Debbie George at Green and Gorgeous
I first came across Debbie and her work via Alan Callander. He made this wonderful video of Debbie, look. Then I started to follow Debbie on Instagram and have been admiring her work form far.
But when Debbie came to teach her magic skills at Green and Gorgeous Flower Farm, I was so happy I could finally meet her. The course was so super relaxed and colourful and floral and just, well, perfect. Let me show you ..
First, Rachel showed the class around the gardens where everyone could pick the flowers they wanted to paint.
Orchard Dene
I haven’t posted here for a long time and I so wanted to add so much but then everything just happened and time was not on my side and all that but now, here I am. With images of Orchard Dene Nurseries.
I first heard about them during a Chelsea Flower Show week years ago and then I found out they were just down the road. But wholesale. So I’ve never been there until this week when my biggest luck sent me there. Long story short, I picked up an order for someone special and I got to have a look around this perennial heaven. Here’s what I saw..
The most close-to-nature nursery I’ve ever been to. And the choice plants is just amazing. And very close to my heart. So voilà. The visit to this nursery was one of my lucky treats for this week.
Flower arranging with Honeysuckle and Hilda
It’s a very quiet Saturday afternoon in our little Oxfordshire village. It’s snowing. Several times I make my way to the dining room. Not to eat but to admire my floral arrangement and pinch myself! I still cannot believe I made it! How lucky I am to have been able to participate at the flower arranging class given by the super stylish Claire of Honeysuckle and Hilda. Claire organised the class in the ever-so beautiful village of Hambleden. A village I absolutely love and that is not short of cute cottages and rolling hills everywhere you look. It’s only a twenty-minute drive away from where I live and I often go there, especially when the cow parsley covers the churchyard. Now back to March ..
The class was held in the village hall and people came from all parts of England. After everyone introduced themselves, I got a bit intimidated as everyone was a florist with years and years of experience between them. There was a moment (or two) where I wanted to run away and cry but I had my camera with me and that calmed me down, as always. And then I returned to my arrangement and kept working on it. When I arrived at the village hall that morning, I spotted the fritillaria persica and I knew I wanted that flower to be the centre piece of my arrangement. Claire’s signature flower is amaryllis that she always arranges so wonderfully and I almost felt bad I didn’t use that flower but I’m sure she didn’t mind. So yes, fritillaria persica and with many other Spring flowers. The arrangements all turned out so beautifully, as expected, and I was fascinated by how we all made arrangements so different yet quite similar. Clearly the influence of the class and Claire’s style.
Enough of words, I let the photos speak for themselves. There are photos of the class too but I’ll share those with you once Claire has written her blog post about it too.
Also, here’s how all our arrangements looked like. Well, one thing is for sure. I love flowers even more but I’ll stay behind the camera and take photos of them rather than working with them every day.
Snow in March
And so there was snow. Beautiful snow. We didn’t get as much as Scotland did, but I was really happy with ours too. I enjoyed it a lot, enjoyed seeing the garden, the snowdrops and hellebores disappearing under the snow and I enjoyed taking long and cold walks with Henry. And I managed to go up to Turville, just before it all disappeared, to admire this quintessential little village under - a bit of a - snow.
Chelsea Phsyic Garden
I only had a few minutes to look around the gardens before I had a meeting there last Friday. Almost missed the last of the snowdrops but caught the first blossoms. Beautifully hidden behind its walls in Chelsea, this garden is a little piece of heaven in London.
The Old Year
The old year. One not to forget about. One of the biggest years in my life with some big changes and 6 months on, I can finally say that I’ve moved on and it feels so good. But let’s start from the beginning. I won’t go into all the details but I’d like to give you a very nice flowery idea of how my year was.
The year started with snowdrops and daffodils and the instant urge of wanting to garden right away. Luckily, it started early as I signed up for a Propagation Class at Green & Gorgeous Flowers and oh my, it was one of the most useful and informative classes I’ve ever had. Not to mention the seeds and dahlias I came home with and that covered the garden that year. This class is on
Spring also brought my first printed images in House&Garden. The images I worked on the year before again, with Green and Gorgeous Flowers. It was such an excitement! And it went on until dahlias in September. Have a look how these articles looked like. Some of these 6 articles have recently been published by House & Garden South Africa as well, so happy!
In May, I travelled to Italy with House&Garden where I photographed a garden and you can see it in their April issue so check that one out soon! While in Italy, we stayed in Sermoneta, look how beautiful this little town is.
By May, I used up almost all of my public holidays as I worked full time and I took holidays for my shoot days. I had worked for this company for 10 years and it was my second ever job and I loved it a lot, it was almost like a small family to me(before it really started to expand) and I travelled a lot thanks to work, so yes, on one hand it was a very very good job but on the other hand, my heart was in photography and the day came when I had to decide which one to choose. I cried all day on my last day and it took me months to let it go. But with the new year coming, I finally did!
Due to this fact, our only holiday last year was a quick trip of 5 days to Copenhagen. It officially became my favourite city (maybe only because I haven’t been to Stockholm yet?) so yes, have a look at some of my photos here and here. We also went to Sweden for a day where we visited a wonderful museum.
That Summer, I wrote a little article for 91 magazine, you can read it here. I also started a collaboration with Botanika Floral in Sussex . We’re working on something flowery and creative that you’ll be able to see at the end of this year. I’m also I’m coming around to Bea’s if you sign up to her classes and would like a photographer to take photos of your floral creations, here are more details.
During Summer and Autumn, I photographed a beautiful garden in Somerset. I can’t say much about it just yet but I’ll let you know as soon as I can. It was such amazing experience - and I really can’t describe it - being so close to nature and still in a garden designed by a wonderfully talented garden designer and the two being in perfect harmony. More on this, later this year!
Summer also brought a beautiful collaboration of Blue Tin Produce and The Mill at Cuxham. I loved photographing this very relaxed, so friendly, super super delicious and beautiful-countrysidey event.
I also did some styled shoots, including one in a beautiful country house. My super talented stylist neighbour was the stylist and it was again such a great experience, when you’re tired but still full of energy at the same time? We used a lot of ceramics from local artist Joanna Oliver’s ceramics for this shoot and also textiles from Jill Waite.
I was commissioned by The English Garden magazine to photograph an article of a wood-magician as I call him, this is in their current January 2018 issue.
Lucky me, I got to spend some time at Soho Farmhouse as a photographer. Just getting there from where I live, it’s always a magic trip itself, deep in the Cotswolds. Not something I can really share but you can see some images here. Well, just imagine a relaxed and stylish environment..
I started the year with a class and finished the year with a class. The finishing one was a Winter wreath class with Botanika Florals. I learnt so much and I’m very grateful for Bea for this class.
At the end of the year, when you get into the festive mood, I also created a gingerbread recipe book that you can still download here but also, you can read about it in the Chilterns Food Magazine. It’s only my photos but professional words of their editor.
There was so much more there, including the remarkable ladies at Pyrus botanicals in Scotland, the lots of private gardens I had the chance to visit and photograph, I’m forever grateful for those who let me in their private space. I photographed for local businesses too, that sometimes included freezing cold mornings but just loved every second of those shoots too.
To remember the year and keep flowers around us all year, I created this calendar. Thank you for everyone who ordered one.
So yes, and the new year is here already, there will be definitely flowers but not only those! I’ll certainly keep you posted. If you like seeing my work and what I do, do come and read the blog or if you’d like me to come and photograph for you, do get in touch!
Happy New Year!
Pre Christmas walk
Today we met up with my friend Justine and her wonderful dog, Stanley. I emphasize wonderful as not long after we started our walk, Henry decided he wanted to explore the deep, unknown woods and off he went. I got a bit worried and I knew the more you call him the deafer he becomes. But there was Stanley. He understood my worrying face and voice and he ran after Henry and found him and brought him back! Wee pals.
After the incident, we all enjoyed the rest of the walk and Henry wasn’t always on the leash, he had some good runs with Stanley and other dogs. Then back on the leash through big woods. And to the church for a cup of tea and mince pies. The church of Pishill couldn’t be more picturesque and tranquil. It overlooks the beautiful Stonor valley and you only hear the birds sing. And what’s more, you can enjoy a cup of tea (or coffee) there, just make sure you clean the mugs after you leave. Very British, isn’t it? So yes, it was another beautiful day..
