I was commissioned by friend and excellent human Aimee Pearce to create some Badibidu messy garlands for her business. I strongly advise a look at her pages if you fancy some kind, motivating, body positive content in your life @AimeePearcePT
Back to the red hot pokers! So, I asked her for a few of her favourite flowers (because why shouldn’t we have a bit of what we like) and I got doodling and painting. I’m really excited to see what she does with these and wanted to share a bit of insight as to what the plants included mean to me. Some are her choices and some are mine and some of our favourites luckily overlap, but here they are…
Brambles and bluebells - clearly brambles are fierce. They’re incredibly hardy and impossible to stop. Their tenacity is admirable and enraging. They also give delicious fruit if you’re willing to risk getting your hands shredded to find it. The bluebells are fresh and delicate and spell new beginnings to me. They’re a great start to a summer of colour.
Peonies - the classic ruffled delicate English flower except you have to treat them an incredibly specific way for them to flower. Literally within millimetres of the exact amount of soil should be covering them or you get none of their beautiful blooms! I love how demanding and particular they are and the blooms when they come are just bliss for the fractions of a second before they fall off and you have to start again.
Red hot pokers! Brazen! Bold and unapologetic! I had no clue what to pair them with apart from bright foxgloves and alliums which are one of my favourite flowers because anything pom pom, fluffy or spherical totally floats my boat.
Sunflowers - *sigh and gaze at their beauty* hi there sunflowers you gorgeous, inspiring, colourful, peaceful plants. Tall with one giant flower, many smaller ones, bright red or orange, I cant think of any flower that as many people love as the sunflower, im totally in love with it.
Sweet peas and roses - Roses are also one of my total favourite plants (are you seeing a theme here? In case you hadn’t noticed I just really like flowers). They’re stunning and show off continuously with bloom after bloom but they will shred your clothes and skin without a second glance. Sweet peas can smell like heaven and the colours are so beautiful and they will climb anything you put near them! Their little tendrils just very quietly take hold and they climb and flourish.
I don’t do commissions often, because I feel too much pressure to get them just right, but this project and @AimeePearcePT both inspired me and I desperately wanted to be part of it. Thanks Aimee for being a total dream client!
UPDATE:
Look at the beautiful cards Aimee made!
