From 7-11 December, the Garden Museum is hosting our first Winter Flowers Week, a festive celebration of seasonal flowers and foliage through immersive floral installations. We’ve invited five of the country’s top florists – Shane Connolly, Hazel Gardiner, Tattie Rose, Carly Rogers and Floribunda Rose – to create festive installations using only seasonal, British-grown plants, and sustainable methods and materials.
Using only British-grown blooms might seem easy in summer, when the flower farm fields are filled with foxgloves, cosmos and dahlias. But winter still provides plenty of inspiring textures and colours to play with, from evergreen grasses, architecturally-shaped stems and foliage alongside winter flowers, to add to your wreaths and tablescapes.
Ahead of Winter Flowers Week, we asked our exhibiting florists share their top picks for seasonal winter flowers to use in festive decorations this year.
Sarah Diligent, Floribunda Rose
Hellebore and Daphne
It’s nigh on impossible to pick a single winter flower out as my favourite as it changes across the season, the two that I would choose right now would be hellebore and daphne. Hellebore become a really useful focal flower in our wedding and event work through the winter and come in such a wonderful array of colours. Daphne I adore for its fragrance! Just a tiny stem can add so much to a tablescape. Fragrance plays a huge role in what we do at Floribunda Rose and because scent is uncommon in the depths of winter I think it’s even more appreciated now. Both hellebores and daphne make a wonderful addition to any festive table over the holiday season.
Shane Connolly
Chimonanthus Praecox
My favourite winter plant is Chimonanthus Praecox, the aptly named ‘wintersweet’. In fact if I was allowed only one plant in my garden, it would be this.
It’s not much of a looker, but it is a sniffer….blooming when nothing much else does (before Christmas until February for us) with a scent that wafts through the cold air to delight and entice. I can think of few scents more beautiful. One small stem will perfume a whole room. And that is exactly how I use it: a small stem or two in small vases, punching above their weight beautifully and elegantly every time.
Tattie Rose
Old Man’s Beard
I have chosen Clematis Vitalba as my top winter flower. I love it for its wonderful nicknames – Old Man’s Beard and Traveller’s Joy – and for its gentle abundance.
I would suggest harvesting it from the hedgerows in late October and removing all the leaves from the vines and then storing it in a dry space so that it can be used dry in the months to come.
Carly Rogers
Moss
My favourite material to use at the moment is moss. It’s so versatile and can be sculpted and moulded into natural folds and forms directly onto a flat surface. Use in conjunction with seasonal foliage and candles for a winter tablescape.
Hazel Gardiner
Ivy
During this season, nothing is more abundant and readily available than Hedera Helix, affectionately known as Common Ivy. Winter is the season to celebrate and embrace this resilient and lush greenery. Drape it down the middle of a table to create a natural runner or wind trails around chair backs. You can elevate the festive spirit by painting longer tendrils with gold acrylic paint for a unique tinsel alternative to drape on your Christmas tree.
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