FOXTAIL LILY, RAMBLING ROSE
All-heal (Valeriana officinalis)
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus ‘Classic Fantastic’)
Diabolo (Physocarpus ‘Summer Wine’ / Diable D’or)
Foxtail lily (Eremerus ‘Romance’)
Golden oats (Stipa gigantea)
Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Rose (Rosa ‘Lykkefund’)
Rose (Rosa ‘Rambling Rector’)
Wild dog rose (Rosa canina)
A pair of antique cast iron urns
Liner bucket
Large pinholder
Chicken wire
JUNE
Roll up roll up, it’s party time at the circus and that calls for lots of flowers. Giffords unsurprisingly are very into their adornment. There are potted plants at the steps of the wagons, flickering lights and garlands and flags. In typical English style the summer’s evening is set to be stormy and grey so much of the focus is on getting into the cosiness of the tent. We wanted the designs to feel very English, like they had just been cut from the borders of Chiswick House with a heady, windswept quality of rose briars, valerian and the shimmer of golden oats rustling in the breeze.
For the Big Top we symmetrically position a pair of urns to flank the entrance against the faded parchment-white of the tent. They are colossally heavy - cast iron - and not watertight. Originally designed to be planted garden urns for they each need a liner bucket to hold water for the branches and flowers. In this goes a large flower frog and generous bundle of chicken wire. The wild and rambling rose briars are the first and most time consuming stage - getting them into the right positions to hold the sprawling canes securely in place. Next a fan of diabolo branches (Physocarpus) for that burgundy red. Spires of foxtail lily in a gorgeous salmon hue that perfectly sets off the ice-blue cornflowers. A speckling of marguerite daisies, all-heal and golden oats grasses.
