Thursday 18 December 2014

Christmas is coming!

The last few weeks have been crazy here at The Arbour. The build up to Christmas seems to be in full swing. Starting with the Lincoln Christmas market, which was great fun. I love the fact there are so many strangers in the City, who are so friendly when they pop into the shop. Everyone comments on the beautiful smell, a mixture of fresh flowers and lavender, as they stop for a breather half way up the Steep Hill.

Many people to the market are return visitors and it's like seeing old friends who you don't catch up with very often, they always make time to come into us and buy something to take back home to add to their "Arbour"collection, this makes me smile!



This year trying to keep up with the demand for Christmas wreaths has taken its toll on poor Elizabeth's hands, she has been pricked to pieces by the holly and spruce so she is looking forward to treating herself to a manicure and having her nails done, it's becoming a bit of a Christmas tradition for us girls to go and get our nails done when the bulk of the orders are made just before Christmas!



Last week saw us put on our first wreath making course. The evening was a new venture for yes, daunting, but the girls did a great job of showing everyone how to make and decorate their wreaths. After which everyone got stuck in, (often quite literally with the glue guns) and had a go at creating their own. We had some very talented ladies, everyone went home with a beautiful creation to hang on their front door.




So in this final week before the big day as you prepare your home and hearts we  wish you all a very peaceful, stress- free few days.

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Tuesday 2 December 2014

Seasonal Greenery and the Legends!

Seasonal Greenery and the legends.

There are so many lovely types of greenery around at this time of year. Holly, fir, spruce, cypress, ivy, mistletoe are more often than not used in decorating homes for Christmas. Sprigs are tucked in behind pictures and mirrors and are used to make swags for mantelpieces and  are woven together to make wreaths with which to decorate your front door.



When all other plants lay snoozing under the frozen earth the evergreen came to be regarded as proof that life goes on even in the bleakest season of the year. Holly has long been seen as a symbol of goodwill and friendship. During Roman times the people used to exchange sprigs at the feast of Saturnalia in mid-December and use it in decorating their homes to welcome in the new year. Superstition abounded all over Europe concerning its magical properties, people used to believe it could protect them from evil spirits.
As Christianity spread to these shores holly with it's very sharp prickles came to represent the cross of Christ, the berries represented the blood he shed.
Ivy started out with a less salubrious past. Associated with the Roman God of wine, Bacchus, ivy was often a feature in many ale houses where it was trained up a pole outside the tavern as a sign that ale and wine were on sale.




 Mistletoe has a very interesting mythical past. There are many legends surrounding this famous plant. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant. That means it attaches itself to other trees primarily apple and oak and sends out it's roots into the host tree and then takes up it's nutrients, thus causing the tree damage.  In Brittany, it is known as Herbe de la Croix, as it was believed to have been the wood used to make the cross on which Christ was crucified.  The mistletoe was purportedly turned into a parasite due to this transgression. In fact mistletoe played a big part in Druid celebrations. They believed it had miraculous healing properties and was a sign of fertility and they would hang it up in their places of worship. Although reasons may have changed the practice of hanging up mistletoe to be able to steal a kiss under it, probably has it's roots in this ancient practice.



Mistletoe was a major component in the "kissing bough" which in medieval times was often the centerpiece of Christmas decorations in the home, this was before the imported Christmas tree had reached our shores. A wire globe is covered in greenery, seven red apples were suspended at the centre of the globe, hung on red ribbons, candles were attached around the centre and a great bunch of mistletoe was attached at the bottom. This was then suspended from the ceiling on red ribbons. When visitors arrived you were greeted under the "kissing bough" as a sign of peace and goodwill.




Although traditionally, Christmas decorations are taken down after Epiphany or Twelfth night. Christmas greenery was not taken down until the feast of Candlemas, on February 2nd. Then snowdrops which were pushing their heads up through the hard earth  were picked to replace it.




 No matter what we believe about greenery and it's  symbolism, we can still appreciate the  form and beauty that it bestows upon our homes and how it subtly fills the space with colour and scent!


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Friday 28 November 2014

Christmas Music and a Day in the Shop!

To day was our first day in the shop with Christmas music, a bit early I hear you mutter, I know, but I have really enjoyed bopping to some very lively Christmas songs while Kizzy and I made wreaths. Well I say I made wreaths, Kizzy said they could only go on the doors at home. She did concede that one was a very nice shape! However I was quite pleased with my first attempt and once I had decorated them I felt they looked quite presentable. Thankfully I don't have to demonstrate how to make them at our workshops!!







The shop is preparing for the Lincoln Christmas market this next week. The girls have created a beautiful window display complete with fireplace. If you get a chance come down and see it, we have had so many compliments which is just lovely. Customers are placing their Christmas orders and choosing the design of their wreaths, I must admit I love this time of year. I know I've said this before  but candles flickering in the twilight and flames in the fireplace just fill me with good feelings and they always make me feel festive. So today I was allowed to set to and create some more  candle gardens, as. I like to call them!




Don't forget if you are in town for the market, pop in and see us the shop is just filled with some lovely bits and bobs!

Have a great weekend!

P.S excuse the photo quality I forgot my camera.
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Tuesday 25 November 2014

Gift Vouchers,







 Are you stuck for an unusual Christmas present?

Why not give your loved one an Arbour gift voucher. This can be redeemed against, our giftware range, flowers or any of our classes. We can post these out for you or you can collect them in the shop right up until Christmas Eve!




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Monday 24 November 2014

Decorating for Christmas.


 Christmas, I love it with a capital L. As soon as the nights draw in and we start to have fires and light candles my mind begins to turn towards decorating for Christmas. Over the years I have built up quite a collection of decorations. I love quite traditional glass ornaments which sparkle and twinkle when the lights hit them.
Working in The Arbour just makes it all the more exciting because we always buy items that really appeal to us. When the girls are not looking I try and sneak some of the lovely decorations home( I do pay for them!) but they tell their Father, and he insists we have more than enough.
This year we have lovely frosted glass acorns and cones. I love how you can just place a few in a glass dish or hang them off some mantelpiece greenery with some fairy lights weaving in and out and as they twist and spin in the firelight they give off little rainbows.



Having said all that I also love wooden decorations. I find American "olde world" items really cute. I especially love to put them up in the kitchen. I have a large wooden angel that hangs off one of the beams watching over all our festivities.





We tend to have two trees, I would do three or four if I could get away with it! We have the main real fir in our sitting room, which we go and choose from Fillingham Castle. I love how they allow you to go and wander through the trees and choose your own. When we eventually get it back home and my husband  has wrestled it all through the house and finally gets it into position I love to dress it with all my glass ornaments. Years ago I came across some lovely glass nutcrackers, they always hang off the highest branches as the first to be hung, then it's a bit of a free for all. Sometimes my "it's got to look right" tendency has meant I need to go back when the children are in bed and move some of the decorations around, sad I know, but there you go!
 The tree in the dinning room is one I inherited from my parents when they decided they were to old to keep putting up a tree especially as they always came down to us for Christmas, love them to bits but I hope I don't ever feel like this. To be fair they have now moved down next door to us and did have a tree last year. This tree is much more child friendly, lots of wooden decorations and chocolates.




I love to make sure each room has something Christmassy in it. And while I do love to have some fresh flowers( often beautiful cream roses) I am much more drawn to lots of winter greenery. All lit up with fairy lights and usually surrounding a Nativity scene to remind us about the true meaning of Christmas.

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Friday 21 November 2014

Thanksgiving!

Now here in England we do not usually celebrate Thanksgiving. However in our own family one of my daughters had taken on this feast and decided we are going to gather as a family and give thanks for what we have.
Thanksgiving first started in New England in America.  A group of 38 English settlers arrived a Berkeley plantation via the James River. The group made a charter, which required them to commemorate a day of thanksgiving to God for their safe arrival.





In New England the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Plymouth in 1621 by the pilgrims and 91 Indians. The Indians had given the new settlers much help in adjusting to their new country. After
enduring a very heavy winter, many of the settlers died. The following spring the Indians showed them how to plant crops of corn, maize and pumpkins. After growing a wonderful crop the settlers and Indians celebrated with the old English harvest festival and Thanksgiving was born.






Today, Thanksgiving is a time for gathering together with friends and family and celebrating all that
is good in life. This is time for really going to town and creating a lovely atmosphere in the home. Many doors across America sport a wreath to welcome their guests. Branches can be used from the garden as the wood is still pliable. They can be twisted into circles and wired together and decorated or if you have ivy or a vine they can be cut back and a simple decoration made.




It's fun to use fruits and vegetables as part of your decorations. A garland of chillies hung above the cooker on a mantle shelf look good with lots of greenery interspersed with flowers and fruits. Cranberries can be placed in large glass bowls with floating candles. As cranberries are harvested in
water they don't worry to much and won't decay to quickly. The other quirky thing to do is to carve out an apple and add a Tealight, this looks really effective when you use a line of them down the table or across a window sill.





Whatever your reason at this time of year for decorating your home, take time to stop and look around and give thanks for all that you have.


Happy Thanksgiving!





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Wednesday 12 November 2014

Winter Planting!



With Christmas beginning to poke its head around the corner, here in the shop we have begun to plant up some lovely hyacinth bulbs. Bulbs lay buried snug beneath the soft green moss surrounded by some lovely bright mushrooms. Hopefully they will begin to poke their noses out of the soft soil and then begin to push forth reminding us all that even in the depth of winter new life is quietly preparing to open us up to those beautiful Spring days. The lovely things about these gifts are they keep giving. Once they have flowered, hyacinths can be planted in the garden to come back year after year.


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Dalit Candles


Here at the Arbour we help fund a Charity close to our hearts. When we were looking for some new stockists  we came across this charity selling candles. The Dalit Candle Company was founded over 20 years ago. When, whilst traveling in India, Simon Hawthorne and Paul Morley visited the region of Uttar Pradesh, one of the most deprived states in India. They became captivated by the people of this amazing country. Whilst they were there they experienced first hand the injustice suffered by the people.



Known as the Dalits- or Untouchables the people of this region have been known by this name for over 3000 years. They are positioned at the bottom of India's caste system and have been subject to the most aggressive and dehumanizing abuse. From birth they are born into a culture that devalues them as lower than the animals. The word Dalit literally translates as downtrodden or oppressed and there are 250 million Dalits who are exposed to this injustice.




All three of us were touched by the plight of these poor people and so to help the foundation that was set up to support the Dalit people we stock the lovely clay pot candles that the Dalit people make. Through the sales of the candles the foundation has been able to raise funds to build schools, homes, health care centers and provide food to these most impoverished people.
So this Christmas if you want to give a gift that counts come and see our lovely stock of Dalit candles and provide food and shelter to those who need it most.


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Feeding the Birds.



As winter approaches it's important to remember our two legged feather friends.  It is easy to make some simple bird feeders, fun to do with the children and can make great presents to give to the Grandparents or neighbours.



Why not try out some of these ideas; take a coconut and carefully cut it in half, drain out any liquid fill the shell halves with different nuts and seeds. Make a holder by taking three lengths of brown twine, knot them together at one end; place the knot under the shell and guide the three lengths over the shell, knot at the top and hang outside.



For even more stylish ideas why not mix together some oats, nuts, seeds and breadcrumbs, throw in some bacon scraps if you have any  mix all together with some melted lard and use this mixture to push into the open crevices on pine cones or use moulds to make shapes, cookie cutters are a good
idea. Fill old vintage cups, or tins. When the mixture has hardened carefully push a skewer through the top, thread a ribbon through and again hang off a tree or some other suitable place outside




If you are feeling really adventurous you could make a wreath using a Bundt pan or other similar cake tin with a hole in the middle. You will need ; 9 cups of bird seed, 3 Boxes of lard 1/2 cup of peanut butter, handfuls of sultanas, raisins, cranberries or any dried fruit. 

Spray the Bundt pan with cooking spray or wipe with oil. Melt the lard in a large pan add peanut butter and stir to combine allowing the peanut butter to melt, carefully add the seeds and fruit. Pour into the bundt tin. Place in a cold place, e.g the garage or garden shed, allow to cool over night. When hardened invert pan and gently tap to remove wreath. Use ribbon or raffia, thread through the hole and hang off a tree, sit back and watch the birds come and enjoy their feast!

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Sunday 2 November 2014

Bonfire night!




When I was younger we loved the night before bonfire night, it was known as mischief night and we used to delight in going around the village and knocking on people's doors and then running and hiding. Changing shop signs tying gates and covering door knobs and car doors in butter or golden syrup. All innocent fun, or so we thought! There was something very exciting about this time of year.



We spent All Hallows' Eve dressed up and carrying our turnip lanterns wandering around the village followed as I said by mischief night and then straight into bonfire night. Where half the village celebrated the fact that Guy Fawkes had try to blow up the houses of Parliament and the other half
delighted in the fact he was caught, hung, drawn and quartered. Around many villages bonfires and
fireworks still commemorate this event.





In making decorations for your home at this time of year it is fun to use flowers that represent
The bright and vibrant colours  found in fireworks and roaring fires. Spikes of seasonal gladioli, bright gerbras, large chrysanthemum heads, sunflowers, eryngium and berries all can be used to make a tall striking arrangement for this event.



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Wednesday 29 October 2014

Containers





I love photos. Anyone who knows me knows I like to have photos of my loved ones all around my home. Just like picture frames, the containers we use for flowers plays an integral part in the overall effect of a flower arrangement. Starting to build up a collection of containers is a must for anyone who is enthusiastic about flowers.

Containers come in all shapes and sizes, colours and textures. They can be made from glass, china, pottery, wood, stone and metal. Even fruits and vegetables can be used. To a certain degree, each container dictates the types of flowers used. For example a small jug or old battered watering can would look lovely with a very informal arrangement of garden flowers whereas a tall elegant vase is going to require Lilies, delphiniums, aconitium, larkspur etc.





Things to think about when choosing a vessel;  a tall receptacle is going to require long stemmed blooms. Small dainty pots are best suited to delicate flowers. Vases with narrow necks can accommodate slim stems whereas the wider neck can take a substantial amount of plant material in order to stop the flower stems flopping over the side.





There are many "tricks of the trade" which can help support your flowers. If you are using a something other than a glass container Chicken wire can be crumpled and placed inside which helps to support the stems.
As a rule of thumb the deeper the container the longer the flowers will last as this allows the stems maximum contact with water. However low containers can be filled with florist oasis and greenery and flowers can be cut short and placed in them, as long as you remember to keep watering it your
flowers should keep giving you pleasure.




When choosing your container you must also consider the colour and texture because you want it to compliment your flowers rather than compete with them. In contrast, glass is often the easiest to use as it does not contend with the colour of your blooms.





Using larger fruits and vegetables can be fun. Scrape out some of the inside and place some oasis or a vase to suit the size and fill with flowers. Also if you have a favorite receptacle but it may not be suitable for placing water in or is not water tight then again find something that will fit inside and allow your imagination to run riot and create a stunning focal point.






















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Friday 24 October 2014

New Giftware Range

I'm like a kid in a sweet shop when we get a new delivery of goodies at the shop. Just the other day we took charge of a great big box. Deep inside amongst all the packaging there were lots of little packages containing all sorts of lovely new products for the shop.


 We now have some lovely Christmas decorations in, though we won't put them out until after All Hallows' Eve. We have these really cute "slippers" which can be filled  with sweets and chocolates on the eve of the feast of St. Nicholas on the 5th of December or hung on the fireplace as an alternative to a stocking to be filled with sweeties on Christmas Eve.






I love our new vases and containers and votive candle holders. I think some of these planted up with
spring bulbs will just look so pretty. The Leon cages will make  a real statement piece filled with flowers and placed on a sideboard or hall table.







The votive lights are all shimmered in silvers and golds,  Which will create a lovely glow when lit by candlelight, the good thing about these they are not just for Christmas, but can be used all year round.




I love watching how the girls get creative and look at one object  and then have the ability to use it for something quite unique. I am amazed how working in the Arbour has allowed both girls to really let their creativity run wild, I am waiting for my own creative spirit to catch up with theirs; I think I will be in for a long wait!









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