Book Review: Jane Packer's At Home With Flowers

Hey there, sweetness,

Let's begin right at the start of doing up your dining room with a book review.  

Yes, it's time for another Book Monday.

If you want to do something right here, right now 

to give your house a gorgeous injection of loveliness 

on a very small budget 

then this book is a GREAT place to start.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

{Is an owl wise?! Err......YES!}

Are you looking for some jaw-dropping 

but achievable flower displays in your house? 

Then this is the book for you: 

At Home With Flowers by Jane Packer, 
with photography by Catherine Gratwicke, 
published by Ryland Peters & Small. 

It is a collection of the flowers florist-to-the-stars-Jane loves most.

The book covers all the basics you'd expect

about choosing and caring for your flowers,

including plenty that can be grown in your own garden.

{If you want more ideas about growing your own flowers, 

the very lovely Belinda at Wild Acre has started 

a fantastic and utterly addictive series 

over at her blog every Friday 

teaching us all how to grow our own cut flowers.}

We're then taken on a tour of every room in the house, 

including the garden, hall and bathroom, 

and given ways to make them luscious-looking
with beautiful flower ideas.

There are so many ideas here. 

I've been thoroughly inspired to play around with shop-bought bunches
and adding my own foliage to create fantastic displays. 

As well as to think outside the vase-box about which containers I use. 

At Home With Flowers is BULGING with ideas that are so simple,

you'll wonder you haven't thought of them yourself.

One of the points that Jane Packer makes is that 

you really don't need to use many flowers to make 

a huge impact. 

Look at this page, for example:

All white flowers in a collection of white vases 

are lined up in front of a mirror, 

giving the wow factor on a pretty low budget. 

Look again....there are only ten flowers used. 

{though I might not have chosen orchids to make a low-budget statement.}

But the impression created is of much, much more.

The displays all have a lack of formality, 

highlighted by the relaxed interiors 

used to feature them.

Each image has an explanation alongside to help extrapolate 

from Jane's enormous floral experience 

to bring a bit of flower magic into your own home.

Yep, this book is a keeper.

Speaking of keeping gorgeous things, 
The winner of the Emma Bridgewater mugs giveaway 
{chosen by Random Number Generator...}
is.....

Deborah at With All My Heart.
Congratulations, gorgeous.
An email is winging its way to you right now.....

Now then.

Who has a fireplace that needs a huge makeover?

Oh, yes. 
Ahem......
that'd be me.

Swing by later in the week and see what I did.....


And who fancies another link party?
Me, me, meeeee!
Coming up very soon.....