The art of nature
I am neither a florist nor an interior designer. I am just flower mad, with a serious passion for decorating.
I grew up in deepest rural Wales, but my love of nature wasn’t full-blown then. Although my childhood was rooted in the countryside, from an early age my outdoor life was firmly connected to homemaking. I picked wildflowers to decorate my bedroom or pressed them to become pictures. Walks were spent nose down, treasure hunting for my museum of relics, and when I made a den with my brothers, I insisted on being chief decorator.
1. The shallow shape of clamshells make original containers, especially when used as planters for small orchids 2. Adding fruit or vegetables to flower arrangements adds a sculptural dimension. Drape vine tomatoes from a bowl with trailing nasturiums 3. Auriculas are displayed in terracotta pots for maximum impact on a vintage wooden cupboard
I can vividly remember being given a bunch of lilies on my 14th birthday by my friend Alex, which was an unusual present for a teenage girl at the time. We were both at boarding school and didn’t own a vase, so the lilies had to live in a basin. But I loved them and loitered in the bathroom, admiring their beauty.
When I was about 15, I became bored with my sleepy country horizons and longed for something glitzier. I eventually moved to London, where life was intoxicating. But, 10 years later, I wanted the calmer, prettier way of life again. This coincided perfectly with Chaz, my (now) husband, moving to a remote vineyard in the South of France, and I followed him.
4. Put a 1cm later of gravel in the bottom of a delicate china cup. Position primroses in the centre, fill in gaps with potting compost and decorate with sphagnum moss 5. Nautilus shells are perfect vessels for plants such as Sansevieria
We spent the next five years in rustic bliss. When not crushing grapes, I was fi lling trugs with lavender, trawling the local brocantes for fabrics and treasures, and beachcombing. I would bring home my spoils, excited by how they turned our house into a home. I started creating still lives and vignettes with them as a way to save space, but fi nally ran out of room.
It was then I started collecting and buying with other peoples’ homes in mind. There began my interior styling and dressing business.
It’s unthinkable for me not to have flowers at home, but should there be a surface without a vase on it, I’ll put shells, fi r cones, crystals, herbs, or plants there instead. Picking is easy in late spring and summer, when the hedgerows burst with growth, but it becomes harder in the winter to rely on treasures from the countryside or garden.
6. A mix of apple and cherry blossom is displayed in a glass vase slotted into a slightly larger one lined with sliced apples 7. To create a strawberry teapot, Willow added a layer of stones, grits or crocks to the base of a teapot, eased in a strawberry plant, then added potting compost to fill in any gaps
I want to show how natural elements – and I don’t just mean flowers – bring an aff ordable and accessible dimension to an interior. For natural, think the opposite of man-made: anything that has lived, evolved, or grown. Put simply, I hope you’ll share my view that bringing nature into your life brings in the magic.
READER OFFER Inspire: The Art Of Living With Nature by Willow Crossley, with photographs by Emma Mitchell, is published by CICO Books at £16.99. Available from all good bookshops or call 01256-302699, quoting GLR 9OW to purchase a copy at the special price of £11.99 (p&p is free). For further information, please visit www.cicobooks.co.uk
I grew up in deepest rural Wales, but my love of nature wasn’t full-blown then. Although my childhood was rooted in the countryside, from an early age my outdoor life was firmly connected to homemaking. I picked wildflowers to decorate my bedroom or pressed them to become pictures. Walks were spent nose down, treasure hunting for my museum of relics, and when I made a den with my brothers, I insisted on being chief decorator.
1. The shallow shape of clamshells make original containers, especially when used as planters for small orchids 2. Adding fruit or vegetables to flower arrangements adds a sculptural dimension. Drape vine tomatoes from a bowl with trailing nasturiums 3. Auriculas are displayed in terracotta pots for maximum impact on a vintage wooden cupboard I can vividly remember being given a bunch of lilies on my 14th birthday by my friend Alex, which was an unusual present for a teenage girl at the time. We were both at boarding school and didn’t own a vase, so the lilies had to live in a basin. But I loved them and loitered in the bathroom, admiring their beauty.
When I was about 15, I became bored with my sleepy country horizons and longed for something glitzier. I eventually moved to London, where life was intoxicating. But, 10 years later, I wanted the calmer, prettier way of life again. This coincided perfectly with Chaz, my (now) husband, moving to a remote vineyard in the South of France, and I followed him.
4. Put a 1cm later of gravel in the bottom of a delicate china cup. Position primroses in the centre, fill in gaps with potting compost and decorate with sphagnum moss 5. Nautilus shells are perfect vessels for plants such as Sansevieria We spent the next five years in rustic bliss. When not crushing grapes, I was fi lling trugs with lavender, trawling the local brocantes for fabrics and treasures, and beachcombing. I would bring home my spoils, excited by how they turned our house into a home. I started creating still lives and vignettes with them as a way to save space, but fi nally ran out of room.
It was then I started collecting and buying with other peoples’ homes in mind. There began my interior styling and dressing business.
It’s unthinkable for me not to have flowers at home, but should there be a surface without a vase on it, I’ll put shells, fi r cones, crystals, herbs, or plants there instead. Picking is easy in late spring and summer, when the hedgerows burst with growth, but it becomes harder in the winter to rely on treasures from the countryside or garden.
6. A mix of apple and cherry blossom is displayed in a glass vase slotted into a slightly larger one lined with sliced apples 7. To create a strawberry teapot, Willow added a layer of stones, grits or crocks to the base of a teapot, eased in a strawberry plant, then added potting compost to fill in any gaps I want to show how natural elements – and I don’t just mean flowers – bring an aff ordable and accessible dimension to an interior. For natural, think the opposite of man-made: anything that has lived, evolved, or grown. Put simply, I hope you’ll share my view that bringing nature into your life brings in the magic.
READER OFFER Inspire: The Art Of Living With Nature by Willow Crossley, with photographs by Emma Mitchell, is published by CICO Books at £16.99. Available from all good bookshops or call 01256-302699, quoting GLR 9OW to purchase a copy at the special price of £11.99 (p&p is free). For further information, please visit www.cicobooks.co.uk