I just received the most beautiful floral design book called Flowers Chic & Cheap by Carlos Mota who is the Elle Decor editor at large. There are so few "good" floral arranging books and magazines on the market in the US -- my friends and I always comment that such a huge hole exists in the bookstores when it comes to floral design books that are modern, fresh and well... not kitschy or packed to the gills with silk flowers. Flowers Chic & Cheap is a beautiful book and it came at the perfect time as I just picked up bunches of ranunculus, freesia and bi-colored carnations today at the flower shop after being so inspired yesterday by my visit to the Herrenhauser Garten. I'll take some photos of this beautiful book later this week and share a proper review of it then but for now I'll leave you with some floral inspiration with photos that I took yesterday at the garden.

All of these colors and patterns really make me feel energized and inspired - and I hope my snapshots inspire you as well. Please note I do not use a digital SLR camera and I have little clue what I'm really doing with camera settings but I think these photos came out nice considering all of that -- and so perhaps if you feel up to it maybe you can find a park or garden in your local area, bring your camera and find some memorable shots for yourself too. Nature always has such a perfectly composed palette, doesn't it? Flower gardens never clash and patterns always look so fresh and lovely together no matter what the scale or shape. And nothing goes out of style - imagine that! There is so much for us all to learn from the examples provided in the natural world around us. And another big thing to consider with flowers is the broad range of color. Of course, I always lean towards the pinks (you know me!), yellows and violet tones but there are also oranges, reds... the colors are endless so the bottom line is really this: don't be afraid of color!

Next week I'll give you a full review of Flowers: Chic & Cheap!

(images: holly becker for decor8)