Holding it all together, stem by stem

I don’t plan a bouquet. I look at what’s in the conditioning buckets that morning and I work it out as I go.

There’s usually a base — something with structure. Foliage, often, or a tall airy filler like ammi. Then the focal flowers, the ones that hold the eye. Then the secondaries that do the work of carrying colour from one focal to the next. Then a couple of textural surprises — a seedhead, a wisp of grass, a single dark scabious.

The trick is to keep turning the bouquet in your hand as you build it, so it sits well from any angle. A bouquet that only looks good from the front isn’t a bouquet. It’s a one-sided arrangement.

Twine, brown paper, no plastic. The bouquet should fit through your customer’s door without anyone having to apologise for the packaging.