BISHOP’S HATS & FRINGECUPS
MAY
Pedestal bowl in oyster grey glaze
Small kenzan
Chicken wire
Alum root (Heuchera ‘Caramel’)
Avens (Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ & ‘Mai Tai’)
Bishop’s hat (Epimedium x versicolour ‘Sulphureum’)
Drooping star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans)
Earthsmoke (Fumaria officianalis)
Gentian speedwell (Veronica gentianoides)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium ‘Lambrook Mauve’)
Mountain valerian (Polemonium carneum ‘Apricot Delight’)
Periwinkle (Vinca difformis ‘Jenny Pym’)
Scorpionweed (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
We call this specific moment in the garden year ‘the May gap’. The daffodils and tulips have had their day, the peonies and iris are almost there, but not quite. There is a week, sometimes two, when we are without frills and ruffles. This - annually - sends me into an apologetic spin (on behalf of the seasons?!) for the lack of blowsy, voluptuous focal flowers and this - annually - means I get snapped at by Jess to keep my cool and embrace this limitation, to take it as our cue to zoom in on the incredible intricacy of the details on display in the garden beds. She is right (of course) and it feels great to shed this in-built sense of hierarchy that leads us to prioritise ‘face flowers’ over the frailer - but exquisite - stars, spires and feathers that generously proliferate through the borders as we inch toward late spring. So, in the spirit of this, we have a centrepiece recipe that is all about the details - curling tendrils, humorous wiggles and texture galore. The scorpionweed is, as the name suggests, a weed, but we love it and happily allow it to crop up in the garden where it chooses, which is in the driest, warmest bed in the polytunnel. A special shout-out to the leaves in this one - Heuchera and Epimedium, chosen for their warm lime and caramel foliage which not only provide a contrast in temperature and form but act as ground cover to gently disguise the mechanics beneath.