It’s Friday – Not a flower in sight. I’m dusting down my vicars bike, searching out Cecil’s show and prop-making paper balloons on the boat – with a dash of Lemon Barley, ice, mint and a bit of Cole Porter, care to join?

What is it about girls our age….food interiors and flowers? Whilst roaming for fun food blogs and ideas for unique parties I just discovered this great site with amazing ideas for will you marry me’s, great photography…super stylee. Swoon!

Today I’m loving Brigitte’s sulky pout and wondering what this flower loving icon was thinking? Seeking inspiration from Agatha for chapter three. A haunted Vicarage, a slice of cake, a broken down merc and a nosey florist perhaps?

If my paws don’t get stuck together with paste, I’ll dig through O’s vinyl and my shoddy 80’s tapes for my top digging you digging me tunes… as promised!

xx,

Rosemary and Time – The one where we try to go all Tom and Barbara.

I moved to the boat a year a go and between juggling my managing for Wild At Heart and setting up my own adventures as Gypsy Rose I totally ignored the large tarpaulin covered section of our garden towpath and soon realised it was only the getting down and dirty getting – between me and my prized marrow.

Autumn and its sausage season came and went with whiffs of our neighbours freshly picked toms and onions. A winter of herbs scampered past, and spring – with our fellow boaters fresh leeks – had us whimpering with hunger.

Admittedly O and I kept our pyjamas on but welly booted and with gallons of tea we went on our way…sowing beds of leeks, lettuces, herbs, courgettes, beans, garlic, beetroots.

The result isn’t exactly Sarah Raven but watch this space … in a few weeks it won’t be posey’s I’m selling or styling for a living my dears but pots of lettuces, prize winning marrows and breathtaking beetroots…I wish, hope…and so on.

I’ll let you know how my seedlings fare… Whether you’re gardening, cooking, flowering or fotographing.

I’m barmy about the Belvedere

If there’s a London venue to fluff up ones feathers, this is it. Forget the ICA, RAC, Claridges, Wiltons Music Hall or the funksome Bistroteque (although O to be favours this immensely) to me the Belvedere and the Orangery are the jewels in the crown of the ‘I do’ moment.

Peony laden (three hundred stems no less), we found ourselves last week amongst its art deco interiors, Andy Warhols, swinging white glass chandeliers and crystal glass elegance. Classy, British and oh so Noel Coward…

Embarking on an indian summer affair huricain lanterns were laced with petals and tables adorned with themed flowers.

Stephanosis and peonies burst forth from silver dishes as jasmine and country roses sashayed merrily on cream linen.

The tuberose and fritalia danced till dusk on table three and huge stone urns were home to tumbling peonies. My dream dream wedding flowers…

As for autumn weddings, simply throw in a sparkler, Lucille Ball, a vintage roller and darling I’m yours.

A few weeks ago I put the phone down to my dear friend N with a heavy heart – a tropical wedding in a stately home? Ugh – I sighed. Are we about to star in You’ve been framed, is some devilish four fingered re-incarnation of Jeremy Beadle about to appear? Fear not the later was not to be but the stripey banana leaf, and tones of oranges, yellows and pink may feature heavily in this post.

That’s right get your ray bans on – a circus of colour? A riot of revenge on us poor fleuristes more like. We’re talking – Strelitzia strutting with gerbera, flaming lips lambada-ing with the lily and orange calla cozying up to a spiky green bloom… flowers only a mother could love and relationships the pope would have a pop at.

Back on board I revealed all to my captain, our first tropical flower extravaganza is to sail forth. Tears came to my eye as I gazed at all the white tasteful peonies aboard our boat, pretty storyboards of romantic pinks – I yelped at O – How are we going to pull this explosion of colour off?

A cup of tea and a sarnie solves everything.
An early morning in the flower market resulted in searching for yellow pincushions, slipping on stems and lugging flower boxes past tittering porters- spared only by Toni handing over teas, tales of his wife’s role in Mamma Mia and cheese toasties.

You are most cordially invited …

So to the task…we pulled ourselves together and the week before last Miss Nels, Mabel, Alison, Tommy, two turtles and I headed down south to fill a Manor house with a tropical feast.

A few hours later, pollen-stained and with cake envy we’d felt the fear and done it anyway, a bamboozle of colour – a sea of sexy flowers – the bride loved it, the turtles were happy eating dandelions and a shandy in watercress land with huge sighs of relief marked the perfect ending. As for my new found love affair with orchids… well we’ve only just begun.

Frankly of our efforts La Ridgely and George would have been proud. Can you hear the crickets?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwN_ouVbwPA]

P.S Don’t worry you can sun tan x

The Peony has arrived and like an obsessed fan – I will now start wearing these in my trilby and clumsily tie corsages of them round my wrists as I embark on a season of styling parties, hats and posies.

Ridiculously romantic and always with a happy ending – they are the Cinderella of flowers, your fave book in the shape of a bloom, and my first long ‘n low loved-up kiss in petal form. Swoon (you know who you are), gosh they really are that lovely.

I can not wait for these fabulous flowers to arrive every year. They herald the start of summer, blue skies, tea parties, the hope of a freckle free tan, the taste of strawberries, that pair of gold shoes in the Olivia Morris window and the tree above my boat bursting forth with green. All the things that make the world go round to a jazz hands happy tune – I gush I gush I know.

What gives? Ces fleurs sont belle, a traditional floral symbol of China – no fools, they quite rightly idolise this flower, Martha Stewart throws parties in their honour and I have simply died and gone to heaven if a wedding is booked between May and July when they flourish… bring on antique bowls bursting forth with peach, pink and maroons. Candified petals for the ultimate wedding cake or a simple milk bottle with a bud…

There’s a cool website named in their honour for all things vintage and dead spesh, an established peony society Ha, I love it, wonder if they drink peony tea? And even stylish New Yorkers whose stationary I love go mad for them.

So bring on the next few weeks work where that I can indulge my flower fetish work wise.

xx

Of blogging is going to be scary. I want somewhere to be creative and work on my storyboards  – I write, cook, style and do flowers – so recipes for living, laughing, being creative can finally be shared and laughed at, or the dreaded other… Txxx