Spring planting

So tomorrow is the first day of spring here in Melbourne, Hooray! To celebrate* this, I'm going to head to the hardware sore to buy some supplies and seeds to try to grow some flowers from scratch - for the first time ever! I have a few plants and flowers on that live on my balcony, most of which were given to me by my boyfriend's mother (she recently moved into a smaller apartment) but this will be the first time I have actually planted anything myself, hooray!

I've been doing a little google search and this site tells me that the following flowers are good to plant in September (it is a site for Adelaide, but Melbourne is pretty close by, should be OK, right?!) :

Ageratum, Alyssum, Aster, Begonia (bedding), Carnations, Celosia, Chrysanthemum, Cockscomb, Coleus, Cosmos, Dahlia (seed), Dianthus, Everlasting Daisy(acroclinium), lmpatiens, Marigolds (African), Nasturtium, Petunias, Phlox, Portulaca, Salvia, Snapdragon (Antirrhinum), Sunflower(Helianthus), Torenia, Verbena, Zinnia.

I'm not even sure what some of these are, and obviously they need to be suitable to plant in pots as I have only a small outdoor space, but at least I have a list to take with me tomorrow, it's a start! Plus, I really like the idea of having sunflowers looking back at me when I get up in the morning.

* I'm also going to celebrate by wearing a pretty floral dress with no tights! finally!!

image via here - see those bare legs? that's totally going to be me.

simple

Lovely simplicity - flower photographs by Sasha Kurmaz

flower boots

Just saw this on the lovely blog 'hope this lasts' - love this idea.

Collage

I am so thrilled I just came across these stunning 3D floral collage constructions by Artist Anne Ten Donkelaar, Amazingly beautiful.

Blog love

Amy Merrick is a florist and stylist from New York and I'm so in love with her blog. This is exactly what I want my life to look like.

Van Gogh

Some of my favourite Van Gogh floral paintings and still lifes.

images from here

hanging garden

amazing flower display via brown paper journal

Flowers in her hair

Pretty floral girl prints by The Black Apple

rainbow

via here

flower fingers

There is a hell of a lot of tacky nail art out there on the Internet at the moment, but this is actually really pretty. There is no way I could get my nails looking that good, but here is a tutorial that I might be able to get away with - I'm dreaming up colour combinations right now, wish me luck - this will most definitely end in a big colourful mess.

rose water

Planning to try this one soon - diy rose water spray via honestly...wtf

exactly.

by Krisatomic

Miss flower

 

Jung Ji Young and Lee Hyun Yi posing in an oh-so-very Spring editorial Oh! Miss Flower

(Vogue Korea, March, 2010)

Photographer: Bo Lee

 

 

Images via here

Eating flowers

Part of the purpose of this blog (apart from sharing pretty pictures) is for me to research and learn more about flowers and their uses. I have been reading up on edible flowers and although some are pretty obvious, others are pretty surprising (and I love the inclusion of cannabis, he he!) This list is taken from wikipedia and it is just some of the most common edible flowers - if you want more info click on each flower and also check out this list.

Artichoke (flower bud)

Broccoli (flower buds)

Cauliflower (flower buds)

Caper (flower buds)

Chamomile (for tea)

Cannabis (flowers or buds)

Chives (flowers or buds)

Chrysanthemum (flower)

Citrus blossoms (lemon, orange, lime, grapefruit)

Clover (Trifolium)

Daisies (Bellis perennis quills)

Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale leaves, roots, flowers, petals, buds)

Daylilies (Hemerocallis buds, flowers, petals)

Elderflower (blossoms for drink)

Hibiscus

Honeysuckle

Jasmine (for tea)

Lilac (salads)

Moringa oleifera

Nasturtium (blossoms and seeds)

Osmanthus fragrans (flower)

Pansies (Viola x Wittrockiana flowers, petals)

Pot Marigolds (Calendula officinalis petals with white heel removed)

Roses (Rosa petals with white heel removed, rose hips)

Sesbania grandiflora (flower)

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus buds, petals, seeds)

Violet ('leaf and flowers in salads, candied flowers for pastry decoration')

Zucchini blossoms (blossoms)

Flowers to avoid: Some flowers in particular to be avoided (but not a complete list) are: azalea, crocus, daffodil, foxglove, oleander, rhododendron, jack-in-the-pulpit, lily of the valley, and wisteria. Here is a more complete list. Also, if you have any concerns about allergies it's always safer to avoid edible flowers.

Mouth of Flower

Mouth of Flower by Octavio Ocampo - a Mexican surrealist artist. You can Read more about him here and see more of his work here.

CROWN

Images from the Crown project by Mariam Sitchinava. Mariam gathered a bunch of young Georgian girls to make their own floral crowns and the result is this stunning series of photographs. See the complete set of photos on Mariam's website or buy limited edition prints form her etsy store.