Exploring Design, Home, Art and Gardening since 2008. By Julia Atkinson-Dunn
I recently was given a huge wonky trough made by my great grandmother. Creating an arrangement in it felt like a cross-generational collaboration and it got me thinking about all the other wonderful vases I have collected by New Zealand makers.
Click through to see some of my favourites and tips on collecting vases that are helpful for home arranging.
As part of my ongoing weekly column online in Stuff and many New Zealand regional papers, I was thrilled that my editor wanted to finish off my year of writing by publishing an extract of my new book; 'Flowers for Friends'.
This is 'Happy New Year'
Read MoreIn the cold depths of winter its easy to lament the loss of our abundant summery pickings!
Here is a rundown of my favourite winter finds and tips on how best to use them
While I am hugely inspired by the world of commercial floristry, there are certain creative benefits that arrive with being a home arranger. Being forced to look at all that is growing in your garden as potential pickings, as opposed to only the pristine with long straight stems and perfectly-timed blooms…..
Read MoreMy plant obsession led me off the road to identify and experiment with my local rebel plants!
Click through for a fun quick vid and article to help you recognise weeds too.
A chattier video than normal taking you through mixing homegrown misfits with short lived, seasonal jewels like NZ grown peonies. Some fun resulting in a quirky arrangement for my house.
Read MoreThe current selection of mid spring plants that are flowering in my garden have a sweetness and ramble to their small scale. So I challenged myself to create a wild and friendly “garden” scene in my latest secondhand vase find. The colour palette and vibe is one of my favourite experiments so far and I think it does strangely hint at a wee garden scene?
Click through for guide and video.
I am the first to put my hand up for pruning my roses “too late”. For choosing to tidy up the plum trees when they have already started to fruit (blasphemy!) and driving the idea to lop down some pittosporums that have struggled away growing in a really unfriendly spot for years.
Click through for ideas on using YOUR prunings plus a video.
One of the ways I grew my interest in gardening was opening my eyes up to all the plants around me instead of just ignoring them as general background green. Collecting little snips here and there also helped me learn their names and begin to understand what I like, what smells good, what does and doesn’t last in a vase and even what grows in my local environment.
Click through for a little quide to help you collect and make your own bach bouquet plus video.
My self seeded Sweet Pea situation is beyond my control and, I think Mother Natures too.
Click through for a wee guide and video of me doing my best to use what is in the garden.
I’m Julia Atkinson-Dunn
THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME!
Here, you’ll find my ongoing adventures of creating art - oil pastel and painted landscapes, mixed media botanicals, plus some writing and information about me!
Studio Home began as NZ’s first design blog, launching in 2018 as a champion of NZ/AUS creative talent.
Since then I have used this space to continue exploring design and art as well as deeply investigating gardening through the publishing of three books and the launch of Unearthed in 2023.
Julia xo
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