A little earlier this month, I reviewed a book called French Essence.

Now, it’s time for book number two on my ‘website-completion-rewards’ booklist. Another gorgeous tome to savour, and to remind me that I am creating a beautiful life for myself. Make sure that you, too, put yourself in this ‘feeling state’ often – appreciating the beauty in your life now, and the beauty of the life you want to live, makes you a vibrational match to the things that you love and appreciate, and the universe can’t help but bring more of those things into your existence!

If you love gorgeous flowers as much as I do, you will adore English designer Tricia Guild’s book called Tricia Guild: Flowers (as with French Essence, I am a little behind in getting to this book – it was published in 2008!). To get the full experience, I sat in a comfy chair on a dazzlingly sunny day, with a view to the garden and a hot cuppa in hand, and sighed with contentment before letting myself fall into the beautiful pages of this book.

Talk about colour. Talk about vibrant colour. Tricia Guild has never been one to shirk from colour (bit of an understatement, there), and in this book it absolutely pops off the pages. The energy of the flowers is palpable, done justice by the photography of James Merrell. The text was written by Tricia in collaboration with Elspeth Thompson, a favourite writer of mine who, sadly, died earlier this year. I can see Elspeth’s touch throughout the whole book.

The paper in this book is also amazing – all pages are thick, but some are matte, some are glossy, and some are almost see-through (I just saw Tricia’s Pattern book at a bookshop this morning, and it had the same mix of papers within it, too). I love rubbing the paper (or ‘stock’, as we call it in publishing!) between my fingers as I turn each page. Mmmm…

But it’s not just a sumptuous coffee-table book – it’s full of inspirational descriptions, allowing us a glimpse into Tricia’s rhythm of life, and into her approach to design. At the back of the book she also includes a practical section called ‘Working with Flowers’, which gives advice on caring for, conditioning and arranging flowers.

I love this quote from Tricia:

‘I find that flowers I’ve grown myself have a radiance and aura about them that is quite unlike those bought in the shops. If you have the space, grow your favourite flowers in abundance, so you won’t feel bad about leaving a space in the border when you pick.’

What a fabulous idea – I had been planning on growing a thick wall of sweet peas for this upcoming summer, and with that quote, Tricia has inspired me to just go and do it. Keep your eyes on the Rich Radiant Real blog to follow my progress! (I might even try growing a few other favourite flowers…)

So, I closed the book, my head full of ideas and my spirit lifted. What a great reminder of how our immediate environment can have a huge impact on how we feel. Do you surround yourself with beauty?

If you’d like to purchase this very special book, head here:

US version: Flowers

UK version: Tricia Guild: Flowers

Now, book number three, which has been patiently waiting its turn, is in my sights….