Happy Spring

All the lovely fragrances of spring waft along as the season gracefully bows in, the heavily scented blooms reminding me of English coffee shops and street kiosks selling great armfuls of flowers.

Make sure you sample the ‘cut flower spring’ soon – it does not last much into the season.

For the cut flower industry spring begins long before it does in our gardens and the strong, peppery fragrance of the Freesia is one of the last of the spring scents to grace our flower shops. The heavenly scent of the Stocks is only maturing now but theirs is a short season and they do not stay long.

The wonderful thing about these seasonal blooms is that they look stunning on their own in an inexpensive, simple vase and they require no greenery to enhance them. Daffodils and the bulb family make a happy group and cheerful bunches of colourful Ranunculus make an easy centrepiece. Graceful Tulips dance as they grow in vases.

Blue and white Delphiniums look beautiful just placed in a plain cylindrical vase, as do Irises – and remember to look for their second bud, which flowers as the first bloom fades. Happy spring!

Arrangement by Liza Clifford.