Newspaper Article

BRINGING A TOUCH OF FLAIR TO FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS

thompson, Elspeth

2008

Overview

What do you do with a bunch of flowers you've just picked from the garden or unwrapped from the florist's? Chances are that, like most people, you'll plunge them into a jug or vase of water, perhaps pausing to cut off the bottom inch or so of stem or strip the leaves before swiftly arranging the blooms to your liking. This was pretty much my approach before I worked with the interior designer Tricia Guild on a new book in which she demonstrates her highly original approach to arranging flowers. That's not to say that Tricia's arrangements are fussy, or take hours to create. Snippets of garden flowers and foliage arranged in tiny clear glass vases only an inch or so high - or pansies and primulas in a collection of vintage bottles - can be beautiful. Sometimes it is just the setting that's surprising. For a summer party, she will arrange flowers in the garden, setting simple vases of cornflowers and bluebells on tables, or suspending single heads of roses or pom-pom dahlias from strips of ribbon strung from a simple fabric awning. \"I've always thought of my garden as another room, so why shouldn't it have its own displays of flowers?\" she asks. \"Even if it's cold and most of the guests stay inside, the view of the garden from the house can still give lots of pleasure.\"

• Publisher: Daily Telegraph
• Subject: Guild, Tricia