I was determined to grow sweet peas this year despite the challenges of growing them on a hot and sometimes stormy balcony in Portugal. I had a bit of a seed splurge this winter and the thought of these sweet peas helped to get me through the dark winter. I ordered heirloom varieties from Seedaholic . These are some of the varieties I’ve been growing:
Though I won’t have the yield or large blossoms of a flower farmer, these little fragrant jewels in the garden are precious to me nonetheless. Such a treat! It’s important to keep cutting the sweet peas and who can resist bringing these fragrant vines inside anyways! I like to keep them on the vine and include as much green as possible, as these sweet pea vines create such interesting shapes for flower arrangements. You only need a few stems in a small vase to make an impact. I used the recipe below and you can watch the video to see how I put it all together in this gorgeous vase from Tasco Tableware, which is sadly. now discontinued. If you are in Portugal, you may be able to still find some of their pieces at Depozito.
I am so excited to announce a new collaboration wtih VERONIKABLYZNIUCHENKO! As part of her summer programming at her art exhibit in the cloister garden of Basilica da Estrela, I’ll be holding a summer flower workshop. Make a loose, garden inspired, floral centric fresh flower arrangement in Portuguese ceramics. This is a great chance for anyone traveling to Lisbon to participate in a workshop in a historic space that rarely opens. Book your spot here! I never do one-off, in-person workshops so if a retreat is not your thing, this is a great chance to work with me in person.
We had a morning each in Lisbon and Sintra with rest and or exploring time for guests in the afternoon. First we walked the Monserrate gardens with Fernanda Botelho who taught us about the edible species in the garden. For our time in Lisbon we visited Veronika Blyzniuchenko’s exhibit, “The Beauty is a Choice.” Afterwards, we had a walk with Tomás Tojo through Principe Real to learn the history of the species in this area of Lisbon. Next, we stopped by Nuno Prates botanical library and cabinet of curiosity followed by a visit to Nuno’s awe-inspiring private collection of tropical plants. It’s hard to put into words or photos the full depth of all of these experiences!
We had two slow and restful days at the village making lavender wands (while eating a gorgeous lavender cake created by Marta Toscano Rico and lead by Catarina Seixas. We also had a meditative watercolor class based on an exploratory teaching method created and lead by Helena Louçao. We made flower crowns in a woven method (with only a little twine!).
I wanted to share some of our meals and flower arranging (not in chronological order!). We had a freestyle arranging workshop, where the attendees found vintage vases in their cottages and arranged in them after a demo from me, walking through my philosophy for bringing an arrangement together. After that, we created low bowl compositions in Portuguese terra cotta with compostable mechanics. We gathered our centerpieces and linens together for a community created table styling in our outdoor floral studio. We had a lovely meal by Marta Toscano Rico featuring seasonal carrots, pumpkin, rosemary crackers, soup, and veggie tart.
On Saturday morning, we created large arrangements in Portuguese terra cotta pots that were traditionally used to cook in fires or to cure olives. The students get to take home all of these special vases made in Portugal.
Afterwards, we did little photo shoots in each attendees cottage so that we could capture their large arrangements on camera. The cottages are so charming and provide beautiful surfaces and textures to style the arrangements. The houses also tend to be darker and cooler, so they are perfect for keeping the arrangements fresh during the week and the provide us relief from the sun and heat as well.
We had another gorgeous picnic style meal created by Marta, and that evening we were joined by the lovely Catarina Seixas who ventured to Mafra to guide is through a couple of workshops!
Catarina fired up the stone oven in the kitchen early one morning. It was a bit too hot to go foraging but a few of us gathered wild fennel to add to our flower pizzas! We each made our own individual pizzas, cooked in the fire oven, and topped them with flowers from Fernanda Botelho’s garden.
We added a wild green sauce, from Catarina’s book. She guided us through the process with a wonderful mix of herbs and toasted hazelnuts and Portuguese cheeses.
And soon I’ll share our days in Lisbon and Sintra as well as our herbal workshop with Catarina! More soon! If you’d like to participate in a retreat, we have just 2 spots left for next year! Click for details and booking.
