Category Archives: outdoor living

Post Holiday “Blooms”…

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Say goodbye to this festive season. You have exactly 11 months before you start worrying about next year’s Christmas flower arrangements.

For now, it’s time to get motivated and start preparing for the year ahead. Keen gardeners and lovers of petals, how about this:

January

For now, just focus on making 2017 a bright, colourful and spectacular year and your gardens even brighter. This month is also known as the “detox” month.

This might be the same for your garden; It’s the time to clean up your gardens just in time for Spring. This is the coldest month of the year, therefore not much planting can be done. This is why we urge you to focus only on tidying up your garden.

Our somehow-neglected gardens need thorough cleaning. Start by removing dead leaves, branches as well as cleaning pots thoroughly.

This is the time to buy your seeds (but don’t plant just yet).

February

Towards the end of February – when the weather allows the occasional sunshine – start planting your daffodils, fuschias and primroses. At the same time, protect your plants from the snow and the frost to avoid any damage. Roses are the best seeds to plant in February.

February is the love month, so stay tuned because later on this month, we’ll be sharing some amazing tips on unique Valentine’s Day flower arrangements (for you to create at home), to surprise your loved ones.

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Narcissus: The December Beauty

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This symbol of anything tranquil and sweet, consists of yellow and white flowers, also known as daffodils.

They are extremely popular in the Mediterranean, because they grow almost everywhere and carry with them a rather interesting mythological history. God Narcissus, obsessed with how attractive he was, was led to a pool by Nemesis where he couldn’t take his eyes off his own reflection and drowned. That is why daffodils are symbols of beauty and loving yourself – although not (anymore) in a conceited way.

These beautiful flowers, once they have finished flowering, daffodil_1_largewill start growing (better in the shade of deciduous trees). Once these trees leaf out, their foliage will have significantly grown. Daffodils will not long survive under evergreen trees and shrubs.

Their flowering season lasts anywhere from six weeks to six months, depending on where you live and the cultivars you grow.  After blooming, let the daffodil plant rebuild its bulb for the next year. The leaves stay green while this is happening. When the leaves begin to yellow, then you can cut the leaves off but not before.

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Narcissi are mainly cultivated in Holland and UK and they originate from Western Europe.

 

“Creep” it real, with these Halloween Arrangements!

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Three Simple Ideas to create a Halloween themed floral arrangement

Save the candy for the kids and prepare to amaze your friends (especially the ones who are obsessed with this holiday) by giving them a Halloween themed bouquet.

We all love this holiday, mainly because we get to fill our houses (both inside and outside) with pumpkins and scary decorations. But these simple creations can be a fun gift to your friends for a halloween dinner party.

We’ve narrowed it down to these ingredients that you can mix and match. If combined properly, you’ll have a “spook-tacular” Halloween creation.

What do I need?

Orange roses, purple carnations and cushion poms, blue (or purple) asters.

You’ll also need a purple wrapping paper as well as orange, black or red ribbons.

For the base, use black or purple vases and any amount of pumpkins you’d like.

Some Glitter Spray (you can get on ebay or even superdrug).

Purple and orange flowers are ideal for any autumn-themed decoration and these combinations look great in any Halloween arrangement. You can use orange roses and lilies as well as purple cushion poms, then add dark-coloured leaves on top for a more dramatic effect. Best displayed inside a purple or see-through black vase.

The Pumpkin King

Carve a pumpkin and on the top place orange roses, blue asters and purple carnations. Add some athos (pom cushions) to make the rest of the colours stand out.bf270-11km

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Addams Vase

 

2241ddea051d6bd991252e63c8875118Place inside a black or purple vase the following: blue asters, black roses (you can add a red one somewhere as well), and long thin branches (of similar colour) for a dramatic effect.
We suggest you do at least three of these vases, each one with a different touch. You can add spray glitter paint to one of them and add an orange rose (instead of red) into another. Contrasting the black and blue arrangements with an orange or red rose is definitely an eye catcher!

 

Black Bouquet Blue..

This is a fun idea for a gift, for someone who loves flowers. Take your roses and Carnations (and maybe add black roses), tie them together with a string. Then place them in the wrapping paper as tightly as you can in the bottom, and a bit wider on the top (similar to a vampire’s costume in fairytales). Then spray the glitter paint gently holding it on top of the arrangement (min 30 cm) so that only the top gets sprayed. We suggest silver, purple and red colours.

 

 

And don’t forget you can enter our Christmas Contest by liking and sharing our post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make your garden come alive in winter with these suggestions

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Winter has arrived; coats are out, scarves are being sold in stores and as the weather gets colder, more and more people like to plan ahead.

For most people, this is the time to start chopping wood and storing it safely so that their fireplaces are equipped enough. But if you are a keen gardener then this is the best time to start building your “winter wonderland” in your back yard.

Winter should not be a time where we prepare our garden only for Christmas. Instead, we must take into consideration that once the Christmas holiday is over, we still have a good two months of cold weather before Spring arrives.

The hardest part is to find time – especially around Christmas time – to maintain our gardens. Holiday obligations tend to take a lot of our time, but it really only requires 4-5 hours a week to maintain a beautiful landscaped garden.

If a garden is monitored and taken care of properly, you’ll see most of it thrive throughout January, which is the coldest month of the year (and planting seems almost impossible). Therefore, as mentioned in previous blogs, January is the time to organise your shed and prepare for spring.

The following flowers have an exquisite aroma and colours so vibrant that can bring a bit of warmth in the winter.

Winter Jasmine

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What a stunning plant this is and definitely one of our favourites. The fragrance it produces is simply euphoric. It can thrive through the nasty British weather and reach a pretty good height.

 

Heather

Heather is fantastic for winter but must be planted between September and October. It comes in different variations such as pink, purple and white. DECOR TIP: Place a pot of Heather on your balconies or entrance door to create a beautiful ‘warm’ feeling.

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Viburnum

Look no further if you want to add powerful fragrance and beauty in your garden between autumn and spring! This plant is so easy to grow and doesn’t really take much caring. All you need to do is decide where to plant it and watch it grow in days. BUYING TIP: The pink budded flower is the most common version of this flower and it’s called “Eve-Price”.

Hellebore

This white and red flower is best used in rich soil that has a lot of moisture. The key thing with Hellebore is to place them somewhere where there’s not much wind. They thrive if planted between trees and bushes.

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Extra Tips:

As requested, these are our suggestions for winter balcony flowers!

  • Winter Balcony Flowers
  • Erica Carnea (Winter Heather).
  • Ornamental Cabbage
  • False Holly
  • Swiss Chard
  • Coral Bells

 

And don’t forget you can enter our Christmas Contest by liking our post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

 

 

Make your Balconies stand out with these selections

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Balcony flowers are essential to make your apartment stand out and give it character. Even if you have a small balcony in the city centre, by using the space carefully it can bring good energy into your personal space and brighten up your day. Your balconies – especially in the city – can be the best places to reconnect with nature, when hectic lifestyles make us forget about mother Earth.

Whether you want to make your balcony unique, or just enjoy stepping outside for a cup of coffee before work, your flower arrangement should feel relaxing and motivational. TBR suggests the following flowers that don’t need much maintenance and can be an incredible sight.

Dianthus

This “divine flower” (literally) is recognised by a number of its species, most commonly by carnations (dianthus caryophyllus), and Sweet William (dianthus barbatus). They can be a great addition to your balconies as they can handle the cold weather of Britain. They can thrive for most of the year even if the sun is out for a few hours. Dianthus plants, in order to grow (up to 18”) and keep their vibrant colours, they require little watering, but great air circulation.

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Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)

This perennial plant is perfect for a summer balcony. If you have a slightly bigger-than-usual balcony that can accommodate you and your friends  for an afternoon beverage, then a gaillardia can be a memorable plant to place outside. It has petals like a daisy and resembles a small sunflower as well. You can find this in brown or red predominantly and needs little watering.

Asters

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Available in blue, pink, red and white, this is the flower that belongs to an artist’s balcony. It motivates painters to pick up a brush, and even the busy financier to spend his Sunday evening walking in the park. They can handle cold weather and very moist summers and can reach as high as 8 inches tall.

 

Yarrow

This flower is a magician of tolerance. Throughout the year no matter the weather, it can thrive and keep its vibrant yellow, pink, red or white colours. Our suggestion is to add it near contrasting coloured flowers (such as a blue aster), or have an arrangement of its different variations. They bring the best out of nearby colours, i.e. they make outdoor darkwood furniture stand out, and a mosaic floor even more noticeable. A yarrow is a great choice for your outdoor living.

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The medi-look

A term we like to use for outdoor living arrangements that are filled with colourful flowers (red, violet, blue and white) in large hanging clay pots. The Mediterranean look had always been desired. You can see that as far as Scottsdale, Arizona when newbuilt houses bare the Mediterranean style.

Mediterranean balconies are simply the most beautiful in Europe, as they make your balconies look like a freshly done painting. Simply, browse for vibrant warm colours, add them in clay pots (or mosaic), hang them on your outdoor walls and enjoy the British Summer with a glass of Pimms and a book.

Our best suggestion for the medi-look?Of course, Jasmines. This white creation will make your neighbours envious of the exotic fragrance and elegant appearance.

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