Velvet Brown - Home Accessories

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! And what about home accessories inside? Do you like it?

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.