le : sigh

sometimes at work i'll stick a random flower in my hair if it breaks off the stem and i'll forget about it until it falls out while i'm at the climbing gym or something. maybe one day i'll stick enough flowers in my hair and it could look like this. a girl can dream. 

dreamy headdress via wild thyme 

then : now :: floral fresco

A floral fresco at the Badshahi Mosque in Pakistan via Lahore Daily Photo.

"Floral Fresco" rug from Anthropologie. Shown in Sand. 

I think I could definitely stand having that anthro rug AND a chunk of that old fresco in my house. Not sure what room it would go in...bedroom? hall? sitting room (maybe if i had one). Where would you put it?

1:3 :: daffodils

oh daffodils....must admit, I'm not a huge fan. They have a sap that shortens the life of other flowers that you combine them with...and they are just too cheerful. so...what's the word? yellow. i know, there are a TON of varieties and actually the double ones and peachy/buttery are kinda neat, and the teeny ones look sweet in the garden...i guess im just not that into them when it comes to arrangements. However, i found some that i liked. The daffodils in the multicolored glasses really give life to a sunny window and I can't really picture those being filled with roses...though some anemones or scabiosa could be brilliant. the branches and the clean modern lines of the vessel contrast nicely with the petally (yes i did just make petal an adjective!) daffodils of the second arrangement. and finally via design*sponge...a mountain of daffodils! they are erupting with pure 90% cheer and 10% glee!

stuffs : things :: liberty of london @ target

Ok, I'm trying out Polyvore for this layout. I think it works well for stuffs and things, but i tried it for 1 flower 3 ways and didn't like the end result...any thoughts? I feel like it is used a ton in the blogging world. and for good reason...it allows you to find cool things and import cool things found elsewhere and make a little inspiration board. But it ends up making some blogs look a bit too similar. granted...i haven't tried to hard to diverge from the typical design blog layout (got my sponsors, archive, blogroll, etc.). I think I'll be tweaking my layout for a while, but i also think there is a reason that so many blogs are similar (besides most people not really knowing how to manipulate the platform/templates that are out there)...when something works, you go with it. And readers expect and become familiar with layouts...i know i didn't want to make a blog that was so far from the norm that it would be confusing and user-unfriendly.


anyhoo, perhaps i'll write more on this topic another time.


now for the stuffs and things! Many of you might know that liberty of london has done a line for target (here's a review of it at fashionista). Surprisingly, i don't easily fall in love with floral prints. They tend to be either too modern or too country for my liking. vintage, historical, sweet, and/or fresh are more my style. and these hit many of those notes. if my hubs wore ties...he would be getting that meadow pink one for sure!

stuffs : things

Liberty of London® Decorative Pillow : Target, $20

Liberty of London® Decorative Pillow : Target, $17

Liberty of London for Target® Silk Tie - Meadow Pink : Target, $18

Liberty of London for Target® Coated Shopper - Poppy Multi : Target, $50

up : date :: inspiration & research!

so, i touch a bit on why i wanted to start this blog last week...because i love art and flowers! even in just one week it has become clear that it is also all about personal and professional inspiration and research. as a florist and illustrator it's kinda my job to keep looking and learning. i am so excited about how the first week has gone and i hope you have enjoyed the content. i know it's only going to get better as i become more comfortable with the blog...hope you'll stick with me!

le : sigh

This photo by KaBloom studios makes me go "le sigh" for a few reasons. My wedding dress had a floral/lacy overlay so I've got the whole nostalgia thing going from my wedding that was 5 and some change years ago. Also, the bride made this bouquet for herself, and it totally feels effortless. I'd like to think that the day she got married she woke up, went to her local cafe and had a scone and coffee, bought some flowers and gathered them and tied the bouquet with ribbon, had her sister do hair, threw on her dress and shoes, and got hitched.

le sigh!

then : now :: botanicals deconstructed

I'm crazy for botanical prints...this drawing is truly a back to basics interpretation.

Christopher Dresser /Botanical lecture diagram/1855/Pen and watercolour

But it fits right in with this modern ikea fabric 

1 : 3 :: tulips

Tulips! I was never a huge fan until I became a florist and realized how gorgeous a simple bunch of tulips is. There's no need for greenery,  there are beeelions of different varieties, and they keep growing after you cut them (how neat-o is that?!). So I've picked three different ways to use them. 

The amazing bouquet on top was designed by the talented Nicolette Camille. It was for a Real Simple online article (salivate over all of her bouquets for the article here). I will probably say this quite a bit on this blog but green flowers are my fave and green/white parrot tulips especially!

The second comes from yours truly (@ Peppertree) doing an arrangement for a TV interview at Ivy Tech. I could have added another 10 stems, but eventually you do have to stop. I love how they look like they are crawling out of the vase.

Finally we have an image from BloomingDesign. I really like that this one shows that tulips can look awesome contained. I bet it would also be great if you only had a few stems to work with. 

now go and tulip it up!

stuffs : things :: measuring spoons

I have never owned a set of measuring spoons as an adult. The smaller of my regular spoons (i've been assuming) is a tsp and the larger (which for those of you who know me I rarely even go near) is a tbsp. right? But suddenly I feel a large gaping hole in my kitchen life where these little guys should be.
Find this set at Beehivekitchenware

up : date :: first post!

hi there! this is the first post of botaniche! Basically I want to create a blog all about my two fave things... flowers & art! here's a wee diagram for you visual processors:

flowers
+
art
________
botaniche!


I hope you have gotten a chance to already read a few weeks of posts (since I am launching the blog with a bit of material already going). So you might get the gist of the layout/categories already, but here's it broken down, so you know what to expect:

Mondays: a day for updates (up : date), featuring sweet florists (who's : it), little factoids about flowers and/or art (tid : bit), or any news worthy things (news : flash)

Tuesdays: products, home goods, doo dads, that artistically feature flowers (stuffs : things)

Wednesdays: one type of flower shown 3 different ways it can be used/arranged (1 : 3)

Thursdays: something old and something new (then : now)

Fridays: a single image to inspire/relax/drool over (le : sigh)

I hope you enjoy. I am sure things will shift and change as the blog matures, but this feels like a good place to start.

enjoy!