BUTTERFLY BUSH, ORCHARD GRASS
Butterfly bush (Buddleja)
Corncockle (Agrostemma githago)
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)
Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata)
Antique stoneware jar
AUGUST
Coming up to two months of drought and the garden is looking crispy with a capital C. There is not a lot we can do but water as responsibly and sparingly as possible, pray for rain and hope for the best. And we can also celebrate those tough cookies that are putting on a beautiful show despite the scorching heat and dust-dry soil.
Sometimes I want to spend an hour on an arrangement, working through each stage in a mindful, thoughtful way and luxuriating in every step of the process, drawing it out, really making the most of that sacred time with the flowers. Sometimes I’m recipe-testing or flexing, or making something at home, and I want it to be a quick 5 minute affair as was this case with this hastily thrown-together jar. Massed buddleja (seared in boiling water to give them a boost as prone to wilting), waning hollyhocks scaled by crisp pods bursting with fossil-shaped seeds, the most gorgeous icecream scoops of hydrangea in a milky white rippled with rose-pink, aniseed-scented fennel stalks, the bleached husks of cornockle leftover from the spring and a sprinkling of orchard grass. Not perfect, a bit of a hot mess, but a good quick-release between emails.
