AUGUST MUSINGS
Seasonal stories and notable happenings from the team behind Ochre Botanical Studios.
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An Ode to brown:
Brown might not be the first colour that springs to mind when people think of wedding flowers. It doesn’t have the instant romance of blush pinks, the drama of deep reds, or the fresh liveliness of green. In fact, I think it’s often overlooked altogether. But here at Ochre, we’ve always had a soft spot for brown. It’s grounding, earthy, and full of quiet beauty. Whether it’s the turning of leaves, toffee tones roses, or the textures of seed heads and grasses, brown is everywhere in the natural world, steady, reliable, and often surprisingly beautiful.
Our love of brown really took root many years ago on a trip to visit the very lovely Paula at Millpond for a “cut your own bucket day.” (We can safely say we were all utterly overstimulated after a day of frolicking through such beauty.) Towards the end of the day, we stumbled across a plant we had never really noticed before, ‘Bupleurum Longifolium, Bronze Beauty’. There were only a few stems left, so we put on our courteous hats and each snipped just one or two stems.
It was love at first sight. The delicate bronze tones, the airy structure, the way it adds depth without demanding attention, it was everything we love in a flower. Since then, bronze bupleurum has become one of our all time favourites, and we reach for it again and again in our arrangements whenever the season allows. It’s a plant that taught us how brown can be subtle, yet quietly spectacular.
So often, brown plays the supporting role in our work. Think dried bracken, weathered seed heads, hag rocks, autumn leaves, physocarpus, and silk ribbons. These elements rarely shout for attention, but without them, arrangements can feel flat or incomplete. Brown feels grounding and adds depth. It’s the quiet layer beneath the flowers that makes the whole design feel rooted in the season.
And then sometimes, brown is allowed to step into the spotlight. Mossy branches stretching across a table, sculptural seed pods taking centre stage, or even flowers themselves in chocolate and toffee tones. In these moments, brown becomes striking, unexpected, and contemporary. It challenges what wedding flowers should look like and opens up space for arrangements that feel artistic and natural.
Our love for brown doesn’t stop with floristry. It weaves its way through so many parts of our lives, from a favourite ceramic coffee mug with earthy glazes, to an ever growing collection of knitted brown socks, a well-worn woollen cardigan, and even muddy pawed furry friends. From the simple joys of daily life to the flowers we grow, brown is the tone that we think, holds it all together.
So here’s to brown, the colour that often gets dismissed, but one that quietly holds so much wonder. It asks us to look a little closer, to notice the overlooked, to see beauty in the understated.
We’ll leave you with this poem i came across, ‘I Saw’ by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, which captures it perfectly:
Once my old friend told me
he loved the colour brown.
I thought brown was ugly
until I looked around
on a cold November afternoon
no longer orange
not yet white.
I saw
one hundred wondrous browns
and knew my friend was right.
Until next time...
