“To fill the house with freshly cut flowers must be one of life’s greatest joys”.

When collaborating, the natural synergy between brands is of the utmost importance to us at Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. When our friends at Thyme told us about the new  ‘The Cutting Garden’ collection we thought what better time of year to showcase these floral beauties than the week of Belgravia in Bloom and RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Nestled within the Cotswolds countryside lies the magic that is Thyme Hotel, shaped by nature. Thyme is a family story where a passion for the land, food and entertaining merges with a love of nature, beauty and conservation.  A collection of restored, historic buildings form a peaceful hamlet environment, Thyme invite guests to rest and reconnect in their English country idyll that their family call home.

Thyme’s ethos is rooted in nature, inspired by the land and countryside, with a story which includes locally sourced food, a hotel destination and spa, products and rooms with a real connection to the land, and like us a focus on circularity and nurturing both people and planet. Bertioli is the sibling brand of Thyme, a mother and daughter team, run by Caryn and Milly Hibbert; collections of simple, beautiful products for everyday living, that inspire a connection to the land and nourish both people and planet. From breathing and bath & body ranges to table linen and now interiors with these exquisite wallpaper and fabric designs.

Caryn, founder of Thyme, has been choosing and using our natural paint at Thyme for many years, Edward & Caryn share a respect both for the land and planet and of course beautiful design and interiors. Together, Caryn and Edward, have created some inspired palettes to complement the new designs that will be showcased at our freshly painted showroom over the coming weeks for Belgravia in Bloom and RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Pop in, have a drink, pick up your complementary new colour chart and seed packet and be inspired and re-connect with nature PLUS all sample pots are 3 for £10, online and in store so you can take these beautiful palettes home with you to try for your next dream scheme.

Introducing ‘The Cutting Garden’ collections

The inspiration behind the collection is all about bringing the outside in. It is a modern take on classic English Country House aesthetic, continuing the traditional and eccentric use of botanicals in interior design. Through wallpapers, fabrics, table linens, decorative accessories and home scents, we can now plant nature inside all year round!  The scent created for this collection truly evokes the enchanting scent of freshly cut flowers and transports one to the cutting gardens, it is quite magical.

The designs include illustrations by Caryn of elderflower, phlox, sidalcea, gladioli, sweet pea and cosmos. See the patterns and palettes Edward and Caryn have created below, and if you can do come and see for  yourself at our Ebury St store, until 31st May.

Elderflower

Perfect for boldly dressing the walls, windows and bathroom, this vivid Pink Elderflower print envelopes any room whether it’s original wooden beams, higgledy piggeldy walls or lofty ceilings. Dark and enticing, this fabric works so well with contrasting colours.

Edward and Caryn have suggested soft pinks such as Jonquil and Mason pink, mixed with darker hues such as Chocolate and Pompadour to really bring out the colours in the design.

Sidalcea

A hardy annual that resembles small and dainty hollyhocks, sidalcea are part of the mallow genus of plants that includes cotton. Harmonising this delicate print, Edward and Caryn chose soft greens and muted tones to bring out the brighter pinks in the design.

Their upright and elegantly arching stems are smothered in silky pale pink flowers that continue to produce more blooms for weeks on end from their numerous side branches.

With delicately serrated leaves they last very well in the vase and are loved by butterflies and bees. This print works in floral harmony with the curated palette below, Granite Green, Eau de Nile, Milk White and Portland.

“I have painted a few of my favourite flowers; unashamedly boisterous, happy and wonderfully floriferous. The patterns depict flowers in their natural form, reaching for the sun, as wellas in a florist’s bunch and in linear rows, as they grow in our cutting gardens. These patterns of nature, combined with their heady scents, are the very essence of an English garden”

Caryn Hibbert

Gladioli

Wild and abundant, gladioli are an iconic British bloom, you will find this design at the front of our showroom over Belgravia in Bloom.

Magnificently elegant and flamboyant, the statuesque gladioli, a member of iris family, is named after the Latin word gladius for sword after its long pointed leaves.

With richly coloured and petals that come in a multitude of different colours it is a wonderful cut flower, one of our favourites, simply arranged with nothing else in a large vase it lights up a room with its joyful effortless summer glamour.

This design has been paired with colours that pack a punch such as Royal Grass Green, Nicaragua and our new forest green, Fine Green.

The English Cutting Garden

Thyme’s cutting gardens sits adjacent to the water meadows where the soil is rich and fertile, they are a wonderful source of flowers and foliage throughout most of the year.

Edward and Caryn came up with a a palette to bring out the different tones in this design, including Jonquil, Navy Blue, Cuisse de Nymphe Emue and the chicest neutral, Portland.

‘Flowers are best harvested in the cool of an early morning, as mists and bird song rise over the river we gather armfuls of seasonal blooms, plunging the stems into buckets of cold water. In wheel barrows they are bought to the flower room where shaded rest and a long quenching drink ensures they are in the best condition possible before being arranged into vases of all shapes and sizes.’

From small table posies to huge voluptuous arrangements the air is filled with the fresh green scent of verdant leaves, sappy stems and all manner of fragrant blooms.

Mixed Phlox

Sweetly scented with colours ranging from whites and the palest pink through to deeper rose and various hues of blue, phlox have long and sturdy stems making them an ideal cut flower.

Lasting beautifully in the vase they can be picked from May through to late summer and are a favourite not only of our florist Sophie but also the bees and butterflies that dance over the rows of blooms all summer long.

Pair these pretty mixed phlox with soft plaster pinks like Jonquil and  soft green’s like Tea Green.

Pink Phlox

Similar to the mixed phlox, but with a bigger hit of pink! Pretty and feminine. Pink and Green are a favourite colour combination at Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, and Pink Phlox is no exception!

Use colours such as Invisible Green and Evie to really #bringtheoutdoorsin.

You will find a beautiful palette of Edward Bulmer’s natural colours at Thyme Hotel in the Cotswolds and we can’t wait to see you this May to celebrate nature, colour and all it has to offer.

Come and pick up your very own packet of seeds to start your cutting garden at home, take a free colour chart and start exploring the pigment rich natural colours Edward Bulmer Natural Paint has to offer.

So come with us as we immerse you in the world of the Cutting Garden and dance through the springs season into the Summer of Love.

To find out more about our story and the benefits of pigment rich, plant-based natural paint and how it can be used to complement your home, head here to read all about our difference.