The Flowers in Karen Blixen’s Life is a sensory and personal interpretation of Karen Blixen’s universe, where flowers, stories and life are woven together into a single aesthetic world.
Drawing on Karen Blixen’s life in Denmark and Kenya, her return to Rungstedlund and her literary legacy, floral artist and Royal Warrant Holder Bjarne Als invites the reader into a world where flowers are not merely decoration, but storytelling, symbolism and a way of life.
The book moves between Karen Blixen’s own tales, her philosophy of life and a contemporary floral world where her inspiration continues to flourish. Along the way, quotations, personal reflections and anecdotes from the world of floristry are interwoven, creating a meeting point between craftsmanship, art and the art of staging.
This is a book about beauty, determination and circumstance, and about the uniquely Blixenian ability to make life larger.
A tribute to one of the most iconic voices in world literature and to flowers that are never merely flowers.
About the author
Bjarne Als, born in 1965 and raised in Fredensborg, began his career as a floral designer at the age of just eleven. In 1982, he began his apprenticeship with Erik Bering at The House of Flowers ApS, and together they carried out commissions for both the Danish and international royal households. In 2003, Bjarne Als was appointed Royal Warrant Holder and took over the business from Erik Bering. Bjarne has previously written two successful books for Muusmann Publishing: The Scent and Taste of Christmas (2023), published in Danish, and The Flowers in Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairytales (2024), which has also been published in English. Privately, Bjarne is married to Hanne and has two children.
