Flower-focused books have become enormously popular in recent years—and with good reason: Who doesn’t want to flip through a book filled with beautiful blossoms? The latest addition to the genre, ceramicist Frances Palmer’s new book, Life with Flowers: Inspiration and Lessons from the Garden, might be the most soulful flower book yet.
Not only does Palmer grow the flowers, arrange them, and photograph them—she also hand-makes all the vases and vessels in which they are displayed and paints the backdrops that they are often shot against. In this book the beauty is layers and layers deep, and this depth and intention shines through on every page. It’s become clichéd to describe something as “deeply personal,” but in the case of Life with Flowers, the description fits: It is a truly intimate book.
The book itself is as multi-hyphenate as its creator: In her text Palmer talks about what she grows and why, how art history informs her gardening and flower arranging, how she grows her favored plants, and even offers recipes and craft projects that incorporate flowers from her garden. As the title suggests, it’s about a life spent in the company of flowers.
Here are seven lessons we took away from Palmer’s lovely new book:
Photography by Frances Palmer from Life with Flowers, unless otherwise noted.
Think in “waves,” not months.
When planning a flower garden, Palmer didn’t structure her book by months like most garden books. Instead Palmer’s book is divided into six micro growing seasons—prevernal, vernal, aestival, serotinal, autumnal, and hibernal—because it’s a more accurate portrait of how she thinks about creating continuous bloom.
Plant for constant variety.
In addition to aiming for “constant and uninterrupted flowers” Palmer says she also plans her cutting gardens for “a continual flow of colors, heights, and shapes for arranging in my pottery.” Writes Palmer in the book, “Within each perennial flower family, I include a range of colors, shapes, and textures, which allows for the greatest stock of plant material to work with and lends a beautiful diversity to the garden and the arrangements.”
Flowers and vessel must go together–but either can lead.
Palmer’s flowers and ceramics are so intertwined that the two are constantly inspiring one another. She says that before she makes an arrangement, she always considers how the blossoms will work in conjunction with the vessels. “Sometimes I choose the flower to fit the pot I have in mind; other times I work in reverse,” she writes.
Make room for natives in your flower garden.
In recent years, Palmer has added more native plants to her cut flower garden, and not just to feed the pollinators but also because she likes to mix many of them in with the flowers in her arrangements. However, she cautions that you need to be careful mixing natives in with cut flower beds. “They would overtake the rest of the flowers that I have carefully placed, so a fair amount of editing and extracting (aka weeding) is required during the summer months to keep them in check,” she notes.
Pick flowers like a pro.
Palmer advises gardeners to harvest flowers in the early morning with sharp, rust-free clippers—and get them into water ASAP. “Cut your stems as long as possible,” she says. “You never know when you might need an extra-tall stem to punctuate an arrangement at the finish.”
Connect with other “flower” people.
Palmer notes that art and history are not her only sources of inspiration. One of the other things that fuels her creativity is spending time with other gardeners. “It’s heavenly to sit with a group of like-minded friends and talk about plants, the weather, and the tasks at hand on our respective to-do lists,” writes Palmer. “The community of flower growers, arrangers, and enthusiasts greatly enhances my life and work.”
Keep experimenting.
“I try to gather as much information as I can before I buy anything. Yet and still, some plants never manage to thrive, but I don’t consider garden experimentation of any kind to be a failure, and neither should you,” writes Palmer. “In fact, I encourage you to keep trying new things and chalk up any unfortunate results to your ongoing education in gardening.”
See also:
- Quick Takes With: Frances Palmer
- Required Reading: ‘Emily Thompson Flowers’ Captures the Florist’s Wild Artistry
- Required Reading: ‘Punk Ikebana: Reimagining the Art of Floral Design’
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