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Floral Fan Online Magazine

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We’re an independent, biannual online magazine for artful flower lovers. By artist @kreettakreetta & journalist @anna.varakas. New issue on sale Nov 7

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Welcome — we are glad you are here 🌷

Floral Fan is a new, independent online magazine for artful flower lovers.

We publish two carefully curated issues each year, and every issue centres on a single theme.

In our first issue, we dive into the world of irises.

This magazine is created by journalist @anna.varakas and artist @kreettakreetta

Subscriptions is for free for limited time.

#floralfan #flowersandart #gardenmagazine floralinspiration artfulfl by @thefloralfan

Wherever there are flowers, art is never far away.

Consider the peony, with its generous blossoms like soft pink clouds drifting across a summer sky. Or the poppy, with paper-thin red petals trembling in the wind.

What are they, and what do they tell us?

In Floral Fan, we move across gardens, creative work and the many cultural meanings connected to flowers.

We meet gardeners, artists and other passionate flower lovers, and visit places where flowers are observed, cultivated and appreciated.

You are warmly welcome to join the journey.

#floralfan
#flowersandart
#gardenmagazine
#floralinspiration
#artfulflowers by @thefloralfan

We are Kreetta and Anna, the founders of Floral Fan. We are based in Finland.

Kreetta is an artist and photographer, and Anna is a journalist.

We established Floral Fan together in 2026, but our collaboration began much earlier.

We have worked as a creative team for roughly ten years, and our editorial work on gardens and flowers has appeared in several magazines in Finland and internationally.

But why Floral Fan?

Anna: “Over time, we realised that some of our story ideas did not fit in the existing gardening magazines. So, we began developing the idea of creating something new.”

Kreetta: “We’ve had the opportunity to visit many remarkable gardens and to experience how a garden can become a form of art. These experiences stayed with us and inspired the idea of creating a magazine that approaches gardens from a slightly different perspective.”

Subscriptions open on April 29.

PS. Which celebrity of the gardening world would you like to meet in person? (It can be someone living today or from the past.) Leave a comment 👨🏼‍🌾🧚🏼‍♀️🐈

#floralfanmagazine
#artfulflowers
#founderstory
#independentpublishing
#womenwhocreate by @thefloralfan

Where do the most beautiful apples grow?

We are Kreetta and Anna, the founders of Floral Fan. Last year, we took part in the Garden Museum Literary Festival at Iford Manor Estate, and after the two super interesting festival days, we had an assignment like no other.

We went to Gravetye Manor in West Sussex for the Finnish gardening magazine Viherpiha.

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Gravetye Manor was once the home of garden journalist and author William Robinson (1838–1935). He was the number one garden authority of his time and the father of the wild garden concept.

Today, Gravetye Manor is a wonderful country house hotel, and Robinson’s garden is cherished and developed by the head gardener Tom Coward and his team.

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When we arrived, it was a rainy day in September. But despite the grey skies and wind gusts, we found the garden sensational. It was lush, elegant, exciting and skillfully designed. We felt like, never mind the sweet spring or sunny summer, we witnessed it at its peak moment.

Tom took us to see the orchard and the oval-shaped walled kitchen garden. It took our breath away.

Anna: “I think I’ve never seen such a beautiful kitchen garden, and I’ve been to Versailles, too. Tom’s work is royal class. We were eating the scenery with our eyes.”

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All the produce is for the hotel restaurant which has a Michelin Star. Tom’s favourites are the different apple varieties. The ‘Golden Hills’ espalier growing in the Gravetye Manor’s kitchen garden must be the most beautiful apple tree there is.

Kreetta: “It was like a fairytale. That day. Grey and rainy. The Manor looked a bit like a haunted house from the movies but not in a bad way at all. The garden was stunning and filled with so many interesting details. Wet weather was giving us drops on the apples and the foggy garden plants were absolutely gorgeous. I could go on and on. What kind of a paradise must it be on a beautiful spring day when all the fruit trees are blooming?!”

@gravetyemanor
@tom._coward
@viherpiha

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Floral Fan is a new online magazine for artful flower lovers. The next issue is out in November. floralfan.com by @thefloralfan

COLLABORATION | Which place in England brings back memories of an exciting home filled with art and a beautiful garden?

We are Kreetta and Anna, the founders of Floral Fan. Every now and then, we pack our bags and go on garden trips.

In May 2024, the last stop on our garden tour of England was Charleston in Sussex. It is the home and studio of British painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and it was turned into a museum in 1986.

Vanessa and Duncan moved to Charleston in 1916. At the time, the garden was mainly an orchard and a kitchen garden but a few years later their friend art critic Roger Fry redesigned it. He planned the flowerbeds, gravel paths and rectangular lawn in the middle of the garden.

When we visited Charleston, it was a beautiful, sunny day in May. The garden surrounding the house was filled with summer flowers. Irises, aquilegias, forget-me-nots and foxgloves were blooming in abundance, and cow parsley was growing everywhere, as if someone had sprinkled white icing sugar over the garden.

Kreetta: “I was mesmerised by the house and the walled garden. Maybe they found their palettes for their paintings there?”

Anna: “The relationship between a garden and its maker interests me a lot. When the maker is an artist, it feels like there’s something special going on.”

🌿🌿🌿

If you haven’t visited Charleston yet, we recommend that you include it in your bucket list.

At Charleston they have a wonderful program coming up this autumn. It includes painting, drawing, flower pressing and literary events. All events are listed here. https://www.charleston.org.uk/whats-on/

Please notice: the studio will be under conservation work from September until Spring 2027. But if in London, you can see the studio at Tate where it will be restaged. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/vanessa-bell-and-duncan-grant

@charlestontrust
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Floral Fan is a new online magazine for artful flower lovers. This post is a collaboration between Floral Fan and Charleston. by @thefloralfan

Which garden took our work to the pages of the prestigious Gardens Illustrated?

We are Kreetta and Anna, the founders of Floral Fan. We work together as a journalist-photographer team.

In 2021, we interviewed landscape architect Tom Simons about the garden of the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. While we learnt much about Aalto, we also found out that Tom has a very special garden too. It is a moss garden and located at the southern tip of an island in the Finnish archipelago.

But it is not a man-made garden in the traditional sense, rather a distinctive place in the wild that Tom has transformed into a garden.

Anna: “Making this story was so interesting. First, Tom told us about famous Baroque and Japanese gardens in his studio, and then he took us by boat to the island. We strolled along the winding path over the moss-covered rocks and studied the artworks he had made. The views were stunning and could easily be compared with those of famous gardens anywhere in the world.”

Tom had an idea of creating a moss garden, when he started paying attention to the natural mosses growing in the forest glade next to his summerhouse. He admired their green carpets and began encouraging them to grow. Then he met the Japanese master gardener Kazuo Makioka and discovered that, in Japan, moss is highly valued — quite unlike in Finland. The two men became friends.

Kreetta: “It was an amazing experience when something previously quite invisible, suddenly became visible. We just had to learn how to see. First we had to step away from the traditional concept of a garden and then focus on the very delicate features and the path Tom had created. The essential things were the green moss-covered stones and how Tom had placed a smal rock as a focal point. Tom had also brushed needles from the moss, like they do in Japanese moss gardens.”

More: You can read a part of our story in Gardens Illustrated website. Tom has a wonderful book about Aalto’s relationship with nature. It’s available in Finnish & Swedish.

@gardens_illustrated
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Floral Fan is a new online magazine for artful flower lovers. Subscribe for free now. by @thefloralfan

What assignment still shapes the work we do?

We are Kreetta and Anna, the founders of Floral Fan. We’ve been working together as a journalist-photographer team since 2019.

Our first big assignment was for the Finnish gardening magazine Viherpiha, and it took us to Gunillaberg in western Sweden.

There, we met the world-famous Danish artist Tage Andersen who had an extraordinary garden. It included several areas from a lily garden and meadows to a woodland garden.

Anna: “Tage made us realise that when you make a garden, you also create a story, and all plants — even those that are usually considered weeds, like nettles — have a place in it.

Throughout the estate, there were Tage’s floral arrangements and other creations. Gunillaberg was like a huge piece of living environmental art.

Kreetta: “It made an enormous impression on us. It was so interesting to dive into the world of a creator and see how a garden can become art.”

Today, Tage has a boutique and gallery in Copenhagen. Gunillaberg is closed. You can learn more about Tage Andersen at tageandersen.com.

@tageandersenofficial

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Floral Fan is a new online magazine for artful flower lovers. by @thefloralfan

Hello brands, artists, cities, museums, galleries & all flower lovers!

Do you work with flowers, nature, craftsmanship, or creativity?

Or could these elements bring something new to what you do?

We’re interested in collaborating with creative people and organizations that value a connection to nature.

Check out what’s on our collaboration menu and be in touch.

The link is in the bio.

Best,
Anna & Kreetta

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Floral Fan is a new online magazine for artful flower lovers. floralfan.com by @thefloralfan

Bearded irises seem like miniature universes or natural sculptures.

Their shapes are incredibly three-dimensional and complex, more so than most other flowers. Perhaps sweet peas come close, but only slightly.

But what are all their flower parts called? Find out by subscribing to Floral Fan. The link is in the bio.

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Image: Iris germanica as illustrated by Sydenham Edwards in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine from 1803

#floranfanmagazine
#botanicalart by @thefloralfan

Have you seen Kreetta’s floral album yet?
In Greek mythology, iris is the goddess of the rainbow.

“I love that idea. A rainbow is a bridge between sky and earth — a divine connection. The blue and violet tones remind me of Peter Joy’s garden and his bearded irises. I also love the burnt yellow and shades of brown. The colour combinations are quite dramatic. I find that inspiring.”

For her Floral Album, Kreetta combined irises with wildflowers and other garden flowers borrowed from her friends. She also included faded blooms—and even one flower she found rather contradictory.

“Working with flowers in their different life cycles is quite natural to me. I see the beauty of flowers in every phase, from seed to wilting.” by @thefloralfan

In the summer in the Nordics, the night never falls. It feels as if nature only takes a brief pause between days. It is hard to tell how long that moment lasts — a few minutes, an hour, or two.

We made a trip to visit artist, designer Erja Hirvi’s summerhouse, where she tends her garden. Erja is known for her work for Marimekko, and at her summer house we talked about flowers, butterflies, colours, and the mysterious plant discoveries she had made. Have you noticed her “Kukasta kukkaan” print? It’s part of Marimekko’s summer collection.

@erjahirvi

Join us in our visit, by subscribing to Floral Fan. The link is in the bio.

Have you experienced white nights?

#floralfanmagazine
#marimekkodesign by @thefloralfan

Bearded irises are beautifully fragrant.

But the perfume used in the fragrance industry doesn’t come from the flower itself.

So where does it come from?

The answer surprised us.

Subscribe to Floral Fan and find out. The link is in our bio.

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@ariturunenwriter

Image: page spread from the book called Tuoksujen Atlas (2021) by Ari Turunen (Aula & Co). This is a wonderful book about scents (in Finnish).

#flowerlovers #flowerculture #slowreading #independentmagazine #creativejournals by @thefloralfan