Informal & Wild like an English Garden!

No strict rules to abide by, no straight lines, no tidy lanes, no topiary rigidity, no constraint and certainly none of the formality of French landscaping; here the order of the day is to reproduce untamed nature within the confines of a country garden, with riots of shapes, blooms, scents and colours almost free to go and grow as they please, with the clipper delicately guiding and shaping them.

Source: All photography via Travel Vista's "Thatched Houses in England" photography feature (16/02/2011).

Floral Geometry

If we ever got tempted by the belief that lines, curves, repeated patterns and angles abiding to some form of geometrical logic were associated to the realm of the man-made (translated pragmatically and/ or artistically through architecture and design), let's pause for a moment; nature too has cultivated the idea of order and linearity to serve its own purposes, let's just take a look at the vegetal world...

Source: Above pictures featured in the Photography section of National Geographic, Patterns in Nature: Flora. (1) Giant Lobelia (Mount Kilimanjaro's Shira Plateau in Tanzania), by George F. Mobley, (2) Sunflower Florets, by Jozsef Szentpeteri, (3) Hair Cap Moss (found virtually worldwide), by Rich Reid, (4) Prickly Pear Cactus (Galapagos Islands), by Tim Laman, and (5) Hairpin Banksia (native to Eastern Australia), by Jason Edwards. Find out more fascinating illustrated facts about floral geometry, from Espace Graphique.

Celia Birtwell: Textile Designer Extraordinaire

Celia needs no introduction as one half of the Ossie Clark duo who revolutionised fashion design in the course of the Swinging '60s and '70s, with accent on body-flattering floaty florals, ruffles, crêpe de Chine and chiffon which graced the limbs of royalty and rock royalty alike; the fruit of Celia's talent can still be enjoyed today, exemplified by her partnerships with British retailers Top Shop, Boots, Millet and John Lewis, or as shown here through her soft furnishings collections.

Pict 1-3: Bird Song fabric design by Celia Birtwell, available in French Blue on natural linen, French Blue on crisp linen, and Ivory on natural linen
Pict 4-8 (clockwise from top left): Jacobean at Night Charcoal on natural linen, Mystic Daisy Dusky Violet on oyster linen, Jacobean Rose Red on natural linen, and Little Animals Blotch Aqua on beige linen. All by Celia Birtwell.

Forever Floral Florilège

Now that the apotheosis of Winter has died down in a flurry of pine needles and discarded wrapping paper, and a brand new year is slowly unfolding to us with the promise of yet unbroken resolutions, what we seem to be resolute about is for a ray of sunshine to beam across our path, with floral enchantment breaking down the inclement weather all-around, so we may bask in the ephemeral reminiscence of Spring and the joys it comforts us in...

Pict 1-5: Respectively (1) Spray Flowers, (2) Briar Rose, (3) Rose, (4) Provence Rose, and (5) Candy Flowers, all by Cath Kidston, a lady of vision whose kitsch floral fabric designs have never been so popular than right now, thanks to the vintage revival scene. The company has even rescuscitated the word 'chintz' for one of its patterns, yes the once-doomed little word back at the height of the naughty noughties - and Ikea's bête noire - that conjured up ideas of fuddy-duddy style, tea-cosies and general old-fashioned grannytude!

Pict 6: Crochet double-sided gift wrap, by Smock (set of 2 USD8.00).

Pict 7: Blossoms on Green letterpress calendar handbound book, by Brooklyn-based Campbell Raw Press, also available via Felt & Wire (USD35.00).