easy.  Simply check that you are a follower here, then head over to the Diane James site and browse her shelves.    Come back here and tell me which of her products you prefer.   If you would like additional entries to the draw, you simply talk about the giveaway on facebook ,  twitter or pinterest.  A separate comment for each new entry please.

Extra good news is that Diane James is generously opening the give away to everyone, no matter where you live!

I will draw a winner in one week, on Thursday 2nd February at midnight Paris time.  The lucky girl (or boy!) will be announced the next day, and hopefully will receive their bouquet in time for St Valentine's day.

Bonne chance à tout le monde!

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home made centre piece for your christmas table

If there's a moment in the year when you can be a little more daring with your flowers on the table it has to be the holidays.

This is the moment when I like to use flowers plus .... other things.  A lot of you have told me that you are decorating with white, silver and fresh green this year, so I tried to put together an idea that may fit in, using materials that most of us have in the home already  or that are inexpensive to buy.

 To make these centrepieces, I used two urns I already had, some florists foam (either already ball shape or cut into a ball from a new brick);  wooden barbecue skewers;  a bunch of cuttings from a box hedge; a bunch of small white roses, some small Christmas baubles and a bag of  ... brussel sprouts!

Start by soaking the balls of foam in water, the wetter they are the longer your arrangement will last.  Actually you can increase the lifespan by putting these out into a cool garage each night.  Stand a straight branch in each recipient or urn, and make sure they are firm using stones, foam, even plaster if you wish.

Push each ball down onto the stick to create the hole, then take them off again to start building up the arrangement.

After you have put small lengths of box all over the ball, prepare the brussel sprouts.  I use these because I love their colour, their small tidy shape and because they last for a long time, even if the roses need changing.    Peel off any discoloured leaves, then push a short length of skewer into the base of each, position on the ball of foam.

Start building up the ball, using the sprouts, roses and baubles, with some more box if required, until the foam is completely covered and you have a nice round shape.   Push the ball back onto the 'trunk' and check the shape, then cover the base with some beautiful green moss.  Voila!


The same idea works just as well with red roses and tiny apples or lichi.  Pine cones are good too, but can be more difficult to fix to the foam.

While I was already making a mess I also popped a few white hellebore with some baby ivy into an old soup tureen and surrounded it with moss.  Doesn't look spectacular for the moment but it will grow during the holidays.

Hope you enjoyed that, I'll be back tomorrow with something else!

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mon bouquet du jour - it's the autumn

Caught short this weekend by a last minute invite to dinner, nothing left in my 'reserve' to take as a hostess gift, I had to scour the garden to see if there was anything left that could make a bouquet.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sedum was still just red, not brown yet from the frost, and that hidden away protected beneath the lower branches of the hydrangea, there were a few last blooms half green half red.   I toyed with some rose hips, but they looked too orange, then turned to the ivy whose berries are beginning to turn from green to black. 

 Finally I added some sprigs of sage, which my friend may not totally appreciate, because it smells rather strong !! - I told her she could discard the sage if it got overpowering!

Not being a very organised person, I do not have a roll of florist's cellophane to hand, so my bouquet just had to be made up as a posy and held together with a ribbon.

What do you count on for last minute gifts? 

A pot of jam, a cake, a favourite book?

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