KOREAN LILAC & CATMINT
APRIL
Ceramic waisted vase in oyster grey glaze
Small kenzan
Chicken wire
Catmint (Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’)
Deutzia (Deutzia x hybrida ‘Mont rose’)
Fiddleneck (Phacelia tanacetifolia)
Jacob’s Ladder (Polemonium caeruleum ‘Brize d’Anjou)
Korean lilac (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’)
Mountain clematis (Clematis montana ‘Elizabeth’)
Pink garlic (Allium trifoliatum ‘Chameleon’)
Sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus ‘Oyama Russian Blue’)
Tulip (Tulipa ‘Danique’)
(If you need) another tulip for your wishlist… let it be the perennial ‘Danique’ - she’s elegant, dainty and a good mid-pink but then opening to reveal a pale brown centre. I love anything muddy, particularly with pastels - a disruptor amidst her politely pretty companions. This is a very small vase, only 12cm or so in height, so the crepey Clematis gladly take on the role of a ‘focal’ flower. At the moment I am very into imaginary lines, journeys, paths and waves. And also breaking the odd-number-rule, but it only works if you place the flowers on a diagonal and at differing depths, to avoid the eye/boob thing that admittedly isn’t as visually pleasing as eyes, or boobs for that matter. The variegated Jacob’s ladder was added to the recipe last-minute to lift the predominantly cool palette of cool pinks, purples and browny-green leaves of the Deutzia with a dash of something warm and acidic - rather like adding a squeeze of lemon or a pinch of chilli to a dish, if I might use the food analogy again (always relevant). This is a good tip for arrangements that feel predictable or flat; they probably need a splash of another temperature, or something a little ‘off’ to bring them to life.