Velvet Brown - Home Accessories

The much maligned yet magnificent Gladiolus has to be THE flower to buy in August. With it’s tall, elegant spikes of flowers, resplendent colours and good vase life, the Gladiolus (or Gladioli plural) has grown in popularity in recent years. 

Often associated with the celebrity character Dame Edna Everage, the Gladiolus became a trademark of her stage shows as flower stems would be hurled out to the audience.  Although Dame Edna has Australian origins, the Gladiolus is actually native to Africa, notably South Africa.  However, as its popularity as a cut-flower has grown, Gladioli are now grown across Europe and are increasingly being adopted by English growers for the home market.

As well as the traditional tall, large flowering varieties there is also an old fashioned miniature variety known as ‘Bridal Gladioli’ or Gladiolus Colvillei which is a smaller, dainty version of Gladioli popular in wedding floristry.

Buy Gladioli when they’re in season and you can create a stunning vase arrangement simply and inexpensively. To prolong the life of Gladioli cut approximately one inch off the base of their stems and place in deep, clean water.  Then pinch out the top two or three buds at the stem tip as this will encourage the lower flowers to open and keep the stems straight.  Gladioli tend to be thirsty flowers so keep an eye on the water level in the vase.

Ever been in the situation when you have friends round and the conversation starts to flag.  What you need are talking points.  What do you think of some of these talking points below?  I’m sure there must be something amongst them that would keep the conversation flowing!                   

http://freshome.com

http://cubeme.com

http://freshome.com

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Scabious - such an unattractive name for a very pretty flower!  Scabious have a fairly short season in the florist calendar but are a summer delight.  In soft bluey/lilac, or less commonly white, Scabious are a true English summer flower, frequently seen in cottage gardens or growing around the margin of corn fields.  

The vase-life of cut Scabious flowers is approx 5 - 7 days. When buying Scabious look for flowers with a smooth, tight pincushion centre, when the petals appear small and crumpled.  If the centre of the flower is fluffy and the petals ragged the flower is probably several days old. 

For maximum vase life simply cut the stems and place in fresh water in a clean vase.  Sadly English-grown Scabious are becoming hard to find, as many growers diversify into other products.  Many Scabious found today in florist shops tend to be Dutch-grown but they have the added benefit of long, straight stems - up to 60cm often with  a spray of buds halfway along the stem.  If cutting the long stems shorter, add the budded stems to the vase or arrangement as they’ll still look attractive and may even open into small flowers.

Sweet Peas

Who doesn’t love Sweet Peas? One of life’s little luxuries. This delicate flower is a gardener’s delight, as the more you pick the flowers from the garden the more they’ll keep coming.

Available from good florists during May, June and July many of today’s cut Sweet Peas are imported from Holland, however with a revival of the British-grown flower market we’re starting to see more British Sweet Peas. You can also buy locally -grown Sweet Peas at many of today’s local farmers’ markets.

The Sweet pea comes is a large spectrum of colours from deepest purples, rich reds, all shades of pink and lilac through to pure white. This five-petalled delicate bloom also has the added bonus of carrying a gorgeous sweet perfume.

The vase life of the Sweet Pea is around 5 - 6 days though they can be sensitive to weather conditions.  Hot summer days and damp drizzly weather are the enemy of the Sweet Pea and the petals will wilt quicker under these conditions.  Wherever possible display Sweet Peas in a cool and airy room to give them their best chance.

The Sweet Pea has become very popular for Summer weddings.  However it’s a volatile crop so it may be prudent to choose an alternative if the season is particularly poor or the weather is very wet, nonetheless an array of Sweet Peas can typify a country wedding.  Mixed with other seasonal flowers and foliage such as Alchemilla Mollis, Peonies and delicate Roses , Sweet Peas will give a relaxed and informal style to any wedding.                    

 Sarah Raven gathering sweet peas

If you’re forever looking for inspiration and ideas for something a little different in your room design, take a look at this selection of interiors.  From elegant to eccentric, weird to wacky, there are some amazing ideas.  The ‘outdoor bedroom pod’ looks inviting, however the ‘coffin beds’ and ‘orange goldfish’ are probably an acquired taste? Let us know your favourite!

http://epn.dk/

http://epn.dk/

http://www.designflute.com

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The month of May heralds the arrival of summer and nowhere more so as a florist shop, where the Peony season arrives. These big, beautiful and blousy flowers have a relatively short season so it’s truly worth appreciating them whilst they are around. Cut Peonies come in range of colours from all shades of pink through to deep red and white and cream colours too.  The white variety (Duchess) can look like giant snowballs on the end of their delicate stems.

Most commonly available in good florists, throughout the Peony season, is the pale sugar-pink “Sarah Bernhardt”.  This is a ‘double’ variety with larger outer petals, which open to reveal a mass of smaller petals, giving the peony it’s full and blousy appearance.  Some ’single layer’ varieties of Peony only have a layer of large outer petals that open to show a heart of yellow stamens.

If you buy cut Peonies try to buy them when the buds are big, showing colour and about to burst open - this will ensure they will open fully. If the buds are too small and tight they may not always open.  Remove most of the leaves of the peony (the leaves are weak and tend to wilt quickly) and cut about 1 inch or more off the slightly woody stems. Place in a vase or jug of clean water and re-cut the stems every few days to ensure they continue to drink properly.  Peonies are thirsty flowers so always check the water level.

Combine Peonies with with Roses, Lilies, Antirrhinums (’Snap-dragons’) and mixed foliage for a quintessential English summer garden look.  

Further information about Peonies can be found on the Flowers & Plants Association website, click here for details.�

In a little corner of the Home Counties, quintessential village tradition is alive and well - we know because we were there! Velvet Brown spent a very pleasant May Day in the sunny Hertfordshire countryside at the Aldbury village May Day Fair. This was very much a village affair on a grand scale and fantastically organised by the residents of the village.

Complete with a traditional Maypole, very beautifully weaved around by local children, the village was bedecked with colourful bunting.  The May Queen was duly crowned, proudly sitting on her floral throne and flanked by her proud attendants.  School children who weren’t involved with the Maypole dancing were invited to attend in fancy dress with a prize for the best one. 

Other areas of the village had the Aldbury Morris Men dancing (I’ll never quite understand why I find them so fascinating but I always enjoy their antics), cake stalls, barbecues, bouncy castles, farm animals, ‘human table football’ (hilarious!) and a charming selection of  small independent traders (including Velvet Brown!).  A local Brass Band kept everyone entertained, along with a traditional coconut shy, small fairground rides for all ages and a choice of traditional sideshows from a tombola to a tin-can alley.  The local church was open, with a bell-ringing exhibition and folk musicians playing pleasant background music as visitors wandered around this beautiful village church.  

It was a stunning early summer day with warm sunshine and clear blue skies which attracted a large crowd.  To all the villagers who helped to organise this event ‘well done!’ - you all clearly worked very hard and deserve every penny raised from the Fair for your schools and village. Thank you for keeping such a super tradition alive and kicking.  A good time was indeed had by all - we’ll be back next year.

The picturesque village of Aldbury lies 3 miles east of Tring, at the foot of a Chiltern ridge, and is almost surrounded by the Ashridge estate which is owned by the National Trust.

I’ve just come back from an unusual short holiday in Wales. Unusual because of the accommodation.  We stayed in a Romany Caravan in a quiet and private spot in the Ceredigion Valley.  The Caravan or “vardo” as is should more correctly be known, was purchased in 2004 by Holiday Company www.underthethatch.co.uk and set into an idyllic setting in the corner of a field on the edge of the village of Rhyd Lewis. Along with the Vardo, there is also a hut for day to day living with running water, shower, flushing toilet, fridge and hob - so not exactly roughing it. The Vardo and the Verandah on the hut both have extremely efficient pot-belly stoves . So efficient in fact the Vardo soon turns into a sauna if one gets over zealous with the coal,  as we and many previous visitors, according to the visitors book, experienced.  There are many mentions of visitors sitting outside in the frost in only their underwear trying to cool off!

 There is nothing quite like a cooked breakfast in the open air to get the day off to a good start and lots of beautiful places to visit very close by.  The coast of the area is like North Cornwall without the crowds and Welsh Cakes with butter  instead of Scones with jam and clotted cream.  

 Wildlife abounds - many visitors claimed to have seen up to 30 species of birds from the hut alone. It was also mentioned several times that otters had been seen, though they proved to be somewhat elusive during our stay.

It’s a great place to stay for a romantic break - whatever the weather - but is booked up for months in advance so be patient as all good things come to those who wait.

With an abundance of cut flowers available from florists during the Spring it’s hard to single out a favourite, however if I had to pick one for the month of April it would be the Ranuncula.

With layer upon layer of delicate petals, like fine tissue paper and available in a variety of colours, Ranunculas are a close relative of the humble Buttercup.  With it’s peony-like flower,  the Ranuncula is much loved by many of the top London florists, such as Paula Pryke and Jane Packer, and are perfect for a Spring wedding.  

When buying Ranunculas as a cut flower, always look for straight stems with buds which are beginning to open and showing good colour.  If you buy when the buds are too tight this may be a sign of a flower which has been cut too early and you may be disappointed with the flower not opening properly. 

When you get the flowers home, strip most of the foliage from each stem.  The leaves on Ranunculas often turn yellow well before the flower dies and can look scruffy, it’s far better to strip off the leaves and add some other evergreen foliage.  Cut about half an inch off the base of each stem and arrange in clean water.  Ranunculas should last for at least 7-10 days and will benefit from a change of water every couple of days.  

For lots of flower arranging ideas I can thoroughly recommend Paula Pryke’s various floristry books for innovative ideas and simple, stylish decorations.  Visit http://www.paula-pryke-flowers.com/ for details.

…..Delia that is.  It’s good to have her back on our screens.  I don’t entirely agree with her new ‘cheating’ at cooking methods but at least you know her recipes are guaranteed to be successful and will be packed with flavour.  I’m not sure I can bring myself to put frozen mashed potato in my shopping trolley just yet, besides I enjoy peeling a few spuds and making mashed potato but perhaps if I’m really tired one evening I’ll be very glad of that tin of minced beef in the store cupboard and that bag of cheese that somebody else has grated for me.  Now Delia says it’s OK to use convenience foods, I no longer need to feel guilty if I haven’t stood there chopping, kneading rubbing in or creaming!

 We’ll still have her delicious roasted tomatoes with garlic on a regular basis and I’ll still make her caramelised orange trifle for special occasions but perhaps I could add her hot smoked salmon pie to the repertoire and not feel guilty that it mostly came out of a packet?