HELLEBORE, CRABAPPLE, RUE
An arrangement of fresh leaves and flowers combined with dried umbels and skeletal stems from the midwinter garden in a speckle-glazed Korean bowl.
JANUARY
INGREDIENTS
Abelia x grandiflora (glossy abelia)
Glechoma hederacea (creeping charlie / ground ivy)
Helleborus niger (Christmas rose / lenten rose)
Calamintha nepeta (calamint)
Hydrangea paniculata (panicled hydrangea)
Ruta graveolens (common rue)
Malus (crabapple)
VASE
Ceramic bowl (approx. 12 cm diameter)
Kenzan
NOTES
I make an asymmetric shape (one side tall, the other wide) with the leafy branches and dried stems. The flowers are placed lower, ensuring they are affixed to the kenzan and following the asymmetric shape. The shorter foliage stems are used to fill in around the base of the bowl - the rue has a gorgeously citrus-y, herbaceous scent - then a smattering of crabapples balanced on this leafy base. You can also skewer the fruit onto fine sticks and gently fix them to the kenzan to vary the height.
Tips: Cutting your hellebores when the anthers have fallen and the seedpod is mature you will find they are less prone to drooping. If you are using younger flowers with fresh anthers and pollen still evident (as I have here), searing your hellebores will help to ensure they last longer in the vase. Cut the stem end at a sharp angle and submerge the bottom couple of centimetres in just-boiled water for twenty to thirty seconds. This disperses any air bubbles blocking the stem and forces water up to the flower head. Place the stems into tepid water and leave overnight before arranging.