Whispers of spring

HELLEBORE, PRIMROSE, DAFFS

A cheering bowl of flowers after a week of non-stop London rain; this citrine concoction of early spring flowers and pretty leaves is a celebration of slowly (but surely!) inching toward those warmer, lighter days.

MARCH


INGREDIENTS

Nandina domestica (sacred bamboo)

Rubus (blackberry)

Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Pink Cloud’ (beauty bush)

Eleagnus commutata (silver berry)

Helleborus ‘Ice n’ Roses’ & ‘Harvington Apricot’ (lenten rose)

Anemone ‘The Bride’ (wind flower)

Fritillaria raddeana (Radde's fritillary)

Iris reticulata ‘North Star’ (netted iris)

Primula (cowslip)

Narcissus ‘Elka’, ‘Jack Snipe’, ‘Minnow’, ‘Blushing Lady’, ‘Spoirot’ (daffodil)

VASE

Ceramic bowl from Korea with a pitted tobacco glaze

Kenzan


NOTES

I want to avoid the arrangement being too ‘contrast-y’ - with a mix of pale flowers and much darker foliage this can look blocky. To soften and bridge the two extremes I introduce some lighter green foliage - khaki and olive, and a few touches of bronze from the Nandina. This immediately feels more nuanced and the bronze picks up the brown tones in the hellebore petals.