Secrets from the Lost Kitchen: How to Arrange Flowers like a Self-Taught Maine Chef - Gardenista
Secrets from the Lost Kitchen: How to Arrange Flowers like a Self-Taught Maine Chef - Gardenista
Secrets from the Lost Kitchen: How to Arrange Flowers like a Self-Taught Maine Chef - Gardenista
When I reach Erin French by phone to talk about her flower-arranging tips, she’s holding the phone in one hand and twining vines and arranging flowers for her own wedding, which is happening this weekend, with the other.
When I reach Erin French by phone to talk about her flower-arranging tips, she’s holding the phone in one hand and twining vines and arranging flowers for her own wedding, which is happening this weekend, with the other.
Photography by Greta Rybus for Gardenista.
She started again, serving elaborate dinners out of a renovated Airstream parked in the meadows and woods of Maine, before setting up shop in an old mill in the tiny, rural town of Freedom, Maine (“population: 719” French writes in her cookbook). Here are a few of the tricks up her sleeve.
She started again, serving elaborate dinners out of a renovated Airstream parked in the meadows and woods of Maine, before setting up shop in an old mill in the tiny, rural town of Freedom, Maine (“population: 719” French writes in her cookbook). Here are a few of the tricks up her sleeve.
The Lost Kitchen is located in the Mill at Freedom Falls, which was saved from abandonment and sits perched above a wide creek.
The Lost Kitchen is located in the Mill at Freedom Falls, which was saved from abandonment and sits perched above a wide creek.
French steps away from the stove to see what flowers she has to work with today.
1. Winnow down your choices.
1. Winnow down your choices.
French’s self-taught arranging philosophy is to keep it simple.
French’s self-taught arranging philosophy is to keep it simple.
The day’s selections, of a similar palette.
The day’s selections, of a similar palette.
Most of the fittings at the Lost Kitchen are budget and vintage finds, from the antique china to the retro refrigerator and sink in the open kitchen. Their size lends maximum drama (and helps create separation between French’s cooking area and the rest of the dining room).
2. Buy vases for a song.
3. Use birch logs as an anchor.
3. Use birch logs as an anchor.
French starts every arrangement with a few birch logs in the bottom of the vase, which add a woodsy touch and help anchor the large, heavy arrangements to the table.
(Tip: “I made the mistake of drying out the logs in the off-season,” French says.
4. Start with filler.
4. Start with filler.
“Start with filler that’s fluffy and gives the arrangement shape,” French advises. Here, she’s chosen languid trails of amaranth and Queen Anne’s lace for a neutral but full backdrop.
5. Follow the rule of odds.
5. Follow the rule of odds.
“I’ve kind of gotten into this thing of doing three flowers, no more: plentiful, but just three different kinds,” French says.
Once you have your filler set, “built upon it here and there, looking at each side for balance,” French says.
Once you have your filler set, “built upon it here and there, looking at each side for balance,” French says.
6. Let the flowers capture a mood.
7. Keep pruners in your car (and know where the best lilac bushes are).
Be open to what you find along the way.
8. Do it yourself.
8. Do it yourself.
Leftovers on the Lost Kitchen floor.
Instead, her wedding is sure to have all the wild elegance of the Lost Kitchen: French walked through Savage’s farm to choose flowers a few days ago, selecting “big old vintage plants growing up with the ragweed and ferns poking up in the woods,” she says.
Instead, her wedding is sure to have all the wild elegance of the Lost Kitchen: French walked through Savage’s farm to choose flowers a few days ago, selecting “big old vintage plants growing up with the ragweed and ferns poking up in the woods,” she says.
French, during a brief moment of pause after arranging.
French, during a brief moment of pause after arranging.