The life of flowers from creation to compost by Melanie Cecilia Stapleton
HARDIE GRANT BOOKS | 1 MARCH 2026 | RRP AU$60 NZ$70 | HARDBACK
Pretty Dirty is no ordinary flower book. It’s a deep dive into the life cycle of flowers, from creation to compost.
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 a gorgeous collection of floral inspiration grounded in Mel’s ethos of Creativity. Community. Compost, and is a celebration of the intersection between nature, beauty and art.
Pretty Dirty is a glorious ode to the life cycle of flowers from how they’re grown to arranging them in beautiful fresh and unique ways, to the inevitable decomposing and disposal. It is richly illustrated with stunning images of flowers in the wild, floral collaborations, both by Mel and her “flower folk” from around the world, as well as stylised images of compost and floral waste to prove that beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder.
Mel shares her tips and tricks from her lifetime spent with flowers and Pretty Dirty also features stories from some her favourite floral artists, flower growers and those at the forefront of the “pretty dirty” movement!
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.
To read Q Magazine on a monthly basis (Est. 2004) go to here. To buy yourself or someone special of copy of Pretty Dirty go to here – I highly recommend this book and believe it is not only beautiful, it’s good value too.
I would seriously and sincerely love to know your opinion.