“The Flower Fix: Modern Arrangements for a Daily Dose of Nature” by Anna Potter

Credit: White Lion Publishing, 2019

In the introduction to “The Flower Fix,” Anna Potter writes that her floral business Swallows & Damsons was “born out of that love for play, imagination and art; curiosity of wild things, and using one’s hands to explore.” After earning a degree in fine art, she worked at a local flower shop and realized floral arrangements could marry all of her loves, including a childhood dream of digging in the dirt, with her young adult dream of creative design.

“The Flower Fix: Modern Arrangements for a Daily Dose of Nature” walks readers through a variety of arrangements, ranging in skill level from beginner to expert. Potter invites people to “create an atmosphere with flowers” by approaching “flower arranging through a place of storytelling and creating feeling, rather than designs to suit certain occasions.” Designing arrangements with a desire to create a mood, a feeling, is preferable to simply gathering traditional flowers and putting them in a vase.

Anna Potter, Author

Since launching her UK-based flower shop, Potter has become Instagram famous with her gorgeous profile and a following of over 200,000. In “The Flower Fix,” the floral influencer guides readers on how to break all the rules with colors with 26 projects. Her book’s creations “span all seasons” and invite the reader to bring wild nature into their everyday lives.

Credit: White Lion Publishing

Each of the 26 projects begins with a quote from a variety of sources, from famed short story writer Katherine Mansfield to inventor Thomas A. Edison. Potter then draws readers’ attention to the accompanying imagery, commenting on the objects, tones, shapes, and light in the room. By noticing such elements, readers may ignite their own creativity and begin to use the flower projects to add to the story of their home.

The floral arrangements are categorized by colors and feelings, beginning with “Hopeful Oranges and Yellows” and concluding with “Bold Dark Tones.” Each section holds more than one arrangement, allowing for great variety in the same color family.

Credit: White Lion Publishing

Each piece is strongly tied to a feeling, giving readers the opportunity to express their emotions through the flowers. With projects like “Learn to Let Go” and “Meaningful Memories,” readers can channel their grief and pain through the art of floral design. In “The Flower Fix,” Potter helps people to create “a still-life scene to conjure sentiment, memories and nostalgia.”

In addition to the floral projects, Potter also shares several basic skills with her readers, which guides them on how to choose and buy flowers, which tools are best and which types of vessels to use.

“Everything Belongs” project, inspired by Dutch Master painters

At the heart of “The Flower Fix” is Anna Potter’s radiating love of nature coupled with her belief that all flowers can belong. There’s no flower or weed that is off-limits to the reader. Potter even gives notes on foraging for design elements. Potter’s book encourages reader to “gather the weird and the wonderful together, flora fauna and everything in between. Paint a picture of your own.”

If you enjoy “The Flower Fix,” you’ll also love Potter’s newest book, Flower Philosophy, which arranges 25 new flower projects by season.