Tropical delight

 I've been channeling some summer vibes with this week's Spoonflower design challenge which is called Palm Springs Mid Century wallpaper. I've gone for luscious leaves in varying shades of green on a light pink background, inspired by the pink architecture and the evening sun of Palm Springs.

I would love to see this print on a lampshade. The hanging lampshade below has a fabulous gold lining.

Whilst this table lamp has a great bamboo-effect base in white ceramic with a touch of gold.

Spoonflower shop

Calathea Sanderiana

 Meet Marcel! He's my niece's plant and I was taken by his dark shiny leaves that have a delicate thin pink vein running through them. Marcel's technical name is calathea sanderiana but it is also known as a pinstripe calathea. These plants like moderate, dappled shade and are happiest in the bathroom where there is moisture in the air.

I liked Marcel's leaves so much that I decided to design a print for my Spoonflower shop.

It would look great as a wallpaper print in an entrance hall. Match the colour of the front door to the colour of the light pink veins.

This print would make a great backdrop for one of my pot plant artworks.

Happy Monday

Happy Monday to all! I hope a good weekend was had. Mine was very nice, hanging out with good friends, going for good food and drinking some good wine. Perfect for a rainy February! Another antidote to the soggy weather, was a trip to Kew Gardens on Saturday afternoon, where there is an orchid festival being held at the Princess of Wales Conservatory. February is the carnival season in Brazil and the conservatory has been transformed into a celebration of Brazil's plant life and habitats in a blaze of colour, naturally!

The shot below was a rare opportunity with no people in it! The rainy weather drove everybody into the warmth of the conservatory and the warming colours that surrounded us.

'Rainforest Tree' sculptures and been constructed, covered in orchids and bromeliads.

The orchids really have to be seen up close to appreciate their intricacy and depth of colour.

I can't resist a bit of hot pink!

I love the ultra shininess of the plant below. I looks like it's been heavily polished.

A pretty hibiscus always makes me smile.

After seeing the orchids, we went to look inside the Palm House, a stunning Victorian iron and glass structure that houses exotic palms. The key factor of this building was that it is heated to tropical heat and was very welcome to shelter from the rain for a while.

Of course, on top of the welcome heat, there were some stunning palms to view.

I loved the layering of the different shaped leaves and the patterns that they created.

These leaves had a lovely geometric design to them and a texture that looked and felt like velvet.