Vintage Flowers: Choosing, Arranging, Displaying [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

This is a wonderful book for all flower lovers who particularly like the shabby vintage cottage style look. It doesn't go in depth into 'how tos' of flower arranging, it's much more of a book to simply inspire and admire. Beautiful photographs with simple instructions of what flowers she uses in each arrangement and lots of emphasis on the use of country cottage style vases, which are the basis of the floral designs. I'm not a florist or aspire to be one, I just simply love admiring the arrangements and maybe one day will start a collection of vintage vases and emulate some of her wonderful creativity. Buy this book if you are looking for cottage style floral inspiration on any level.

What a gorgeous, gorgeous book this is! There's so much to feast your eyes upon, the beautiful flowers and vases, and the styling is superb. Perfect for the vintage style followers amongst us.
I like the fact that the author wasn't formally trained in floristry as I think she has a style that is so unique and very inspiring.
This book will definitely stay on display on my coffee table for all to peruse and enjoy!

The author of Vintage Flowers, Vic Brotherson has been a florist for nearly twenty years. She owns a gorgeous shop in Kensal Rise in North London with the lovely name Scarlet and Violet. Since she finished her studies in Fine Art, flowers have been her life and she says she would not change it for the world. Vic worked for many years at Nikky Tibbles' shop, Wild at Heart, in Notting Hill Gate. She opened her own shop in 2006 and has since been featured in magazines like Vogue, Elle Decoration, Country Living and Living Etc. Many of her wedding bouquets have been featured in Wedding Flowers and Brides.

Vintage Flowers is her first book and it is full of inspirational ideas for making romantic and seasonal floral arrangements. The flowers are displayed in quirky vintage containers such as enamel jugs and buckets, perfume bottles, urns, coffee pots, jelly moulds, marmalade pots and lots of floral patterned china jugs. Most of the containers are collected from charity shops, car boot sales and antique markets. Vic gives a list of her favourite haunts at the end of the book.

The photographs are taken in different locations by Catherine Gratwicke, a London based photographer who has worked on two books with the florist Jane Packer. Catherine has a passion for texture and colour which is clearly evident in the book.

Vic uses a lot of flowery descriptions and her chapters are charmingly and delightfully given names such as: Rosy & Random, Blossom & Blousy, Herby & Homey and Blooms & Bonkers. In the different chapters she shows how to make different arrangements according to season, budget and occasion.

Her arrangements are creative, painterly and sophisticated and many of them look as if just picked from the garden. Both small and simply arranged single stems in tiny glass bottles en masse, or they can be textured and blousy in larger arrangements. She shows old fashioned charm with modern aesthetics.

There are two quotes on the cover that I feel describe the book appropriately. One by Nigella Lawson, who says; "Vic Brotherson does beautiful bunches of wild flowers & roses the colour of parchment, tinged with the palest of pinks." The other quote is by Sophie Dahl, who says: "Vic Brotherson is a floral goddess - she knows what she's talking about, & she does it in an irreverent, original & stylish way."