Milking it

You know wedding season has well and truly begun when a whole month flashes before your eyes and you have barely had time to stand still and take it all in. There have been multiple birthdays and bank holidays, interspersed with wedding parties and celebrations galore.

I did manage to sneak in a visit back to the shire the weekend before my very own birthday, which ended up being exactly what I needed. We went on countryside walks, ate cream teas watching the cricket (oh how very British) and had such beautiful weather that we ate every meal in the garden - a distant memory today as I watch the rain lash down outside. My birthday bounty included another great big vintage tin bath, a selection of beautifully inspiring wedding flowers books and a LOT of rose chocolate - I was a very happy girl. The tin bath has already been filled with lavender, foxgloves, lettuces and sweetpeas amongst others and I just love it. 

Driving back with a car full of cow parsley from the hedgerows, I spent a happy morning filling up my new milk churns with it at Oh Me Oh My and taking a few photos to show what an impact this simple vase can make. I also spent my bank holiday with the lovely ladies at OMOM preparing for the beautiful wedding of Heather and Ian, with a dreamy palette of white and seafoam green. Using peonies, hydrangea, flowering mint and roses, I filled a selection of vintage bottles at the base of their washing line table plan and to compliment the bride's and bridesmaids bouquets. Please click here for more photos and details on hiring the table plan.

With June on its way, I couldn't help share this lovely little poem from a book I found tucked away in an old bookshop this week. Let's hope this weather cheers up in time for all of June's brides...

' A cloudless sky; a world of heather,

Purple of foxglove, yellow of broom;

We two among it, wading together,

Shaking out honey, treading perfume.

Crowds of bees are giddy with clover.

Crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet,

Crowds of larks at their matins hang over,

Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet.'

                                             - Jean Ingelow

Charlotte xx

In the kitchen

Sometimes I like nothing better than a few hours pottering in kitchen on a sunny afternoon when I have the time, throwing a few bits into a mixing bowl and seeing what comes out of the oven an hour later (which doesn't always work!) This week I was desperate for something sweet mid-afternoon on Monday and fancied some quick and easy shortbread, which I decided to flavour with orange blossom and some rich dark chocolate.

Perfect for a late morning pick-me-up, and afternoon treat or just to get you through piles of paperwork with copious cups of tea, the quick and easy recipe below is ideal for making a small mountain of shortbread for yourself or to share (mood dependant)...

Dark Chocolate and Orange Blossom Shortbread

Approx. 10 squares

Ingredients:

200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

50g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over

125g unsalted butter

80g dark chocolate, chopped roughly into chunks

1 teaspoon orange blossom water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170c/gas mark 3. Mix the flour and sugar together in a mixing bowl and rub in the butter with your thumb and forefinger. Add the orange blossom water and chocolate chunks and mix together, forming a ball of dough. Roll out or pat with your fingers until it is roughly 1cm thick and transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment. If you wish to make the shortbread easier to cut into squares once cooked, score some lines into the shortbread to go over later when cooled. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until it is a lovely light golden colour. Once cool, pop the kettle on and make yourself a cup of tea whilst you sample* the shortbread. Enjoy!

*eat all of

With wedding season gearing up for the summer, I have enjoyed many meetings with lovely brides and grooms discussing their ideas and drawing up flower plans for their upcoming weddings - and what a lucky florist I am! Summer colour palettes of sunshine yellow, cornflower blues and cheery coral with lots of fluffy garden roses and skyscraper delphiniums have been discussed, alongside pretty vintage palettes of chalky pink, soft champagne and parma violet for a more romantic edge.

Luckily my order of milk churns arrived this week, and so I am waiting for the weekend to fill them with flowers and share my love of this old fashioned vase. Perfect for adorning entrance ways and aisles, the laid back charm of the milk churn creates a simple yet striking arrangement and gives that 'country feel' to any venue! For more milk churn inspiration, take a look at my Pinterest board by clicking HERE.

I will be heading down to leafy Buckinghamshire for some birthday celebrations over the weekend, taking full advantage of the blossoming hedgerows and countryside, and my mum and nana's gardens and allotment - I aim to return with a car full of floral goodies!

Charlotte xx

May It Be...

I seem to say this every time the first of each month appears, but I love the month of May. The cow parsley is springing up in the hedgerows, the peonies are out in all their glorious blowsy beauty and flower headbands seem a more acceptable hair accessory (or is that just me?!). With two bank holidays at the start and end of the month, it is easy to see why so many brides choose this month to say 'I do'.

Just as the last daffodil heads are drooping, we are welcomed into May with gorgeous blooms such as sweetly scented stocks, classically elegant lily of the valley and early scented garden roses jumbled together in mis-matched vases, milk churns and buckets. Soft hues such as ballerina pink, sage green and soft champagne mix together beautifully to create a relaxed feel to the celebrations, as the bunting is casually thrown over tree branches and round pillars to add to the party feel.

With pretty ideas such as these whirring around in my head, I find complete joy in collecting all my inspirations on either the Verity & Thyme tumblr or every bride's best friend - Pinterest. Below I have gathered a few of my favourites that I think epitomise a May wedding, I hope you like them as much as I do...

Charlotte xx

N.B None of the above photos belong to Verity & Thyme, but please find the links on Pinterest and Tumblr.