MAJORCAN HELLEBORE, AZALEA, PRIMROSE
Sketchy outline foliage with apricot and blue-grey hellebores, veined ivy and the first fritillary of the season
MARCH
INGREDIENTS
Hedera helix 'Maple Queen' (ivy)
Spiraea japonica 'Autumn Princess' (Japanese meadowsweet)
Nandina domestica 'Obsessed' (heavenly bamboo)
Helleborus lividus (Majorcan hellebore)
Helleborus x hybridus 'Harvington Single Apricot' (Lenten rose)
Fritillaria raddeana (Radde's fritillary)
Primula veris (cowslip)
VESSEL
Ceramic bowl from Made in Cley, Norfolk
Small kenzan and chicken wire
NOTES
A very simple, easy arrangement to make at home - take any bowl, jar or low dish, pop a kenzan and/or chicken wire in the bottom and you only need 20-odd stems to make a pretty centrepiece. For a table I tend to use a lazy Susan to remind me to the spin the bowl and ensure it’s beautiful from 360 degrees and that the flowers are positioned at varying angles and heights - nestled low, reaching upwards and outwards and dangling over the lip of the vessel.
Colour-wise, this arrangement incorporates several varieties that have what we call ‘in-between’ colours. The Majorcan hellebore is blue-grey with a pinkish stem, the azalea is a grey-green, also with a blushing undertone, the Nandina leaves are speckled and the ivy a nuanced watercolour swirl of caramel, peach and lime. This makes for a soft, muted palette that would flatter most settings and crucially it can be brightened up with the addition of an accent colour. I chose to use lemon yellow cowslips but a pale blue muscari or a sprinkle of lilac crocus would be equally effective.