STUNNING Monstera Variegata from @foreverplanty Thank you for the Friday inspiration and beautiful pic!
After doing a little research on these lovely plants, this kind of variegated monstera is called ‘Albo-Variegata,’ which has white paint-like splotches on the leaves, or the leaf is half white or sometimes wholly white.
I don’t own one of these beauties but I do have a Silver Pothos which is another kind of variegated plant; it’s also stunning to look at and very easy to grow.
What an amazing plant is the cotton plant?!
Planted in summer to bloom around early autumn, it is not actually the flower of this plant that we most covet, but the fluffy white fibres that burst out of what is called the cotton boll.
The flower initially grows on top of the boll and only lasts about 3-4 days before withering and dropping off. The boll then begins to ripen in the sun and the fibres inside begin to expand, bursting out of the boll to create a most fascinating and beautiful natural resource.
Cotton stems seem to come in and out of fashion but are particularly popular arranged alone in a beautiful vase. I am going to try and find some arrangements using this stunning flora to inspire us all!
Ever wondered where Valentine’s Day comes from? Check out this small article from the BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16945378
Love to all of our Bloom students, florists and budders everywhere!
Happy International Women’s Day!
This year’s campaign theme is #BalanceForBetter which promotes a gender balanced world. “From grass roots activism to world wide action”, we can all play a part in creating gender equality for our children’s future and our present right now!
It is so wonderful and rewarding to be part of an industry that supports and promotes women in business, and an entrepreneurial industry that is about spreading happiness to everyone. Make sure to arrange or buy a bunch of flowers today for your closest lady friends, and celebrate how fabulous it is to be female!
Take advantage of the current rattan furniture trend and learn how to create a stunning tropical arrangement at our Tropical Blooms workshop!
Utilise the last of the summer blooms and make summer last all year round by creating contemporary interpretations of this staid classic.
Think St Tropez, think Barbados, think drinking Barcardi cocktails in Cuba!! Book through the link!
This stunning design & 
is from the style makers @onekingslane NY
Flashback to a few weeks ago when our classroom was buzzing with activity with all our Flower Basics students!
We absolutely love our work benches which are what is called an “Ikea Hack”! The table tops are from Ikea, then the legs have been custom fitted to make the height correct for standing and arranging as well as having wheels added to the bottom for movability. Then a nice thick coat of gloss added to the wood to make it more robust and resistant to scratches and water damage!
Thanks to our lovely teacher Natalie’s husband Cos for sorting those out for us!! X
R.I.P. Karl Lagerfeld. Love him or hate (his politics), it is undeniable the mark Karl Lagerfeld has left on the fashion design community and arguably, the complete design zeitgeist of the 20th & 21st century.
Always cutting edge but never forgetting the founding principles of Coco Chanel herself, Lagerfeld became Creative Director of Chanel in 1983 up until his death yesterday.
Lagerfeld’s body of work starting from just age 21 in 1954 is prolific. Here we see Lagerfeld using the beauty of flowers as inspiration for his Chanel SS15 collection.
Take a moment today to have a look back at some of Lagerfeld’s work and gain inspiration from a designer who was inspired by so much!
There are 173 Banksia species, and all but one occur naturally only in Australia. The flower heads are made up of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of tiny individual flowers grouped together in pairs.
The colour of the flower heads usually ranges from yellow to red, browns and orange. Many species flower over autumn and winter so they should be becoming available soon!
Banksia’s are a very rich source of nectar, and indigenous Australians would use them as a sweet boost! Either sucking the nectar straight from the flower or soaking it in water for an energy drink!
Don’t forget about these beauties when creating an arrangement, they add unique colours and textures both with the flower and the leaves!
It was an absolute delight having Andrea in our Career Change classroom in 2018. Andrea had already started her floristry business before coming to Bloom and since graduation Andrea has been moving forward in her floristry career in leaps & bounds! We are so thankful for her giving up her time to tell us about her floristry journey…..and her pooch Prince!
Before studying floristry I travelled quite a lot and lived overseas. Prior to that I completed a Diploma in Interior Design at RMIT, I always knew I wanted to do something on the creative side career wise.
I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne in Blackburn for most of my childhood, we then moved overseas to South Korea for 3 years (yes I know crazy right!?). By 10 years old we came back and settled in Croydon North, our family home where I still live. I will be moving to Croydon Hills with my beautiful partner very soon! So excited as I’ve wanted to live in Croydon Hills ever since I can remember. I love this area, green everywhere you turn and so many cute cafes. I have so many favourite things! Don’t we all!? But to name a few… my dog Prince, he brightens every single day, he’s a gorgeous border collie we like to go for walks in the reserve behind our house where I can admire all the greenery and nature while he can prance around! I love the beach it heals me and is my happy place and gives me clarity, as well as the Warrandyte river. Outdoors is a big yes for me! Ahhhh I could go on and on, just going to a cafe for breaky with my partner, mum and brother is gold, spending time with the fam, travelling and of course creating. Floristry is my therapy, my creative getaway and other happy place. And lastly, chocolate chocolate & more chocolate.
I have been saying for quite a few years that I really wanted to complete a floristry course, years!!! It was just about finding the right time and letting everything fall into place, which it did! I worked at a cute local florist around my area for a few years while completing my Interior Design course but thought nothing of it in terms of my future in floristry until I started to travel, see things, the beauty of nature and stepping into every florist shop front I came across. All my experiences have lead me to this floristry path.
I chose Bloom College because it seemed like the perfect fit. I would go to the Melbourne Flower Show year after year and would see the Bloom College stand every time and loved the work they did and kept looking into it the courses they provided online. I saw that they offered a 6 month course which I thought was great, not too short and not too long! Their course structure appealed to me as well as their style and the hands on part of it too. So, I had to do it! I had enough of umming and aahhhing, it’s the best choice I ever made! Woohoo!
Happiness, therapy, satisfaction & a challenge. The four best and most important things for me.
I currently have my own business, I started it in March 2018 right before I started the course. I already had some experience and thought it would be great to progress along the the way while studying with Bloom College. I don’t specialise in anything particular at the moment I’m giving everything a go to see what I love the most. At the moment though I am loving weddings/events, installs and workshops!
I would absolutely love to have my own studio and shopfront that is my absolute dream and major goal!
All creatives inspire me, I will spend about 30 minutes each day on social media admiring the work of florists, artists and all creatives really!
Organic & flowy.
Find Andrea online here, here & here!