British Flowers Week at The Garden Museum

From Miniature to Magnificence

You can guarantee that London’s Garden Museum’s annual celebration of British Flowers Week will always produce not just floral abundance but thought-provoking installations from designers who have delved deep into the brief.

This year, they were inspired by the Museum’s exhibit of the life of artist and gardener Cedric Morris. If his name is not familiar, some of the flowers that he grew may well be, the Benton Iris, a favourite at Chelsea Flower Show, being one of them. Morris was known for his passion for form and colour, and this was reflected in the work of the five floral artists who each interpreted it in their own, unique style.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Nate Moss

A wild and exuberant design, this was a glorious array of over twenty native flowers, plants and trees. Set around the font (the Garden Museum is a deconsecrated church) this re-creation of a woodland glade was framed by two leafy Beech trees set either side of a beautiful stained-glass window.

Experiments in Plant Hybridisation Cynthia Fan

Cynthia Fan has a PhD in plant molecular biology and a deep understanding of the structure of plant material. For British Flowers Week, she created an imaginary, rustic laboratory for plant hybridisation with tiny specimens displayed in hand-sculpted glass vessels. The furniture was made from wood collected from London parks.

Cedric x Vita Andy Monaghan

Andy Monaghan’s previous career, as a ballet dancer, was evident in the movement and flow of his collection of roses, reflecting the friendship between Cedric Morris and the redoubtable gardener, Vita Sackville West. Shrub roses, ramblers and climbers roaming the walls of the church highlighted the plant sharing between the two who both championed a naturalistic planting style.

Pala: A Study of Colour Vervain

The word palette derives from the Latin pala, meaning spade. This was the starting point for florist Vervain to develop a multi-dimensional experience using weathered steel bowls of varying sizes and heights, each focussed on a different colour. These living arrangements were a textural feast of flowers, foliage and grasses, some featuring stunning bearded Irises, which India and Christopher, the couple behind Vervain, grow for sale from their base in the Midlands.

Together Elder & Iris

Inspired by the people that Cedric Morris invited to his house, Benton End in Suffolk, which included the ground-breaking florist Constance Spry, ‘Together’ emphasised the link between gardening, floral design and the arts. All the florals were British grown, and arranged on plinths to create a gallery feel, where the visitor was encouraged to wander through, and reflect on nature in all its forms.

Nate Moss

Interview with Nate Moss

The Floristry Trade Club caught up with Nate Moss, the floral designer of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

What are the mechanics that lie behind your design?

The central urn on the font is simply filled with water, while the flowers arranged around the base are in garden troughs filled with chicken wire for stability. I also don’t mind the mechanics to be on show, such as the Campanulas in jam jars.

Are you confident that the flower materials will last for the duration of the exhibition?

I’m sure there will be a little topping up during the week, but I’m happy for the flowers to do their thing. Some petals will fall as they mature, but that’s part of their life cycle and their beauty.

What influenced your choice of materials?

To create the feeling of a woodland glade, I included native British trees such as  Hornbeam and Beech which are positioned to stop the design being overpowered by the stained-glass window behind.

How did you find designing in a church in such a large space?

It was an interesting experience, the architecture actually helped me to decide where to place materials, such as these climbing roses over the archway of the door to the tower. 

And finally, where have your flowers come from?

They’ve all been grown on our farm in Kent, I hope that our selection, which has some less well-known species will intrigue the visitor and invite them to find out more. 

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Su Whale is a florist and freelance writer with over Thirty years' experience in the floristry industry. She is the author and publisher of three best-selling books: Cut Flowers, 4th edition (2020) Cut Foliage, 2nd Edition, (2021) and Houseplants (2019), all bookshelf essentials for the professional florist.