AMARYLLIS, TUFTED HAIR GRASS
FEBRUARY
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum ‘Cybister Rose’)
Japanese lace fern (Polystichum polyblepharum)
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum aleuticum)
Tree germander (Teucrium fruticans)
Tufted hair grass (Deschampsia cespitosa)
Tall vase in tenmoku glaze by Made in Cley pottery
I started this arrangement with an attractive branch selected from a pile of hornbeam prunings, trimming it down where any side stems were fussy or crossing over one another. Amaryllis are difficult to arrange, with thick, hollow stems so they are best placed as they grow, upright or slightly leaning, with space around them so that any buds have room to open. This variety - ‘Cybister Rose’ - has slender, swept-back petals in a rosy salmon. The size and shape of the flowers I find much more ‘wieldy’ than some of the larger varieties and seems to work when arranged with other lighter elements like the tufted hairgrass. To fill and soften the base of the arrangement I added in a few feathery ferns and the tree germander for curve and colour contrast.