INTERNATIONAL ROSE TEST GARDEN | PORTLAND OR

Seriously, what can I say?  This garden has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  It defiantly sits high on my list of favourite places ever and I truly think it'll stay up there for probably the rest of my life... big call I know!  But if you're a rose lover you have to get there one day in the American summer time! 

My gal pal and fff (flower friend forever) Alice of FLORALISTA and I visited the garden on a whim when we were heading through Portland at the beginning of this month (we were heading for San Fransisco on our 'flower road trip' but ended up flying to the great land of Mexico, but that story's for another day!).  Apparently the garden bloomed a month early and we were extremely lucky to see it in all its glory at that time (according to the nice gals we bought our super cool 'rose garden' caps from in the souvenir store). 

We were in love when we first walked through the gardens, it may sound lame to some, but it truly was overwhelming, so overwhelmed with the beauty and abundance we literally started to tear up! haha!  That visit that night wasn't enough and we had to head back the next morning to capture these snaps on my camera.. then we drove back to Seattle and hopped on a plane bound for Mexico!

The gardens purpose is for new rose varieties to be planted and 'tested' for 4 years until they are allowed to be sold at market.   Its also the largest garden of its kind in the United States.  (again, according to the ladies in the shop!)
You can read more about it here; www.rosegardenstore.org/international-rose-test-garden.cfm

Oh and yes we wore matching outfits on purpose! .. Enjoy!  xx

Creatives Christmas

Running your own creative business is crazy, challenging and defiantly a lot of fun, but sometimes it can be lonely.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it!!  Its just a lot of the time {I think} you do miss having a more ‘social’ work environment.  Missing the annual 'work Christmas party' might not be so bad for some, but this year I really wanted one!

I really LOVE celebrations, maybe a little too much, I just can’t help it!  So I had a last minute idea to bring together a group of Sydney based, small creative businesses that generally work on their own or with a couple of others.  And what a success it was!

We had absolutely delish food, the champagne was flowing (literally... I had to include a champagne tower!), there were gifts, hand made chocolate treats and a lot of laughs!
Most of the lovelies that joined us were very talented florists, photographers, stylists and graphic designers like Leah from My Creative Space who designed our beautiful #creativeschristmas table signs.

I defiantly think they’ll be a ‘next time’, I can’t wait to hang out with this group of beautiful people again!

HUGE thank you to my girl Sophie Thompson from The Littlest Things for capturing these super fun & beautiful images.   

Venue //  Franchi Brothers Italian Bar, Paddington
Chocolates // Winnow Chocolates

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In the quite // styled shoot

A couple of months ago I had the opportunity to flower and style this gorgeous shoot with Lilli Kad photography.  I'm a huge fan of romantic, soft styling so when we discussed the theme, colour palette and location, I couldn't say no.   Its just so dreamy, airy and absolutely saturated in gorgeous natural light. - 

The team we worked with on this shoot are insanely talented and it was an honour to work with them all.

Flowers & Styling // @ohfloraflowers
Photography // @lillikadphotography
Gowns // @kwhbridal
Hair & Make Up // @marthabmakeup
Stationary // @thelittlepress

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TUTORIAL // Fresh Flower Garland

Summer is 110% my favourite season and I'm pretty excited for it's arrival!!  Summer calls for some fun, fruity, tropical inspired styling thats most of all simple.. there's to many G&T's calling your name!

Here's a simple garland that's super easy to make and works beautifully in a casual setting and also looks gorgeous if you're getting all fancy.. Either way, I hope you're making a punch! 

HUGE thank you once again to Sophie for these incredible images, you are THE BEST

 Styled by Tanya of Oh Flora
Photography by: Sophie of The Littlest Things

WHAT YOU NEED:

-Flowers! 
How many bunches exactly will depend on how long you’d like your garland and how dense or sparse you’d like it to look.  3 bunches will give you about 1M-1.5M. (we used three bunches or about 30-40 flowers). This type of garland works best using rounded shaped flowers. Choose flowers that won’t wilt to quickly.  We used double daffodils & ranunculus.  Roses and carnations also work beautifully!

-Long upholstery needle
-Scissors or flower snips
-Clear fishing line

STEP ONE:
Chop the flower heads off, leaving about 1cm of stem.

STEP TWO:
Thread your needle with a couple of metres of fishing line.  Cut the line from the reel and tie a big loop.  It’s always best to have to much too much fishing line than to not enough!  You can always make the garland shorter when finished. 

STEP THREE:
Gently thread your flower heads along the fishing line.  Pierce the needle through the remaining stem you’ve left on your flowers.  This will give you more movement throughout your garland and the freedom to move the flowers around a little when styling on the table. 
If the stem breaks, simply thread the needle through the centre of the flower.
hen you’ve finished threading all the flower heads on, cut the remaining fishing line to your desired length and tie a loop. 

STEP FOUR:
Enjoy!  Style your garland along a table like we’ve done here or they also look gorgeous when hung.  We styled the table with mini pineapples & tea lights - always beautiful! 

Tip:  You can make your garland the night before, gently wrap it in tissue paper and leave it in the fridge until you’re ready to set the table!