ALDER, SACRED BAMBOO & LENTEN ROSE FOR VALENTINE’S
A garden arrangement of flowers for Valentine’s Day, using a seasonal alternative to the ubiquitous bouquet of imported roses - the lenten rose, Christmas rose or hellebore.
FEBRUARY
INGREDIENTS
Nadina domestica (sacred bamboo)
Alnus (alder)
Hedera helix ‘Clotted Cream’ (ivy)
Galanthus nivalis (snowdrop)
Helleborus ‘Ice n’ Roses’ (lenten rose)
NOTES
I create an outline of witchy alder branches dangling with catkins and a staggered path of the pink-ringed hellebore, inserted onto a Japanese pinholder in the base. The creamy border of the variegated ivy lifts an otherwise cool display, creating a link to the hellebore stamens and the pale yellow catkins. I use the Nandina to fill and let the snowdrops nod toward the floor, as they are naturally inclined to do.
A tip: lose the wintry branches and you have a completely different look, soft and lush.