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Pretty Dirty
The Life of Flowers, From Creation to Compost
Brief Description
Melanie Cecilia Stapleton, of Cecilia Fox, is widely regarded as one of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s top florists. She is also a tireless advocate for making the flower industry more holistic. Pretty Dirty is grounded in Mel’s ethos of Creativity. Community. Compost, and is a...
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Pretty Dirty
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See morePretty Dirty is no ordinary flower book. It's a deep dive into the life cycle of flowers, from creation to compost.
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Description
Melanie Cecilia Stapleton, of Cecilia Fox, is widely regarded as one of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s top florists. She is also a tireless advocate for making the flower industry more holistic. Pretty Dirty is grounded in Mel’s ethos of Creativity. Community. Compost, and is a celebration of the intersection between nature, beauty and art.
Pretty Dirty is an ode to the life cycle of flowers, from how they’re grown to arranging them in fresh and unique ways, to the inevitable decomposing and disposal. It is richly illustrated with beautiful images of flowers in the wild, floral collaborations by Mel and her ‘flower folk’ from around the world, as well as stylised images of compost and floral waste that prove beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. Mel will share her tips and tricks from a lifetime spent with flowers and feature stories from some of her favourite 'flower folk', from the growers to other florists and those leading the charge on changing this pretty dirty industry.
Flower Folk featured:
Christy Ralphs, Nourish Gardens (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Mandy Purvis, Organic Herbs and Seedlings (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Isabel Johnston and Lydia Reusser, Isadia (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Wayne Horrobin and Sarah Hodge, Horrobin and Hodge (Aotearoa New Zealand)
Meg and Joe, Monvale Flowers (Monvale, Australia)
Kristy Tippett, Soho Rose Farm (Drysdale, Australia)
Tamsin Carvan (East Gippsland, Australia)
Rita Feldmann, Sustainable Floristry Network (Victoria, Australia)
Sophie Wolanski, Muck Floral (Sydney, Australia)
Azzmin Rayment, Braer (Byron Bay, Australia)
Katie Marx (Naarm/Melbourne, Australia)
Shahn Stewart, Alchemy Orange (Naarm/Melbourne, Australia)
Hattie Fox, Hattie Fox Studio (London)
Hannah Martin, COM:POST (London)
Lisa Waud (Detroit)
Ren MacDonald-Balasia, Renko (LA/Hawaii)
Liza Lubell, Garbage Goddess (New York)
Chloe Szukiłojć, CS Studio (Dubai)
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781761451263
Publisher: Hardie Grant Books
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 24 February 2026
Country: Australia
Imprint: Hardie Grant Books
Illustration: Full-colour Illustrations
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 230.0mm
Height: 283.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 240
About the Author
Melanie Cecilia Stapleton is the founder of Cecilia Fox, a creative floral studio. She began her career in floristry at the tender age of 16 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Moving to London and working under some of the city's most renowned florists, she found her love of event work. In 2004, she founded Cecilia Fox in Melbourne, Australia, and quickly gained a reputation for her creative and experimental botanical work. Growing to become one of Australia's most influential florists, her work has graced large-scale events and weddings at Australia's most sought-after events and venues. Dedicated to the growth and success of her industry, Mel turned her attention to how her work and the flower world could be more sustainable.
Mel creates dreamscapes of nature in the form of botanical arrangements and installations, seeking beauty in the unlikely and the untamed. A deep respect for the past, present and future of the natural world informs every element of her designs. Her studio is now based in her native home of Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa New Zealand, where she holds floral workshops in addition to her floral design work.
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