ACER, WILD TULIP, COWSLIP
A meditation on the tiny spring details emerging in the garden - unfurling leaves, dwarf daffodils, wild tulips and primrose
MARCH
INGREDIENTS
Acer (Japanese maple)
Tulipa sylvestris (wild tulip)
Tulipa turkestanica (Turkestan tulip)
Anemone nemerosa (wood anemone)
Cardamine hirsuta (hairy bittercress)
Cyclamen coum
Narcissus bulbicodium 'Spoirot' (white petticoat daffodil)
Narcissus 'Minnow' (tazetta daffodil)
Narcissus 'Elka' (miniature daffodil)
Primula veris (cowslip)
Primula vulgaris (wild primrose)
VESSEL
Low ceramic bowl from Japan
Medium kenzan (pinholder)
NOTES
The diminutive flowers that emerge as spring unfolds appear almost impossibly fragile and are somehow all the more precious for it. Arranging these tiny stems is a meditative process - very specific, very gentle. The Cardamine hirsuta (hairy bittercress) is an edible weed that crops up all around the garden and we often harvest clumps to use as filler / ‘ground cover’ in arrangements to disguise mechanics and tuck into void spaces. I love the species tulips which are the first to appear - Sylvestris, the wild or woodland tulip, have dancing stems that seem to have a life of their own and bring a sense of spirit to any arrangement. They yawn open in the sun, close again in the shade and have a sweet citrus scent, like lemony honey.
