American ceramicist, photographer and gardener, Frances Palmer is known for her ceramics and photography of flower arrangements. Palmer has spent nearly four decades creating work that has caught the attention of ceramics lovers, designers, writers and fellow artists but she’s equally passionate about flower gardening and arranging. They are two parallel practices, one indoors in the studio, throwing pots and vases to elevate the flowers, and one outdoors in the garden, raising extraordinary flowers to inspire new pots and vases.
Filled with Frances’ stunning photography (a third and equally important parallel practice), Life with Flowers is an invitation to both her garden, where we learn all about the planting and arranging of flowers, and her artistic process, showing us how she thinks about flowers, seasons, the land, beauty, form, and everything else that goes into her creative life.
Planning her garden in succession, ensuring a constant supply of flowers for the house, the chapters in Life with Flowers, are ordered in “waves” of flowering. The book includes profiles of Palmer’s favourite varieties, advice on flower-specific gardening, flower arranging techniques learned over decades of growing as well as flower-forward recipes and simple DIY projects.
“Life with Flowers shares a personal account of the three decades I’ve spent in the gardens outside of my studio, how the flowers I grow intertwine with my ceramics and photography, and my approach to planting and arranging flowers,” explains Palmer.
Life with Flowers (Artisan Books) will be released on the 13th of May in the USA and on the 15th of May, 2025 in the UK.