Floral interiors - Judy Spours

The image of a country garden, with unruly flowers growing where they seed amongst the fruit and vegetables, honeysuckle, roses and wisteria scrambling over walls, has always been in part a reality and in part a decorative myth. What is certain is that the garden has had an enormous influence upon the designs inside the country house, which have developed into a whole style of decoration. This book celebrates the country garden as it appears inside the home, in natural arrangements of garden flowers as the inspiration for fabrics such as chintz and for painted ceramics, in the colours used to decorate walls and furniture and in numerous decorative accessories. Traditional fabrics use naturalistic patterns drawn from the garden, of peonies, roses and tulips, for example; kitchen curtains even depict the produce of the vegetable plot. The cups and saucers and plates in everyday use are brightly painted with the nasturtiums or poppies growing outside; and even furniture is decorated with stylized garden flowers.;The country home's most important accessories are gathered straight from the garden - vases full of lilac or blue cornflowers, bowls of ripening fruit or dried pot pourri, smooth pebbles or textured branches used as ornamentation. Country garden style is at home with the natural world, in harmony with its colours, forms and textures, and a decorative reflection of its beauties.