May came alive with buckets of colour on our garden farm. From pastel shades of blossom still in bloom, to the vibrant pink of Tulipa Barcelona (colour medicine for the soul), gorgeous tree greens spreading their leaves to form canopies rich with new life, to bright orange and yellow calendula, blue, ruby and pink cornflowers, purple and white hesperis, terracotta snapdragons, yellow and purple irises, the first orange, pink, white, magenta and yellow roses, astrantia, lime green alchemilla mollis too. Then there’s the blue nigella, forget-
We had sown a lot of seeds last autumn in to have early spring flowers, because our eldest nephew Peter, was marrying the love of his life, beautiful Tess, on 25 May, and they had asked us to grow and create their wedding flowers. Their colour palette was ‘rainbow flowers’, just what we grow! And they wanted an all British, totally seasonal display of flowers.
When you sow seeds in autumn, nature is still in charge of what will bloom and when, even with careful tending and nurturing. As always, we follow nature’s guide, tuning in to her seasons and being guided by the flow of energy through the garden.
Early May bathed the buds and flowers in warm sunshine. Then a cold snap came along, with temps of 3C overnight for a few nights. With delicate blooms already on display, we were wrapping up the flower beds each night in fleeces to protect the flowers. All to the good, everything thrived and bloomed perfectly.
At the beginning of May, I sat quietly in the garden and asked for the perfect flowers to be in bloom for their wedding. Our garden has been chemical free since we moved here 15 years ago, and we have worked with the secret life of nature – her nature spirits and flower devas – for all this time and more. Not just in our garden, but wherever we are in nature or on the planet. Nature is our partner, and when we co-
Everyone always comments on how vibrant and alive our flowers look and feel. And how long they last. Our flowers bloom their joy because they love the way we work with them, and the respect we have for their beauty and the wisdom they have to share with us.
Creating any arrangement comes from a very intuitive place for me. Knowing there was a huge amount of work to be done to create the long list of arrangements for the wedding (bride’s bouquet, 4 bridesmaid’s posies, 11 buttonholes, flower crown for the flower girl, 6 large outside and inside arrangements, 12 hanging posy jars, 3 leaf and flower arches, 9 table displays, bride and groom’s table decorations), planning and timing was paramount. I also wanted to give the most space and time to create the bridal party flowers, especially the bride’s bouquet. I know I have an unusual way of creating a bouquet or posy for someone. It is like a walking meditation for me, slowing right down, and always beginning with a single flower from which the energy of the arrangement builds as I walk round the whole garden gathering the flowers.
Tess’s bouquet took over 2 hours to co-
Here are just some of the essences in season in the garden in May, with many of these flowers being part of the wedding. What a wonderful support their essence brought to the occasion. Click on each essence for more information and to buy:
