Floral design in Tuscany
September 27th, 2013
This morning at the villa, two friends went off for watercolor lessons with resident expat artist Liz Cochrane.
After walking down to Il Barrino for hot tea and a croissant, I came back totally determined to make a bouquet for our group’s last night together.
We have a dinner coming in from Allesandro, the local chef (Marty organized the menu, which includes Ribollita, a Tuscan soup; sliced pork with balsalmic vinegar; zucchini flan; and that popular italian desert, Apple Pie!)
The Flower Arrangers’ Guild of Tuscany commenced its first session.
This garden is in its waning moments of late summer-early autumn. But it does not disappoint. So much to work with and we judiciously snipped, without hurting or denuding a single plant.
I had spotted a copper urn, weathered and slightly dented, sitting on the floor in the Lemonaio (the garden room). It inspired my palette – faded, tarnished and of the moment.
Here are the ingredients I began with:
1. Scented pelargonium foliage
2. Papyrus stems from the water pond
3. Hydrangeas – two types
4. Roses – two types
5. Olives branches w/fruit
6. Marguerite daisy foliage
7. Rex begonia foliage
Mary Watson joined me in the garden, eager to make something beautiful. She made two adorable bouquets:
Mary’s two bouquets:
Victoria Summerley came out to join us. She had a lovely jug, fetched from somewhere inside. With the hand-painted grape cluster on its exterior, it only seemed right to create an edible-bouquet:
If you want to learn more about Victoria’s work, visit her blog: Tales from Awkward Hill.
The art students are back for lunch. A few enterprising chefs have whipped up an al fresco meal by clearing out everything in the refrigerators. Cheeses, prosciuotto slices, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, pasta and pesto, or pasta and homemade tomato sauce, lots of wine. We’re hoping those with watercolors and sketch books will render our bouquets as little canvases after lunch.
Here we are, The Flower Arrangers’ Guild of Tuscany:
A post-script:
The End. Finito!!
September 28th, 2013 at 10:04 am
What a lovely time spent with friends! All the impromptu arrangements capture the time and place, just delicious!