British Flowers Week at the Garden Museum

You would be forgiven for thinking that a celebration of British flowers held in a Grade II listed 14th century church would be very traditional; altar arrangements, pedestal stands, that sort of thing. But no – think again, for as the Garden Museum in London showed, it can be anything but…

This annual event gives six floral artists the opportunity to create a design to be staged within the church’s modernised, open interior. The theme this year has been taken from the Museum’s current exhibition, ‘Cecil Beaton’s Garden Party.’ All of the floral artists took flowers and plants in wholly unexpected directions.

Naturalistic

‘Beaton’s Holy Spring’             Designer: Wild at Heart.

A contemporary interpretation of the relationship between water and plant life built around the font. Rambling roses scrambling though English Eucalyptus are surrounded by foxgloves and ferns. The visitor is invited to walk around the installation, to experience it from different angles.

Classic

‘Floral Portrait’                            Designer: Leigh Chappell

Leigh Chappell studied botanical illustration before committing herself fully to floral design. Inspired by Cecil Beaton’s photography, she created a floral ‘portrait,’ where garden blooms are the subject, arranged in an antique cast iron urn.

‘All the flowers, which are held in place with chicken wire, have been sourced from local growers, I chose them for their character, shape and texture.’

Visionary

‘Through Blooms and Time’                Designer: Yeon Hee Lee

Originally from Seoul, Yeon Hee Lee moved to London in 2013, to continue her training and passion for floristry. This installation is created entirely from pressed flowers which have been painstakingly attached together. Once linked, they take on a life of their own.

‘This is my imaginary garden. I live in a flat with a tiny balcony, and although most of the materials I used came from growers and friends gardens, some of them I was able to grow myself.’

Fantasy

‘Flowers will take you where you need to go’            Designer: Rollo Skinner

Paying homage to Cecil Beaton’s limitless imagination, Rollo Skinner, a botanical set designer, produced a floral balloon, using lupins as ‘flames.’  Made by local craftsmen, each panel has a hand-painted flower from the countryside around his childhood home in Dorset.

‘I wanted to make something playful but also adventurous – and show how flowers really can lift you up.’

Contemporary

‘Leaf. Block.’                 Designer: Palais London

An immersive installation, geraniums and pelargoniums, some from designer Emma Weaver’s own collection, plus others from specialist growers, are massed together for this intriguing take on an urban planting scheme straight from the 1970s.

‘I wanted to mix the municipal with the domestic, to make a quintessentially British scene.’

Whimsical

‘A Party for Pollinators’            Designer: Arthur Parkinson

A passionate cut flower grower, Arthur has curated vintage glass vases and living pots of plants to make a banquet for not just bees, but songbirds and other pollinating insects. The tablecloth and background to this floral jamboree have been sourced from second hand shops.

For more information visit www.gardenmuseum.org.uk

Exhibition is open until 8th June 2025

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Su Whale is a florist and freelance writer with over twenty-five 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.