Valentine's Day 2016

I've not felt like blogging lately, but I had better share photos of this year's Valentine's flowers before the next big floristry date (Sunday) comes around!

I used British tulips from Smith and Munson. I am sure I have used them before, but just unwittingly. They supply to New Covent Garden Market and my local wholesaler, C. J. Love. I also used pink genista, British 'Erlicheer' narcissi, and my viburnum, 'Penny's Pink' hellebores, and 'Gypsy Queen' hyacinths which made an early appearance thanks to the mild winter. The scent of the hyacinths, narcissi and genista was amazing.

 I love using polynet for wrapping bouquets. There's something a bit bridal veil about flowers peeping through the gaps.

I had leftover tulips and genista trimmings as a V Day present for myself!

New year, new vase

What's the winter equivalent of an Indian summer? That seems to be what we're getting.

Earlier this week I cut some quince blossom, which had begun flowering before Christmas, along with some sweet-smelling viburnum and a yellow flower I've forgotten the name of. I used them to fill a new Emma Bridgewater vase I had bought in the January sale. I don't really need a new vase, but...

The yellow flower had blossomed in March last year - I remember, because I used it for this blue and yellow posy.

Before Christmas, I used some rosemary in arrangements - it was full of blue flowers.

The hellebores were waking up before Christmas. I need to take a new photo - they've opened up now.

But today I was outside for 50 minutes, waiting for a rail replacement bus (the joys of travelling at the weekend), and my hands were so cold, even though I was wearing gloves. It feels like there's snow on the way, which is entirely appropriate for this time of year, but feels a bit of a shock to the system after that mild November and December.

The 40-year old bauble

I took this top photo on Christmas Eve. This is the one remaining decoration that my mother bought in 1975. She used to work near John Lewis on Oxford Street, and went there after work on Christmas Eve to pick up a tinsel tree (for £5) and some decorations. This pink bauble, made of thread wound around a plastic ball - and I know this from when I unravelled the other two as a child - is the one thing from that Christmas Eve that remains. It's 40 years old this Christmas!

And this was the old tree with mini me, on my second Christmas.

This Christmas, I bought three new baubles from John Lewis on Oxford Street for my mother, and a nice box to keep them (and the old bauble) in. They're similar, but feathery rather than thready. And sorry, but my Christmas tree nails have lasted so well, I get them into as many pictures as I can! I'm not sure if the decorations will all last another 40 years, but here's hoping.

The department store on Oxford Street  has turned its rooftop into another green (and white) space, after the success of last year's summer garden. It's only there until New Year's Eve, so if you want to go, be quick!

If they do a rooftop garden for winter again, I'd love to see some colourful planting too, like they had in the summer garden. Although there might be fewer bees this time of year!

This grass chair was so comfortable - I would love one of these!

This Christmas, one of my friends from Swansea Uni bought me the same pair of snowman M&S socks that I bought her. I don't remember our first Christmas presents to each other in the 1990s, but they were probably South Park vodka shot glasses or something similarly juvenile. A sign of getting old or just a sign of two friends having the same taste, I love my snowman socks - I wore them on my Boxing Day walk in Greenwich Park, where I saw plenty of pretty hellebores. Christmas might be on its way out, but late winter colour is on its way in.

Mothering Sunday in the Garden Museum

I made some posies yesterday for the Garden Museum's Mother's Day treat - a personal Q&A with Matthew Biggs (of Gardener's Question Time), cream tea in the lovely cafe, and a bunch of flowers and a planted gift to take home.

The beautiful cutting garden is choc-a-block with different narcissi, hellebores, and the promise of tulips.

I think this daffodil is called Pink Pride - what a wonderful name! (And on a side note, I was delighted to see Paul Harfleet interviewed in the Guardian yesterday. His Pansy Project is one of the loveliest and most peaceful acts of defiance I've heard of.)

I filled buckets full of spring flowers, mixing tulips. and sweet-smelling hyacinths and genista (broom) with the daffodils.

Once I'd finished making the bunches, I went to see Liz, one of the museum's talented and dedicated gardeners.

She had finished planting up gifts for mothers/children to take - florists' favourite Narcissus 'Erlicheer' along with violets and something else...ivy, maybe?

She was writing labels for the gifts when I came over. I admired her shiny new hand trowel!

I took some pictures of the knot garden and the spring bulbs that have flowered or are on their way.

There are primroses too - the perfect flower for Mother's Day because they symbolise childhood!

Declarations of love

Valentine's Day has come and gone. There were flowers for eros, storge, agape, and philia, as well as healthy narcissism. There were British tulips, narcissi, hellebores, blossom, and foliage.

Eros (Romantic love)

Red tulips for passionate declarations of love, white iris ("I have a message for you"), white hyacinths for beauty, pink ranunculus ("You are full of charms"), quince blossom for temptation, ivy for fidelity and marriage, and genista for humility.

Agape/Philia/Storge (Platonic love)

Pink tulips for graceful love, white ranunculus ("You are radiant with charms"), freesias for lasting friendship, genista for humility, pink hellebores ("Relieve my anxiety"), and mimosa for sensitivity and sensibility.

Narcissism (Healthy self love)

Paperwhite narcissi for regard, self love and new beginnings, white ranunculus ("You are radiant with charms"), mimosa  for sensitivity and sensibility, and eucalyptus for protection.

I was pleased to have flowers for the Portmeirion Botanic Blue jug I got at Christmas...even if the flowers had to be whipped out of the jug soon after the photo!