The Pampered Introvert

Transferware and flowers. I love the combination. Nothing speaks as elegant as redwedge and roses.  Transferware has been used in Southern homes since the big plantations of 1800’s.  It is a carry over from England.  The transfer-printing technique, was developed in England in the eighteenth century .The process permits the application of a printed decoration, using copper plates and tissues onto pottery, china, chintz. English transferware became  extremely popular in the United States ,  a fact that British potters embraced. A number of the major tableware firms produced goods exclusively for the American market.  Specific colors, in particular pink and dark blue were exclusively produced for export to America. Even today  a small area in the north of Stafford County, England, remains the pottery capital of the world.

 

 

Silks make a nice display in transferware. There are many high quality silks available that at first glance seem to be fresh flowers. This piece is available at Bequiled Again.

This simple and elegant arrangement was uploaded  from Pinterest.

When designing in transferware, you are thinking one large bloom in the center as a focal point. Then build around it with smaller blooms. Greens or foliage is placed in between for the eyes to rest, accenting the blooms contrast.  The foliage also supports the back and sides of an arrangement. A container or vase should be chosen in proportion to the flowers. Put big, showy peonies in a big vase, and delicate lily-of-the-valley in a dainty, old-fashioned crystal or china vase. Is your floral arrangement going to be sitting against a high wall  or will be seen from all sides ?  Think about where the arrangement will be displayed.

Transferware adds a touch of softness to any area it is displayed.

As much as I enjoy arranging flowers, I  love even more the smiles when I give the arrangements away.  I’ve enjoyed giving bouquets to my elderly friend who lives in a nearby nursing home, a birthday bouquet to a friend who moved to an condo and no longer has a garden of her own, and the surprised happiness when giving a design to employees of a local hospital.

I love fresh flowers. You can achieve your own cutting garden, if you’re gardening space is limited. Plant pots full of peonies and hydrangea. They make beautiful accents to any outdoor patio or apartment balcony. Peonies and Hydrangea have multiple blooms and will give you several bouquets through the summer.

My cutting garden has mostly pink, purple and white, because I like those colors. I plant a few annuals in our front garden bed, to fill in the gaps around the perennials, so some years we also have shades of soft yellow from the perennials.

You also need greens in a cutting garden. Plant varieties of hosta and  ferns. They  grow easily along the shady side of a house. Hosta comes in a variety of shades of green, from a blue-gray to a brilliant lime green, to striped, and it’s fun to combine the right shade of hosta to complement the flowers in a bouquet. I love the gray-green hosta leaves against our palest pink flowers, while the lime green hosta leaves look gorgeous with dark purple lavender. And hosta is hardy. In North Carolina, wax myrtle is indegious to the area and it lemon scent and hardy wood added to the design gives a deeper texture of blends. 

Pick  plants you love. That sounds obvious, but there are fads in garden plants just as there are in everything else. If you like a plant , plant it , nourish it and bring it inside. It is your garden.  Enjoy the rewards and show off your beautiful transferware bouquet.

Visit Carolyn Aiken page on Pinterest for many great ideas.